Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. was born 49 years ago in 1965. How he knows how to box can be judged by Hopkinska's two nicknames: "" and "Alien" (by analogy with the monster from the science fiction film of the same name). He really, like some kind of alien monster, only gets stronger with age. At 46, 47 and 49 years old, Bernadre Hopkins won the championship belt in different categories!
There are never too many championship belts!
The future "Executioner" was born in Philadelphia, where, as you know, it's always sunny. Under the bright sun, Hopkins Jr. learned his first fighting skills in street fights. He fought so often that his family and teachers did not believe he would live to be 18. Strange as it may seem, the prison saved the juvenile delinquent. He served five years (almost got 18!) and completely changed. “Since then, I didn’t even spit on the sidewalks,” Bernard later recalled.
In general, his path is similar to the story of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Hopkinsk also became a Muslim, like both boxing legends, and tied up with crime with the help of sports, like.
First pancake in professional career came out lumpy - Bernard lost to Clinton Mitchell and did not enter the ring for 18 months. But Hopkins didn't give up at all. He hired a coach, English Fisher, and trained hard. He lost weight and returned to the ring as a 2nd middleweight. In 1992, Hopkins defeated Denis Milton by TKO. The audience booed both boxers, as the fight turned out to be boring.
Hopkins won two more fights on points, and then lost a second time. Now Roy Jones. He simply showered the enemy with swift blows, and Bernard did not have time to respond to them. In total, in 1993, Hopkins had 4 fights. He won three of them.
Bernard Hopkins is an alien from the planet Box
1994-95 became for Bernard Hopkins the path to a dream. To become a champion, he had to defeat Segundo Mercado from Ecuador. For the first time, the American almost lost by knockout. Mercado landed a strong hook twice, but Hopkins somehow got up. He achieved his goal: the judge recognized a draw. And the audience once again booed the rising boxing star from Philadelphia.
In the return match, the situation changed exactly the opposite: now Mercado missed knockout blows and clinched Hopkins. Seeing that the Ecuadorian was inadequate after a missed hook, the referee stopped the fight. The title of IBF champion went to "Executioner". In the future, he will not rely on scoring and knock out the pretenders to his throne five times.
After prison, Hopkins fights only in the ring
Only with Antwun Echols Hopkins had a hard time. The opponent stunned him with a heavy blow, but the champion managed to control himself and won on points. During their second meeting, Ekolsom managed and received a disqualification. Then Bernard refused to win, waited for Antwun to return to the ring and defeated him by technical knockout.
In 2004, Bernard Hopkins set a record: he became the first boxer to own all four major belts. The last opponent on this path was for him. He did not show anything intelligible in the ring. Hopkins dominated the whole fight, then he hit Oscar hard in the liver, and he, bent over, fell into the ring. The referee counted the minute - knockout!
Good-natured guy from Philadelphia
After two fights with Jermain Theiler, opinion was divided on Hopkins' victory. Many considered the victory controversial, and Harold Lederman, an expert from HBO, considered the champion to be a loser.
Since 2006, Hopkins has moved up to light heavyweight. Here he defeated Antonio Tarver, Ronald Wright (Lederman again disagreed and believed that the fight ended in a draw), an old opponent of Roy Jones and Jean Pascal. After this fight, Hopkins set another record - he became the oldest boxing champion. Hopkins was then 46 years and 4 months old.
The scandalous story happened during the preparation for the fight with Felix Trinidad, nicknamed "Tito". To force him to fight, Hopkins took a rather strange step: at press conferences, he threw and trampled the flag of Puerto Rico, Tito's homeland. And once he did it in front of several thousand Puerto Ricans, and the crowd almost tore him apart. But psychological impact did its job: Felix Hopkins, who had been invincible before, defeated. He beat him so that Tito's father (and his own trainer) stopped the fight.
On October 26, 2013, Hopkins defeated Karo Murat to defend his championship again. Now at the age of 48. And this year, Bernard held. His opponent was Beibut Shumenov from Kazakhstan. And although the Kazakh is 19 years younger than the American, this did not save him from defeat.
Bernard Hopkins is the champion forever!
65 fights, 55 wins, 32 by knockout - comes to the title of world champion in 4 main versions and the Ring magazine version. Remembering his past, the boxer devotes a lot of time to difficult teenagers from disadvantaged areas, helping them get on the right track. And sometimes he sacrifices training for the sake of communicating with the youth of Philadelphia. “All these guys can achieve something in life. I tell them how an ordinary boy from the street achieved his dream, ”says Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., whom boxing saved from prison and death.
