Sugar not so sweet on Hopkins

Vindicator sports staff

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Bert Sugar is a crusty old boxing writer known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the most obscure — and most famous — fighters in history.

He’s a throwback — he may be the only sportswriter who still walks around with a fedora on his head and a cigar in his mouth — and he’s one of the worst-dressed men alive.

On Thursday, he wore navy blue pants dotted with dozens of tiny red lobsters.

“I had a jacket, but I lost it,” he quipped. “I strained my shoulder grabbing these off the Goodwill rack.”

In addition to his writing duties, he shills — his word — for HBO and is helping promote Saturday’s bout between Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik. The second fighter makes his job easier than the first.

“I couldn’t sell a Bernard Hopkins fight alone to Bernard Hopkins’ wife,” Sugar said. “He’s not a draw. He’s not a crowd pleaser.

“He’s a street fighter. He’s got savvy and he’s difficult to fight. It’s difficult to appreciate him. He’s a spoiler, is probably the best way to put it.”

But the fight is intriguing to someone like Sugar, who pays attention to intricacies and can appreciate a defensive fighter. Throwback writers appreciate throwback fighters.

He thinks Saturday’s fight is a résumé builder for Pavlik and, like everyone else, is interested to see if Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) can be the first to stop Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs).

“He’s known as a knockout artist,” Sugar said of Pavlik. “To be honest, I haven’t seen such leverage since Tommy Hearns.

“Kelly’s got a problem because he doesn’t have to knock him out, but he’s got to look good. And Hopkins tends to make people look bad.”

Although Pavlik has established his credentials in the ring, Sugar said his popularity isn’t solely because of his talent. His location (there aren’t many good Midwestern fighters), race (there aren’t many good white fighters, either) and his personality (“Kelly’s a good kid; I like him,” Sugar said) also play a part.

“He’s got a tremendous story,” Sugar said. “He’s the franchise for Youngstown.”

Hopkins is not a franchise for Philadelphia or anywhere else. He’s never been all that exciting in the ring and his usual pre-fight theatrics haven’t surfaced over the past two months.

“I don’t know if he’s mellowed or what, but there’s been no piss and vinegar,” Sugar said. “His excitement used to be in the buildup to the fight, trashing the Puerto Rican flag [for Felix Trinidad] or saying ‘I’m not gonna lose to a white man’ against Calzaghe.”

Hopkins can still fight, Sugar said, but at age 43, how much longer can he last?

“You don’t know when Dorian Gray is going to turn into Dorian Gray,” referring to a novel about a man who struggles with the aging process. “He’s 43 years old and going on Social Security.”

scalzo@vindy.com