The story of Bernard Hopkins is a great one that he loves retelling - the street hood hooked on a life of crime, sent to prison aged 17, emerging a changed man, who became one of the greatest boxers of his era.

He spent much of his career battling the boxing establishment and ended up becoming the establishment, as a partner with Oscar De La Hoya in Golden Boy Productions. He is as at home now in a suit as in a tracksuit, a boxer who can be relaxed about retirement because his career as a successful promoter is mapped out. He talks the talk, but he believes that he has earned the right.

But most of the life lessons that helped Hopkins, 43, to stay at the top when he had made enemies of promoters and television companies were learnt in a 56-month spell in the State Correctional Institution at Graterford, in Pennsylvania, which also ended his previous “career” as a thief on the inner-city streets of Philadelphia.

“I got certified at 17 as an adult for strong-arm robbery, without a gun, and assault,” Hopkins said. “I had 30-40 robberies consolidated into two cases and did a deal to do five years. I would take money from guys in the neighbourhood who were selling drugs, selling car parts or whatever. I would seek out people who couldn't tell the police, so I thought, because they were doing something wrong.

“Along with getting stabbed three times at a very young age, everybody else told the police. I messed with guys who could have easily blown my brains out because I had not cared about running into these guys the next day.”

Graterford was a harsh place, where his crimes looked mild in comparison. While there, he witnessed an inmate being murdered in a row over cigarettes. “At 17, most people are graduating from high school or going to university - I went to Graterford,” Hopkins said. “If I thought I had to be tough on the streets, I was a changed man in 48 hours. I had to establish my space in a five-by-five or five-by-eight cell and I had to establish that I had to be respected, even though my cellmate had been there 20 years.

“I learnt to stay away from drugs, I learnt to stay away from sex, learnt religion, I learnt how to eat to live, I learnt that discipline is going to get me out of there. I saw people who were comfortable in the institution. I saw people with HBO that didn't have a TV at home, so to me they were mentally incarcerated. I never got comfortable, every day I dreamt of getting out.”

It was in prison that Hopkins, who had been a useful junior, discovered his passion for boxing. From his release, the way up was steep. He lost his professional debut, but thereafter lost only once, to Roy Jones Jr, in the next 17 years, a run that included a ten-year reign as world middleweight champion, although it was only late in his reign - it was ended by Jermain Taylor in 2005 - that he started to receive the recognition and financial rewards he believed he deserved.

Now he has reached the peak, he finds it hard to let go. He vowed to his late mother that he would not box beyond his 41st year, a promise that he has gone back on. But Hopkins is not a punchy, old fighter needing another payday. He is in remarkable shape and many believe that he will have too much for Joe Calzaghe tomorrow night in their light-heavyweight bout.

“I've sacrificed having fun to have what I have,” Hopkins said. “Joe drinks Guinness, but I never drink. I've had the excuses and the temptations. People think it's magic what I'm doing. You know what it is? It's discipline. I got the discipline I got in that hell-hole when I was 17, I stayed away from the drugs and the unhealthy food. I survived on peanut butter and crackers. I survived on discipline. When you get in the ring with a guy like that, you know it's different.

“This is no game. Golf is a game, riding your bike is a game. When I sign that Nevada State Athletic Commission contract, that to me is a death warrant.”

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