Bernard Hopkins: 'I would never fight Andre Ward'

Bernard Hopkins says there's no amount of money big enough to get him into the ring with Andre Ward, a fighter he considers a "protégé." Hopkins had some words for Ward, who was calling the fight ringside for HBO on Saturday night, after defeating Tavoris Cloud.

In the moment, it looked like Hopkins was calling out Ward, or talking trash at him, but Ward noted that he was simply saying that Bernard was saying he could take anything he learned watching him up close, and that he didn't want to fight him.

"Andre Ward is a protégé of myself. I would never fight Andre Ward, and I even told Richard that in the ring. ... $10 million dollars, $8 million dollars, $15 million dollars. ... I told him in the ring it's not the money. And I mean that. And I put that on my mom's grave."

Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO) rather routinely handled Cloud on Saturday, and says he plans to fight on. There are potential options out there for him -- Sergey Kovalev, Nathan Cleverly, Beibut Shumenov, Froch-Kessler winner -- and some significant fights that could be made. But it won't be Ward. This isn't the first time Hopkins has said he's got no interest in fighting Ward, and at 48 and having by all accounts been smart with his money, his statement rings true. Money won't change that for Bernard.