Hopkins hasn’t shown Mr. Hyde

By Joe Scalzo

The former middleweight champ has been (surprisingly) nice in comments about Kelly Pavlik. Will it continue?

YOUNGSTOWN — Of all the adjectives usually used to describe Bernard Hopkins — talented, hard-working, stubborn, cheap, arrogant, mean, etc. — “nice” isn’t one of them.

So when Hopkins told reporters a few weeks ago he was a “big fan” of Kelly Pavlik, he raised a few eyebrows.

Hopkins usually prefers to blast his opponents before bouts, then out-box them in the ring.

Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew, is still waiting for the “real” Hopkins to show himself.

“I hope he comes out of his shell a little bit,” said Loew, who has never shied away from trash talking. “I’ve got some good ones [lines] for him,” Loew said. “But I can’t let loose when he’s being so nice.”

Hopkins (and possibly Loew) will get another opportunity Wednesday when he travels to Youngstown for a 1 p.m. pep rally with Pavilk at the Chevrolet Centre.

Fans are encouraged to attend.

“I’m gonna have my gun loaded and I’m ready to shoot from the hip,” said Loew, chuckling. “I need some ammunition and he won’t give it to me.”

Pavlik had wanted his next bout to be in Ohio — preferably Youngstown — so the press conference is designed to be the next-best thing.

“I think we owe them [the fans] everything we could possibly give them,” Loew said. “They’ve followed us everywhere, to Vegas, to Atlantic City. ... Everything we have is due to them.”

Pavlik begins training for the bout on Monday. Although the non-title fight is at 170 pounds — 10 above the middleweight limit — Loew doesn’t plan any big changes in training.

“We have to put the kid at 170 pounds in a good way,” Loew said. “It’s not a free pass to the buffet line. You have to eat the right foods, just more of them.”

Loew wasn’t happy about fighting at 170 pounds and felt Pavlik wasn’t as sharp when he fought Jermain Taylor in February at 166 pounds.

“I don’t think his punches had the same snap,” he said.

Still, the plan is for Pavlik to eventually move up to super middleweight (168), due more to the dearth of competition at middleweight than the weight itself.

“Probably next year, after we beat [IBF champion] Arthur Abraham,” Loew said. “I don’t think he has anything left [to face] at 160.”

In the meantime, Loew’s focus is on Hopkins, who is still dangerous at age 43. Hopkins has never been stopped and Loew is hoping Pavlik can be the first, although he knows it won’t happen until the later rounds, if at all.

“He’s a legend, but 43 years old is 43 years old,” Loew said. “We need to fight at a 26-year-old pace. When you’ve got a young guy like Kelly, who can punch with both hands, you just steadily walk him down and punch him in the shoulders and the arms and the head. Eventually, he’s going to say, ‘[Forget] this.’ “I can’t see myself being wrong. I hope like hell I ain’t wrong.”

A Top Rank spokesman said tickets are selling well — much better than for the Gary Lockett bout in June. Tickets cost $700, $500, $350, $200, $100 and $75 and may be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster (800) 736-1420 or going online at www.Ticketmaster.com.

Also, Loew is selling his ring-side seats for $700 (face value). Call (330) 501-5713.

The bout will be televised by HBO pay-per-view.

scalzo@vindy.com