Over the course of his life, this famous boxer has achieved dizzying career success and built strong relationships. You will learn about how Bernard went to his victories and how he experienced his falls from our article.
Childhood and youth
As you know, Hopkins Bernard was born in a dysfunctional family, so the boy never received a proper upbringing. The future boxer spent his childhood on the street, devoting all his free time to fights with peers. Lack of education, freedom of action, bad influence - all this significantly affected the formation of Bernard's personality. In one of the street fights, Hopkins received And this is only 13 years old.
Jail
As you know, Hopkins acquired most of his skills by participating in all kinds of street fights. The guy's school teachers claimed that Bernard was unlikely to live to see his 18th birthday.
At the age of 17, a young man appears before the court. Before him opens a terrible prospect - to sit behind bars for 18 years. As boxer Bernard Hopkins himself said: “I regret everything that I have done in my life, I regret that I chose this path. I confess that I have never stolen from children, women and the elderly. It just so happened that you have to answer for all your actions. ”
In the Greyford Colony of Pennsylvania, Bernard spent 5 years. The authorities considered that during this time the guy completely improved. As the boxer himself said: "After so many years in prison, I'm afraid to spit on the sidewalk."
It should be noted that after his release from prison, Bernard Hopkins converted to Islam.
First failure
Bernard Hopkins began to take his first steps towards a boxing career already in 1988. The fight in which he participated was lost. The fight took place in New Jersey and lasted 4 rounds. The loss did not affect the boxer's further desire in any way, but, on the contrary, pushed him to move on with renewed vigor.
Victories and first achievements
After the first defeat, Bernard Hopkins, whose quotes were read by millions, decides to hire a coach. The choice falls not on anyone, but on English Fisher (Bowie) himself. Under his leadership, Hopkins won 22 times, and he ended 16 of the fights by knockout.
Championship title
After a while, Hopkins Bernard meets with The fight goes for the IBF title. Bernard hopes that this particular day will be fateful for him. But it did not happen - the boxer lost on points. Despite the loss, many recognized Hopkins as a true middleweight boxing star.
A year later, the boxer again has a chance to make his dream come true. April 29, 1995 he meets with Segundo Mercado, ranked second in the ranking. The fight takes place in Maryland. Finally, Bernard Hopkins, whose biography is rich interesting facts, achieves its goal. He is an IBF champion. Subsequent fights to confirm the title ended in knockouts of opponents. Among the losers was John Jackson, who could not resist the opponent already in the 7th round of the fight.
Wins, wins, wins...
In 1998, the boxer met with Robert Allen. The fight ended with an injury to Hopkins. He fell through the rope and injured his ankle. Fortunately, Bernard quickly came to his senses and easily defeated his opponent in a rematch, knocking him out already in the 6th round.
World recognition
Despite the fact that Hopkins fought all the fights, winning only victories, he never achieved world recognition. In 2001, he signs a contract with and in the same year gets into his diamond collection of middleweight champions.
In 2001, he again wins, this time over Now Hopkins - the record holder for the number of successful title defenses.
Next, he will have a fight with Trinidad, a boxer from Puerto Rico. It should be noted that Hopkins has always been distinguished by his rash acts. So it is in this case. The boxer the day before the fight threw the flag of Puerto Rico on the floor and stood on it with his feet. The whole world was waiting for an apology from Bernard, but they never followed. Moreover, in front of tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, Hopkins again threw the flag and wiped his boots on it. Then he barely took his legs away from the angry crowd.
Fight with Trinidad
The duel was expected to be bloody. Hopkins provoked his opponent more and more. On September 15, 2001, the long-awaited battle took place. It was the first time in his life that a Puerto Rican boxer had been beaten like that. His father even had to suspend the fight due to multiple injuries on his son's face.
In the same year, Hopkins was recognized in 2001.
Further career development
In 2004 Hopkins Bernard faced and defeated him. Now he is the owner of champion titles of 4 organizations. As the boxer himself says: "My life has finally acquired a new color. Now I am an innovation in boxing. I am the guru and god of boxing. No one can ever defeat me."
