Right after Bernard Hopkins beat up Felix Trinidad, I wrote about Hopkins for this web site (Oct 2, 2001). It was the kind of article that more experienced writers warn less experienced writers about. It was a syrupy, sentimental piece, lauding Hopkins' performance as perhaps the greatest of all time, praising Hopkins' character for honoring his handshake agreement with trainer Bouie Fisher lo those many years, and calling Bernard the first happy ending in the history of boxing.

I mention in the article that by overcoming all of the obstacles in his tough life, Hopkins had avoided becoming a cliché. I also wrote that "credibility" described Hopkins better than any other word, that Hopkins had the highest boxing IQ in the world, and that he embodied the American dream.

Looking at that article now (I just did, it's archived on this site), I am indeed a little embarrassed. I take the experience as a cautionary tale -- not about staying away from sentimental writing, but rather about the dangers of discussing a fighter's characteristics, especially in historical terms, before his career is truly over. I still believe, of course, that Hopkins is a great middleweight champion, comparable to Marvin Hagler and Carlos Monzon. But I would like to revisit a few of the other claims I made about him.

No question his boxing IQ is sky high, perhaps the best around. His boxing business IQ, however, has frequently been called into question over the last several months. Hopkins appears to have spent all of the career momentum he built with his performance against Trinidad. He turned down a rematch against Roy Jones Jr. over a dispute about his take of the overall purse, and turned down several TV contracts that would have paid him millions. Except for one fight against Carl Daniels, Hopkins has been inactive. As a result of these apparent blunders, Bernard Hopkins will fight on the Hassim Rahman-David Tua undercard this Saturday night.

While our middleweight champ's credibility seemed above reproach right after the Trinidad fight, his firing Fisher since then raises questions about Bernard. He has recently said that he does not need Fisher, and he is probably right. After all, at this point what more does Bouie have to teach him? But Bernard certainly did need his trainer all those years he was sucking up Bouie's boxing knowledge, all the years he was being taught and trained into the best middleweight in the world. After the Trinidad fight, Bouie's long-term payoff looked as though it was coming. But suddenly, a handshake agreement that lasted through the relatively lean years, a handshake agreement that Hopkins often referred to with pride as something that indicated his own sense of personal honor, suddenly Bernard no longer felt bound by that handshake.

Hopkins' feud with advisor Lou DiBella, who played an integral role in putting Bernard in the favorable position in which he found himself right after the Trinidad fight, has been well documented by many in the boxing media. I have yet to hear even one intelligent case made supporting Hopkins over DiBella in that feud.

Hopkins does indeed embody the American dream -- rags to riches -- yet it might appear to some as though he also embodies its corollary: power corrupts. And yet I still think that he avoids that cliché. It does not appear so much to me that Bernard has changed. Rather, it seems that the same component of his personality that enabled him to overcome long odds, has now taken him over.

Bernard Hopkins has made a living over the last decade by bucking the system. He needs to be the underdog, he needs to feel that he is the rebel on the outside looking in. When he finally got his due financially, when he finally became a media favorite, just when it seemed that everything was perfect, in the ring and out, when he was indeed all the way on the inside looking out, he began to self-destruct. His business relationships fell apart with his trainer and his advisor, and even Don King felt the money wasn't worth it. Bernard, he suggested, was just too difficult to deal with.

Hopkins will counter all of this with claims that he is a fighter who refuses to be exploited, that, like the saying goes, it's not paranoia if everyone is out to get you. But in his case, after the Trinidad fight it seemed all anybody around him was out to do was to get him paid. Of course the relationships were in essence business -- Fisher, DiBella, and obviously King were with Hopkins to make money. But there was an undeniably strong personal dimension with Fisher and DiBella. And there was also a personal attachment for members of the media and boxing fans. There was just this feeling that Bernard Hopkins was the perfect example of how it should be done, in the ring and out. He was easy for hardcore boxing fans to root for, and many of us who rooted for him and were overjoyed when he was successful.

Hopkins has negotiated himself out of a Jones rematch, a Trinidad rematch, the big money, and even this weekend's main event. He has alienated people who worked for him, rooted for him, covered him, and spent money to watch him fight. He is once again on the outside looking in.

Watch out, Oscar. Bernard's got himself right where he wants him.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights and the host of the show Around The Horn.