Bouie Fisher has been in the fight game since the early 1940's. There isn't too much the 73-year-old trainer hasn't seen or learned in the "mythical" gym wars in Philadelphia. The man is a walking history book when it comes to the trade inside and outside of the ring. He also has been training the best Middleweight in the world over the past eight years in Bernard Hopkins. Today, I had the pleasure of discussing many topics with the legendary trainer including Ray Robinson, Bernard Hopkins' future and Hasim Rahman.

BRC: First off, congratulations on being named Trainer of the Year in just about every boxing magazine, website and TV show all over the world. I know you're not in "it" for that but I'm glad that you're starting to get the recognition that you deserve.

BFISHER: Bouie Thank you very much, it's been a long time coming, but like you said I know what I can and can't do. The awards are great but it really doesn't matter that much to me.

BRC: How did you get started in boxing and become a trainer?

BFISHER: I've been involved in boxing for (pauses) wow, for a long, long time. I myself used to box at one time. I started out as and amateur in the forties and I had a few professional fights. I started a family early and wasn't making any money in boxing so I got another job and that ended my fighting career a little early. I never got away from boxing, I always went to the gym at the end of the day and that's how I started as a trainer for amateur boxers for quite a few years then I graduated to the professional ranks later. I learned a lot being around all the great trainers in Philly, like my main mentor Quenzo McCall (his main guy was Dwight Qawi), he showed me the ropes and then I worked with many other great trainers in Philly.

BRC: Having been around the game for so long, who were some of the all time great fighters you got the opportunity to see?

BFISHER: Well, Ray Robinson was my man, (happy and proud to tell all). Ray Robinson was the man in boxing; I was lucky enough to see a lot of his fights live. I also had the misfortune of seeing his last three fights when he was just a shadow of his former self. It was a shame to see the way he went out, but man, when he first got going there wasn't anyone better, ever.

BRC: Having never seen him live but just on tape, I love watching him. It's a shame there aren't more of his welterweight fights on film for fans as well as fighters to study him today.

BFISHER: I can remember him even as a lightweight when he first started boxing. You talk about a guy who didn't care who he fought, Ray went from; lightweight to welterweight to middleweight to light heavyweight. The amazing thing was that he took his punch with him through all the ranks.

BRC: Joey Maxim, I've seen that fight a couple times. Ray was clearly winning.

BFISHER: Yes, Joey Maxim. The thing that hurt Ray that day was the heat. It was hot just watching it in the stands, let alone getting in there and fighting. He was a great fighter, at one point he had not lost for like 7 years. Some of the things he could do you'd just shake your head and say damn! I'm talking about 5, 6 and 7 punch combos that were lighting fast.
Side Note: ***At one point in Ray Robinson's career he was 131-1-1 with 85 Knockouts***

BRC: Do any of today's fighters remind you of Ray Robinson in the things that they do?

BFISHER: Yes. Shane Mosley has a lot of Ray Robinson in him; you can see he's studied Ray on film; he does some of the things Roy Jones does. Bernard does some things that were taught to me by Robinson in his defense when in close, so he reminds me of him also. You know teaching some of the things that I've learned with a good student like Bernard is like reading a book. It really is easy.

BRC: How did you get hooked up with Bernard Hopkins?

BFISHER: Well I was training a couple of professional fighters at the time when Bernard came on the scene. I had a heavyweight and things didn't work out between us at the time and I took some time off from boxing. So when Hopkins came the people that were involved with him were looking for a trainer and a friend of mine asked me about the job and I turned it down a couple of times but they kept coming around. I took some time to look at him and liked what I saw, we talked and I got the feeling he was real serious about becoming a champion and doing well in the sport. After that talk, we hooked up pretty quickly, that was 13 years ago now and we've lost one fight to Roy Jones Jr. and had one draw in Mercado's home town but I know we won that fight and we proved it the next time we got him in the ring and won the championship.

What makes it so good for me is that Bernard loves his job; he understands boxing is a business but he does love doing what he's doing. I help him by instilling in him some habits from the old school and by him having the ability and the determination to be a winner, we've just clicked ever since. I also feel confident in saying without all the sidetracks and the things that happened to him early on, that he would have won sixty to sixty fights by now. I really feel he's one of the best fighters that have come around in the last 25 years. The funny thing is that he really hasn't been tested yet because he hasn't until of late had the opportunity to show his greatness.

BRC: How many more years do you feel Bernard has to fight at the top of his skills?

BFISHER: The way things are going, he could fight about three more years. I don't think he wants to fight that much longer, to be honest I would rather not see him fight that much longer if he doesn't have to. Hopefully he can keep getting compensated for his work so he doesn't have to fight that much longer

BRC: Talk to me about adaptation, because Bernard can do it very well. When the fight calls for him to slug it out he can, like the second Echols fight. When the situation calls for him to come forward he can, like he did with Keith Holmes and when he needs to box he can like he did in the Trinidad fight as well as the first Echols fight.

BFISHER: That's what being a champion is all about. You have to be very versatile you won't last long just doing one thing, sooner or later someone will expose you. Adaptation is the key. A complete fighter can adapt to any situation that is put before him. If the guy wants to slug he'll slug when he has to, if the guys wants to box he'll box if he has to. Bernard's on the level where if the guy thinks he's going to slug he can box and vice versa. That's what happened with Tito, everyone including Trinidad was looking for a different fight out of Bernard. They thought he was going to sit there and trade, now granted he had his moments when he did trade....

BRC: I had good seats, Bernard had more then "his moments", he had many, many moments.

BFISHER: Yes he did, but he showed some of his greatness by out boxing, outsmarting and out hustling him. Hey, when the time came for the big shots they were there and he took them. It was a decent fight for him. That showed some of his greatness.