Social activity
Hopkins has always paid a lot of attention to children from dysfunctional families. He spent so much time with them that it could interfere with the development of his career. Hopkins tried to have a positive influence on the boys and demonstrate his own example from life. To this day, the boxer tries to pay maximum attention to them.
Personal life
After Bernard Hopkins was released from prison, he was lucky to meet good girl. The couple are still together to this day. The boxer always says publicly that this is his beloved woman, to whom he is grateful for everything.
On October 11, 1988, the young Philadelphia lad stepped into the ring for the first time to try and earn his living honestly. The 23-year-old began his career with five years in prison behind him and nine years on parole, which did not allow him to violate even the rules of the road, not to mention robbery, for participation in which he thundered into the Graterford penal colony. For that fight, which ended in defeat, Bernard Hopkins earned $ 350 and then plunged into reflection for almost a year and a half: did he choose the right path for correction?
December 17, 2016. Nearly 52-year-old Bernard Hopkins enters the ring as a living legend with many achievements and incredible records behind him. The former world champion in two weight categories, the former leader of the pound-for-pound rating (2002 and 2004 according to Ring Magazine) and one of the strongest boxers of the last twenty years will say goodbye to boxing. The outcome of the duel with Joe Smith Jr. is still unknown, but there is no doubt that at one time Hopkins was not mistaken in choosing the path.
Today, Bernard Hopkins has everything any fighter dreams of: a huge boxing legacy, preserved health and successful business, which will allow you to save and increase money even after the end of your career.
The point is small - to put a bright end and draw a line under the 28-year-old sports career. It is noteworthy that Bernard, as many times before, chooses best option in order to fulfill your goal. Now Hopkins' task is to defeat a worthy opponent without tarnishing his reputation in a frank mismatch, as well as to become a role model and motivation for many ordinary people.
“Many people draw conclusions about others based on age. But age is just a number. My mission is to prove it. In a month I will turn 52, and I continue to perform at the very high level. I inspire people. So this farewell fight is not just for me, my fans and my legacy. It is for all people, ”ESPN quotes the Philadelphian.
You can say as much as you like that Bernard is a boring boxer, you can accuse him of spoiling and dirty boxing for a long time and with arguments, and you can also be glad that this irritant in fisticuffs will not remain in the early Sunday morning. But the fact remains that his fans will miss him, neutral fans will respectfully nod in his direction and constantly use the name Bi-Hop in comparisons with others, and haters, celebrating the retirement of an unloved boxer, somewhere deep down will pay tribute to him . An entire era is gone.
In nearly 30 years of his career, Hopkins has set several significant records that are unlikely to be broken in the foreseeable future. Hopkins remains the only boxer to have made twenty successful middleweight title defenses in a row. The victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2004 allowed Bernard not only to strengthen his superstar status, but also to become the first boxer in history to combine all four of the most prestigious championship titles - WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF. In the end, the Executioner became the oldest world champion, broke his own record several times, and then also became the oldest fighter to unify belts.
These achievements of the Philadelphian are given even more weight by the fact that for almost the entire career he did without a powerful patron, promoting his career on his own. In the late 90s, Hopkins was one of the few champions who openly fought for the rights of boxers infringed by promoters.
“Promoters use boxers, exploit them, you can say they are robbed every day. The choice is small: either fight this state of affairs, or become part of the system. As a champion, I have to take a principled position,” Bernard said in a 1999 interview with Sport Illustrated.
This position, of course, left its mark on the boxer's fees. For example, having been a champion for five years, Bernard earned only $450,000 for a duel with Sid Vanderpool in 2000.
The financial situation took a turn for the worse when Hopkins entered the Don King Tournament of Top Middleweights to determine the undisputed middle champion. First, Bernard dealt with Keith Holmes, and then unexpectedly inflicted the first defeat of the Puerto Rican star Felix Trinidad. Despite the fact that Tito earned $ 9 million, the winner "limited himself" to only 2.5 million. Hopkins received his biggest paycheck for defeating current Golden Boy Promotions business partner Oscar De La Hoya, earning more than in his entire previous career.
Hopkins is guaranteed to take his place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. By and large, he deserved to be there much earlier, but he himself delayed his participation in the ceremony for at least ten years. You can get there only five years after the end of your career, and Hopkins began to be sent out to retire from the middle of the 2000s. But he made the jump to light heavyweight, where he began to swagger, losing on points only to light heavyweight leaders Joe Calzaghe, Chad Dawson and Sergey Kovalev.
