Bernard Hopkins, right, with Canelo Alvarez in Houston, Texas (Photo: Hogan Photos – Golden Boy Promotions)

By Chris Robinson

On Thursday afternoon, in  Houston, Texas, the final press conference ahead of this weekend’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. James Kirkland showdown, set for Saturday night on HBO, took place.

Our guy Sergio Venegas was on hand as the fighters, Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya, living legend and former two-division champion Bernard Hopkins, 50 Cent, and others addressed the media.

While there is definite excitement towards this weekend’s big showdown, several people in the industry are still buzzing, not necessarily with excitement, over Floyd Mayweather’s victory over Manny Pacquiao this past weekend.

Inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mayweather captured a clear unanimous decision over Pacquiao after 12 rounds of action. Pacquiao was relatively ineffective throughout the match, and later cited a torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder as part of the reason for his subpar performance.

Pacquiao recently had a successful surgey for his injury, but upon hearing the news of the Filipino icon’s claims, Hopkins didn’t seem too pleased.

“He checked the box, saying he was fine,” Hopkins stated while speaking to a group of reporters, referencing the fact that Team Pacquiao failed to notify the Nevada State Athletic Commission of the fighter’s injury while filing out a medical form prior to the match.

“You’ve got to check that box and if they see something they have to question you about, they’ll question you,” Hopkins added. “Obviously Pacquiao didn’t check that box.”

For Hopkins, he feels the fans can see through the situation.

“Because at the end of the day, you think the fans are not intelligent enough [to figure it out]?” Hopkins added.

The wily vet, who still may or may not be fighting at the age of 50, issued another strong salvo before finishing up.

“Whether [Pacquiao] had one or not, it was a cheap way to go out and it was disrespectful, not only to boxing, but disrespectful to the fans,” said Hopkins. “Now Golden Boy Promotions and any other promoters that think like us, we’ve got to now clean up their sh*t. And than means to put on the best shows, the best events, and not let this happen on our watch.”

Check below for Hopkins’ full dialogue.

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com