BRC: I'd say it was better than a "decent" fight for Bernard. If that was "decent" nobody south of 190 pounds would want to see him.

BFISHER: (Laughing) I've seen better in the gym out of him.

BRC: I've heard many young fighters say they aren't worried about watching film on their opponent, because the opponent is going to have to adjust to them. I've always though this was a very foolish approach. How important is film and doing your homework in boxing?

BFISHER: Look, any guy we get ready to fight we study them as well as the guys they fought. For example when we were getting ready for Trinidad we watched his fights with De La Hoya, Sweet Pea and the Vargas fight over and over. Those guys had success when they boxed Tito. We've pretty much scouted everyone from 168 pounds to 154 with a few exceptions. We do this because we may have to face one of these guys or someone might find a hole in another guy's game the way De La Hoya did with Trinidad. It pays to be prepared.

BRC: What are you thoughts on Carl Daniels? I have a felling you all are going to have to take the fight to him because he seems to be content with the 'John Ruiz combo' of a punch and grab?

BFISHER: Carl Daniels is a very technical fighter. He's going to try and box, move, grab, hold and give some different angles to us. So once again it goes back to being a complete fighter. If he wants to box, ok, we'll box but don't be surprised if we put some heat on him. He's not going get in a slugfest with us but he may try a few tricks and we'll be there to make him pay when he makes a mistake.

BRC: Do you honestly think this guy has enough fire power to keep Bernard from walking him down and being on the inside all night much the same way he was with Keith Holmes?

BFISHER: Well if becomes that kind of fight I don't think so but I'm sure Carl Daniels will do his best to make sure that fight doesn't happen. What I mean by that is I can see him trying to move a lot and almost to the point where he's running around in there. I don't see it being too much different than the Holmes fight except that we might get him out of there if he tries to slug.

BRC: Why Reading PA, and not Philly because I know Bernard wanted to break the record (Monzon's) in front of his fans. I'm a little confused, how Reading got into the picture? What did you all want, to go shopping afterwards?

BFISHER: (Laughter in the background, Reading PA is nothing but outlets) No, not really. We would've like to do it in front of our fans in Philly, because Bernard is their champ. It's going to be in Reading which is like sixty miles outside of Philly so I'm sure he's going to get a lot of support up there. We are going to fight in Philly one day soon. I'm very confident in that. Look, Bernard is the city's champ much the same way Trinidad is Puerto Rico's champ so it just makes sense. Some how it just ended up in Reading but we'll make due with it.

BRC: I've always heard Bernard say you all have a father-son relationship, but yet he's most certainly his own man. What advice if any are you giving him in regards to his situation with Lou Dibella?

BFISHER: I didn't know that there was a situation anymore. I think the problem is that there it's a lot of talk out there with people that don't know what's going on. I myself don't really know what's going on nor do I care to. I just want to keep my end of the deal up and make sure that Bernard is the best he can be when he's in the ring. If I have questions I ask them but I don't really think there's a problem. We'll have to wait and see what happens but right now everything is fine.

BRC: How about now dealing with Don King as Bernard's promoter?

BFISHER: Don King as a promoter is a great promoter. Don knows who the great fighters are out there and he's the guy that can get them in the ring together. So far he and Bernard Hopkins have been on the right page, hopefully there's no reason why it should change.

BRC: My lasting impression is when Bernard won the tournament and finally got the trophy, Don King didn't look all that happy. I hope it works out for the best with you all. Talk to me about when it comes to a super fight at 169 pounds vs. Roy Jones Jr. is it going to happen or is it just more talk?

BFISHER: I saw Roy the other day. I told him we'll fight you anytime, any day and any place. It'd be a good fight, a real smart tactical fight but as it stands now it might not happen. To tell you the truth I don't think Roy wants to fight him, I don't think Roy wants anyone that will give him a serious challenge. We're not worried about him. We have our belts and we'll go from there.

BRC: Is it frustrating as a trainer when it seems like these great fighters are ducking your fighter?

BFISHER: No, not anymore. People are ducking us because they know that they're going to take a big chance with us and we'll be a HARD fight for anybody. Roy Jones hasn't had a tough fight in quite some time and I don't think he wants one. So why would he fight Bernard Hopkins if he doesn't have to? Hey, we'd welcome the fight tomorrow if we got a call and were told look we're pulling Daniels out and putting Roy in instead, we'd say cool. Look, we all know Roy Jones is a great fighter, he's proven himself over the years so you can't take anything away from him, but he's great because he was given the opportunity to be so and that's what I want with my guy. I don't see any Jr. Middleweights, Middleweights or super Middleweights that I think could beat my guy.

BRC: Last topic: Hasim Rahman. How is it going working with him since he and Adrian Davis split?

BFISHER: We've talked a couple times and worked out a couple as well. I think it's going to be a good relationship. I see a lot of things that Rahman can do, like develop a left hook, box more, he has a lot of potential. It's going to take some time but I'm sure we can get him back to where he was.

BRC: I hope the first thing you all are fixing is that "Jack Johnson" technique where he puts his arms straight out in front of him and it's supposed to stop everything. The last time he did that, that was last thing he did before he ate a gigantic Lennox Lewis right hand.

BFISHER: That will be out, so he won't need to do that. That worked a long time ago but that style won't work today. Rahman is the kind of guy that can do a lot of damage but he's going to have to be taught how to do that damage. He hit Lennox with a shot that would have gotten anyone out of there so I know he can do good things. He has courage, he's strong and the main thing is that he's young I think he has three or four good years left in boxing.

BRC: Well, thank you very much for your time and I hope training as well as the fight goes well.

BFISHER: Well I thank you and I enjoyed it very much.