In the last 7-8 years, there have been a lot of fighters who went against the Executioner in the ring. He lost to someone, as was the case with Calzaghe, Dawson and Crusher, won against someone, leaving serious guys like Kelly Pavlik, Jean Pascal, Tavoris Cloud out of work. But these are just names. Age remained the main contender during this period. Each time, Bernard Hopkins was considered the constant underdog of such a confrontation, but up to this point he had successfully coped and emerged victorious. The talented Chad Dawson, who was considered the strongest light heavyweight of that time, although he won, looked nowhere paler than the Philadelphia pensioner. Sergei Kovalev, terrifying the entire division, failed to knock out Hopkins. But these were the best boxers in the division, and at this level, no one makes allowances for age.
Regardless of the outcome of the fight with Joe Smith, Bi-Hop's boxing legacy will not go anywhere. He has long written his name in history. But Hopkins needs to win. With all due respect to Joe Smith, even with an eye to the spectacular victory over Andrzej Fonfara, he is not the right bird to defeat such a master as Hopkins. If this happens, it will mean only one thing: Bi-Hop's long struggle against time is over and, despite many victories in local battles, Bernard lost the war, ending the battle not on his own terms.
Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American boxer who currently fights as a light heavyweight but has also been successful as average weight.
Hopkins held part of the world middleweight championship from 1994 to 2005 and made twenty successful title defenses. He won the International Boxing Federation title in 1994, then added the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and Ring titles in 2001 and became the first person to hold all four major sanctioned body duties when he won the World Boxing Association title in 2004. Ring ranked its #3 on their "10" list best holders average weight names of the past 50 years”.
After losing his title to Jermain Taylor in 2005 and refusing to regain it in a rematch, Hopkins moved up to light heavwyweight and won the Ring and International Boxing Organization titles from Antonio Tarver at 42 years of age, making two Ring title defenses before losing it to Joe Calzaghe. Three years later, Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal for the WBC title and broke George Foreman's record for the oldest wrestler to ever win a world championship at the age of 46. Hopkins later broke his own record by winning the IBF title from Cloud Tavoris in 2013 and again in 2014 when he won the WBA title from Beibut Shumenov, aged 48 and 49 respectively.
In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner of the Golden Boy Promotions.
Background
Born to Bernard Hopkins Sr. and his wife Shirley, Bernard grew up with his family in the Raymond Rosen housing project in Philadelphia. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was attacking people and was stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Gratherford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After nearly five years' service, Hopkins was released from prison in 1988. He then decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life, and converted to Islam. While Hopkins was leaving prison for the final time, the warden told him that he would “see [Hopkins] again when you worry back up here”, to which Hopkins replied, “That I never come back here” .
Professional career
Bernard Hopkins 2010
Hopkins immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Page at Blue Horizon on February 22, 1990.
Between February 1990 and December 1992, Hopkins orchestrated 21 wins without a loss. He won 16 of those fights by knockout, 12 coming in the first round.
Trainers
Hopkins was coached by Philadelphia based English "Bouie" Fischer from 1989 until their split in 2002, which resulted in Fischer suing Hopkins, alleging he was underpaid by $255,000. They reunited in 2003 but split again in 2005, again with Fisher claiming to be underpaid, this time to the tune of $200,000. Naazim Richardson, Fishermen's long-term assistant has taken over as Hopkins' head coach since 2005. Fisher received the Eddie Fuch-John F. X Award. Condon, awarded by the Boxing Writers Association of America, for Trainer of the Year in 2001. Bouie died aged 83 in June 2011.
Contradiction
On December 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe came face to face in a media room open to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. against Ricky Hatton's fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe began shouting insults and taunting each other with Hopkins screaming, “You're not even in my league! I would never let a white boy hit me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't get back to projects if I let a white boy hit me." Hopkins would later explain his comments by saying that it was not meant to be taken as a racial slur or a reflection of his feelings on white fighters, but simply said to create some kind of deception for his fight with Calzaghe. On January 23, 2008, the fight was officially announced to take place on April 19, 2008 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Hopkins lost.
