Athletes are commonly perceived as unintelligent and perhaps even slow-witted. Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins have gone out of their way to support that belief.

The notion that athletic prowess and above average intelligence can’t mix is quite an unfortunate stereotype. However, what’s even more unfortunate is that there are professional athletes.

On Saturday Trinidad and Hopkins did their best to continue to stupefy the good name of athletes.

The two pugilists were squaring off in a middleweight championship bout in Madison Square Garden.

Madison Square Garden is in New York, and for the weeks leading up to the fight, so were Trinidad and Hopkins. They were scheduled to square off four days after the terrorist attacks, but along with most other sporting events, the fight was postponed.

So, aside from getting some extra time on the speed bag, the fighters also used the layoff to exchange the normal lewd remarks boxing opponents tend to share with one another.

That’s not unusual because, after punching, talking smack seems to be a boxer’s best asset.

Trinidad and Hopkins have deep disdain for one another. To make the dynamics of their relationship public, the two chose to exchange throat slitting gestures on several occasions.

They aren’t the first professional athletes to run their index fingers across their throats in a show of disrespect for their opponents, but their timing reveals volumes about their intelligence, or lack there of.

NBA players have used the gesture in past and last year the throat-slitting motion was banned by the NFL, because it was inappropriate.

Who would have thought that gesture pioneered by the obstructer of justice himself, Ray Lewis, could be inappropriate?

Anyway, in New York, a city blind sighted by the right hook of terrorism, one might think that the pugilists would have the common sense to refrain from such gestures.

However, one would be wrong. The boxers dealt athletes, and their collective intelligence, quite a glancing blow with their pre-fight antics.

Not all jocks are dumb. In fact many are quite intelligent. It’s too bad the same cant be said of boxers.

Sure, you could make the argument that an intelligent fighter exists here and there, but any claim of overall intelligence in the sport can be undone with two words. Mike Tyson.

On Saturday Hopkins continued to display his inferior intelligence right up until the fight started.

Hopkins is nicknamed the executioner, and no national tragedy was going to keep him from donning his trademark leather executioner’s mask on Saturday. The mask went nicely with his red robe complete with huge X on the back, but Hopkins furthered showed his stupidity, along with doing our country a great disservice, when he topped off the outfit by draping and American flag from his neck.

The American flag represents a lot of different things for many different people, but when hung from such an idiot’s head, the stars and stripes were virtually meaningless.

At that point, Hopkins had already done plenty to sully the name of athletes, and especially boxers everywhere. However, the idiot was not finished yet.

When he removed his robe, it was apparent that the words “www.goldenpalace.com” were scrolled on Hopkin’s back in black marker.

He reportedly received $100,000 for becoming a “human” billboard.

After shedding his robe and his dignity, Hopkins won the fight and collected his paycheck. He is now the middleweight champion.

Just what we needed – another idiot at the top of the sports world.