Pull No Punches

As he showed in 2001 when he brazenly knocked out Puerto Rican idol and 3-to-1 favorite Felix "Tito” Trinidad to become the first undisputed middleweight champion since the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Bernard has not forgotten where he came from; in fact, part of what makes him so successful is the do-or-die street mentality he brings into the ring every time out. Now 39, the seemingly ageless Hopkins is looking to make his 19th title defense this September, when he'll earn the biggest payday of his career--$15 million—to fight boxing's golden goose, Oscar De La Hoya, in what's being called the biggest non-middleweight event since Leonard-Hagler. As he showed when we caught up with him in his hometown of Philadelphia, right by those steps Sly Stallone ran up in Rocky, it's a good bet The Executioner will be spending some of that De La Hoya money on fly whips.