In late 2010, Hopkins suggested that African-American wrestlers, who possessed what he described as a "sleek" low-fighting style, would be successful against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. “Maybe I'm biased because I'm black, but I think that's what is said in people's houses and around dining table among black boxing fans and wrestlers. Most of them won't say it [in public] because they're not real and they don't have the balls to say it. But I do think that a wrestler like Ray Leonards or anyone like that would beat a guy [like Pacquiao] if they go with their game. Look, it's not a racial thing, but on the other hand, it's possible. But the style that is included in most of us black wrestlers, that style could be a problem to any other style of wrestling.”
On May 11, 2011, Hopkins questioned the racial credentials of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb in a Philadelphia Daily News article online. Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that according to Hopkins, McNabb had a privileged childhood in suburban Chicago and, as a result, is not black enough or tough enough, at least compared to, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens. Hopkins speaking in part, “He's tanned. That's all... McNabb is the guy in the house while everyone else is on the field... He's the one that got the extra coat. Extra helping… He thought he was one of them.”
Hard childhood
Bernard Hopkins was born in 1965 in Pennsylvania, USA. The boy's family was dysfunctional and lived in a dangerous area. The reason that Bernard from an early age was associated with the criminal world was precisely the bad environment. The boy often ended up in the police station due to the fact that he was caught on petty thefts. At the age of 17, he appeared before the court, the sentence of which promised him 18 years in prison. Wanting to change his life for the better, Hopkins made the decision to put his fighting skills back on track. Until 1988, the young man was in a penal colony, where he was clearly explained how a decent citizen should behave.
First achievements in boxing
In 1988, the boxer entered the ring for the first time in his entire career. The debut was not brilliant and began with a defeat, but this did not upset the athlete at all, he still trained diligently all day long. Having changed his coach, the boxer began to gradually win the love of the public. The first significant victory came to him in 1993 during the fight with Roy Jones for the vacant IBF belt. The novice boxer entered the ring as a favorite of the public and did not disappoint her. The fight was colorful and Bernard's technically accurate movements showed his talent despite the fact that the fight ended in defeat. In December of the following 1994, Hopkins entered the ring against Segundo Mercado. The fighters, equal in strength and skill, could not snatch victory from the opponent and the fight ended in a draw.
The start of a long streak of victories
In April 1995, Hopkins was able to win the battle for the IBF title. The fighter drew inspiration from his idol Mike Tyson. The victory brought the boxer fame and love of the public. He was able to defend his title 5 times and prove that he is one of the best boxers of his generation. One of the wins on Hopkins' long list comes from John David Jackson. The boxer did not expect such pressure from a young and inexperienced fighter, and already in the seventh round he was squeezed into a corner where he received many blows. The fight was stopped by the referee fearing for Jackson's life. The next incredible victory went to Hopkins in a fight with Glenkoff Johnson. In 1998, the boxer showed the whole world that he rightfully bears the title of champion. The fight with Simon Brown went quickly and during the sixth round gave Hopkins a victory over the champion.
Championship rematch
In Las Vegas, during a howl with Robert Allen in 1998, the boxer injured his ankle. The referee inadvertently caused Hopkins to fall out of the ring. After the fighter's full recovery, a rematch was held, which was supposed to decide who would get the right to be the champion. The rematch ended with a sixth-round knockout by Bernard. The next fight was held in Miami, Hopkins and Antwun Echols met in the ring. Echols had a developed heavy style that disarmed Hopkins from the first minutes of the fight. Fortunately, the boxer managed to overcome the moment of weakness and snatched victory from the hands of the opponent by the end of the 11th round. Soon the athletes met again. The rematch was held almost immediately after the health of the fighters was restored. This time, Hopkins won by knockout, which he carried out in the 11th round. There were fierce disputes around this fight, both fighters were technical, it is not known how the fight would have ended if the knockout had not been carried out.
The beginning of a stellar career and a change of promoter
After a series of successful defenses of his championship title, Hopkins changes his promoter. The new representative of the boxer was Don King. The star promoter saw the potential of the athlete and put him on a par with the greatest representatives of the boxing industry. In 2001, Hopkins entered the ring against Holmes, the fight was filled with unusual moves that Bernard used during street fights. By unanimous decision of all judges, the boxer won by the number of points earned. Having won, Hopkins became the boxer who spent the most a large number of defending his title. In the spring of the same 2001, the boxer had the opportunity to enter the ring against the famous Puerto Rican boxer "Tito" Trinidad. This fight became one of the most scandalous in the history of boxing. Hopkins had a great psychological pressure to your partner. During a press conference, he threw the flag of his native country of Trinidad on the floor. This act did not go unnoticed among Puerto Ricans.
