FanHouse Joe Frazier

Don't wish Bernard Hopkins success, wish him failure.

Specifically, tell the 44-year-old boxer that he's so far past his prime, that you believe he'll lose on Dec. 2 to unheralded 29-year-old Enrique Ornelas, the man he will meet in a non-title, 12-round light heavyweight (175 pounds) bout at Temple University's Liacouras Center in Hopkins' hometown of Philadelphia.

"People have written me off a lot of times in my life, and that's been my biggest motivation. I've always needed people to be rooting against me," said Hopkins, a former Philadelphia street criminal who survived three stabbings, was imprisoned at age 18 for five years, and released in 1988.

"I did not let the street life destroy me. I'm that throwback Philadephia fighter who just happened to take care of himself, and that's why I'm still here," said Hopkins, who is 49-5, with 32 knockouts.

Former IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, a winner of eight straight bouts -- six of them by knockout -- will continue his pursuit of heavyweight glory and recognition when he enters the ring on Feb. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., his promoter, Kathy Duva, said on Friday.

Adamek (39-1, 27 knockouts) will go after his second straight heavyweight opponent at the Prudential Center, where the resident of nearby Jersey City routinely packs the stands with his local support.

"It's been a very long time since the boxing public has seen the kind of action in a heavyweight fight that they enjoyed before the super heavyweights who dominate the division these days. When a heavyweight title fight is exciting, it is always the smaller guy in the ring pressing the action," said Duva.

Manny Pacquiao graces the cover of Time Magazine's Asia edition, and his corresponding five-page feature story is being included in the U.S. Edition with Hillary Clinton on its front.

The fighter's appearance in the magazine, which hit the news stands this past Friday, comes on the heels of his being in ESPN's Body Issue, his first, primetime television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his recognition as a 2009 Gusi Peace Prize laureate.

As the focus of the feature entitled The Meaning Of Manny, the fighter is amazed at his cross-over appeal.

"I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today, and on the cover of Time Magazine," said Pacquiao, who will go after Miguel Cotto's WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title this Saturday at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

George Foreman was 28 fights into his comeback from a 10-year absence from the ring, had won 27 times, stopped 25 of his opponents, and failed during his first attempt at winning a heavyweight title.

But Foreman wasn't going to blow his second chance at world championship glory, when he faced southpaw Michael Moorer.

This time, the 45-year-old grandfather and father of nine was ready.

Foreman, 60, talks about his historic accomplishment as well as life after boxing during this, the fourth and final installment of a four-part series detailing how he became boxing's oldest man to win a division's crown.

On July 4, America's independence Day, "Fast" Eddie Chambers was handing Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko his first loss in 30 bouts before a crowd partisan to Dimitrenko in Hamburg, Germany.

It was Chambers' fifth consecutive win since a January 2008 setback against Russian Alexander Povetkin. And the symbolism is not lost on Chambers, America's best shot at a heavyweight champion.

"I hear that a ton from my fans, like, 'You're the only one who is gonna do it.' It was important for me to go over there and show my skills," said Chambers, who defeated Dimitrenko the day before the latter's 27th birthday. "Beating Dimitrenko, you know, I realize what it did for the United States and our hopes of having a world champion again."

The simple brilliance of Thrilla in Manila, a documentary premiering on HBO Saturday, lies in its point of view: The story of the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier has been told countless times, but almost always with the assumption that Ali is the story's hero. Thrilla tells the tale from the perspective of Frazier, and that alone makes it a unique and impressive film.