“I want the book to be written good. The last thing you remember about a good book is not the beginning, it’s the ending. I look at this as the final icing on the cake or that exclamation point. This is it. You know this is history,” said former two-division world champion and Future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (55-7 2, 32 KOs).

Hopkins, who turns 52 next month, faces Joe Smith, Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) for the WBC International Light Heavyweight Championship on Saturday in Inglewood, California’s iconic “Fabulous” Forum on HBO.

“I achieved my first goal of success in the first part of my life. That was rougher than boxing. If you know anything about Bernard Hopkins’ history, if you go into details about the inner city Philadelphia guy, who was in the penitentiary from age 17 to 25, and survived, you’d realize I became champion a long time ago.”

“We as humans put limitations on ourselves. When all is said and done, I don’t want to regret what I didn’t do.”