The long-awaited battle of two legends
The fight was scheduled for September 11, 2001, but due to the terrorist attack that occurred in New York that day, the fight was postponed to September 15. This fight changed the history of boxing as a whole. No one expected Hopkins to show world-class prowess. For a long time, the boxer selected the tactics that he used in the battle with Tito. All the threats Bernard made came true. Trinidad did not expect such skill and was confused in the ring, which led to his defeat. During round 12 Hopkins began to beat his opponent and Trinidad's corner had to stop the fight. After this fight, Hopkins became the first undisputed champion in his weight class since Marvin Hagler. The following fights took place in the boxer's hometown. The first contender for his title was Carl Daniels. The boxer immediately took the initiative into his own hands and by the end of the tenth round he exhausted the enemy to the point where he was forced to stop the fight. It was the athlete's fifteenth defense to break the old record of Carlos Monzon.
Long streak of title defenses
In September 2004, Hopkins and. De La Hoya was losing ground for a long time and Hopkins was able to easily defeat him. Thanks to this victory, Hopkins received another record of becoming the first WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO champion in boxing history. The boxer spent the next fight on the verge of the possible. Title contender Jermaine Taylor beat Hopkins for the first few rounds, leading him to the corner of the ring. The champion managed to take the situation into his own hands only at the end of the battle, which allowed him to win. Shortly after the end of the fight, Taylor demanded a rematch. This time the results of the judges were mixed as the situation repeated itself. Taylor's dominance at the beginning of the fight was convincing enough to lead to a tie.
Move up to light heavyweight
In 2006, moving up to light heavyweight, the boxer entered the ring against Antonio Tarver. In this fight, Hopkins' victory was unanimously awarded to him by the entire judging staff. In April 2008, during a duel with Joe Calzaghe, Hopkins was heavily inferior to his opponent in technique and punching power. The judges gave the victory to Joe, this loss interrupted a long string of victories for Hopkins.
In 2010, Bernard had a chance to rematch with longtime rival Roy Jones. Hopkins showed his opponent the seriousness of his intention to win. After 17 years, he managed to win and show the audience his skills. In December of that year, Hopkins entered the ring against Jean Pascal. The young fighter chose an aggressive tactic and made Bernard's corner worry about the fate of his fighter. Several times during the third round, Pascal delivered direct blows to the opponent's jaw. Hopkins was confused by such an active position of his opponent and was able to turn the situation in the ring in his favor only by the sixth round.
Gradual retirement from boxing
In 2011, a rematch took place, with Jean Pascal, who still sought to defeat Hopkins with his active battle tactics. The initiative passed from opponent to opponent throughout the fight. The decisive moment for the judges was the eighth round, in which Bernard was able to regain his championship. In 2011, the most controversial fight in the entire career of a boxer took place. Entering the ring against world champion Chad Dawson, the fighter risked losing his title. During the second round, Hopkins injured his hand in a fall, the fight had to be abandoned. The decision of the judges was mixed and at first the victory was awarded to Dawson. After long trials, Bernard was given back his title, and the result of this fight was a draw. In 2012, the boxers met in the ring for the second time. Dawson suffered a serious injury above his eye, but continued the fight despite bleeding. Bernard could not resist the opponent's pressure for a long time and at the end of the fight the victory was unanimously awarded to Dawson.
Career ending fights
In 2014, a fight took place between the representative of Russia Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins. Despite his age, Hopkins showed prowess and was able to win this fight by a huge gap in points. Hopkins' last fight and this moment his career ended with a duel with Joe Smith Jr. The young boxer was able to wear down the fifty-one-year-old Hopkins by the end of the second round. In the eighth round, Smith landed a punch to the opponent's jaw and sent him to the canvas. Bernard was able to overcome himself and get up, but the referee decided that the fight should be stopped.
- After the boxer was released from arrest, he converted to Islam and vowed never to face the world of crime.
- At the age of 17, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for committing nine crimes.
- Three times the oldest world champion in history, having won the title in one of the main versions at the age of 46, 47 and 49 years. At the age of 49, he unified two championship titles.
- The first boxer to become the world champion in 4 major versions, as well as according to the Ring magazine.
