Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. was born 49 years ago in 1965. How well he can box can be judged by Hopkins' 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, Bernard Hopkins won the championship belt in different categories!
There can never be too many championship belts!
The future “Executioner” was born in Philadelphia, where it is known to be 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. Oddly enough, prison saved the juvenile offender. He served five years (he was almost given 18!) and completely changed. “From then on, 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. Hopkins also became a Muslim, like both boxing legends, and got involved with crime through 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 did not give up at all. He hired a trainer, English Fisher, and trained hard. He lost weight and returned to the ring at 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 to 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 - an alien from the planet Box
1994-95 became the path to a dream for Bernard Hopkins. To become champion he had to defeat Segundo Mercado from Ecuador. For the first time, the American almost lost by knockout. Mercado threw two big hooks, but Hopkins somehow got up. He achieved his goal: the judges declared it 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 clinch Hopkins. Seeing that the Ecuadorian was inadequate after the missed hook, the referee stopped the fight. The title of IBF champion went to “The Executioner”. In the future, he will not rely on scoring and will knock out contenders for his throne five times.
After prison, Hopkins fights only in the ring
Only with Antwun Echols Hopkins had a hard time. The enemy stunned him with a heavy blow, but the champion managed to control himself and won on points. During their second meeting, Echolsom managed and received a disqualification. Then Bernard refused the victory, 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 became for him. He didn’t show anything intelligible in the ring. Hopkins dominated the entire fight, then gave Oscar a good kick in the liver, and he bent over and fell into the ring. The judge counted down the minute - knockout!
Good-natured guy from Philadelphia
After two fights with Jermaine Taylor, opinions about Hopkins' victory were divided. Many considered the victory controversial, and Harold Lederman, an expert from HBO, completely considered the champion a loser.
Since 2006, Hopkins moved to light heavyweight. Here he defeated Antonio Tarver, Ronald Wright (Lederman again disagreed and believed the fight ended in a draw), old enemy 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 occurred during 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 on the flag of Puerto Rico, Tito’s homeland. Moreover, he once did this in front of several thousand Puerto Ricans, and the crowd almost tore him apart. But psychological impact did its job: Hopkins defeated the previously invincible Felix. He beat him so hard that Tito's father (and his trainer) stopped the fight.
On October 26, 2013, Hopkins defeated Karo Murata to once again defend his championship. Now at the age of 48. And this year Bernard spent . 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 a champion forever!
65 fights, 55 victories, 32 by knockout - comes to the title of world champion in 4 main versions and the version of Ring magazine. Remembering his past, the boxer devotes a lot of time to difficult teenagers from disadvantaged areas, helping them get on the right path. Moreover, he sometimes 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 on the street achieved his dream,” says Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., whom boxing saved from prison and death.
During his life, this famous boxer achieved dizzying success in his career and built strong relationships. You will learn about how Bernard went to his victories and how he experienced his downfalls in our article.
Childhood and adolescence
As you know, Hopkins Bernard was born into a dysfunctional family, so the boy never received a proper education. The future boxer spent his childhood on the street, devoting all his free time to fights with peers. Lack of upbringing, freedom of action, bad influence - all this significantly affected the development of Bernard's personality. In one of the street fights, Hopkins received And this at 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, the young man stands trial. He faces the terrible prospect of going to jail for 18 years. As the boxer Bernard Hopkins himself said: “I regret everything I’ve done in my life, I regret that I chose this path. I admit that I have never stolen from children, women or old people. It just so happens that you have to answer for all your actions.”
Bernard spent 5 years in the Grayford Colony of Pennsylvania. The authorities believed that during this time the guy had 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 leaving prison, Bernard Hopkins converted to Islam.
First failure
Bernard Hopkins began taking his first steps towards a boxing career in 1988. The battle in which he participated was lost. The fight took place in New Jersey and lasted 4 rounds. The loss did not in any way affect the boxer’s further aspirations, but, on the contrary, pushed him to move on with renewed vigor.
Victories and first achievements
After his 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, with 16 of his fights ending by knockout.
Championship title
After some time, Bernard Hopkins meets with the fight for the IBF title. Bernard hopes that this particular day will be fateful for him. But it didn’t 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. On April 29, 1995, he faces second-ranked Segundo Mercado. The fight takes place in the city of Maryland. Finally, Bernard Hopkins, whose biography is rich interesting facts, achieves his goal. He is the IBF champion. Subsequent fights to confirm the title ended in knockouts of opponents. Among the losers was John Jackson, who was unable to resist his opponent already in the 7th round of the fight.
Victories, victories, victories...
In 1998, the boxer met with Robert Allen. The fight ended with Hopkins injured. He fell over the rope and injured his ankle. Fortunately, Bernard quickly came to his senses and in the rematch easily defeated his opponent, knocking him out in the 6th round.
World recognition
Despite the fact that Hopkins fought all his fights, winning only victories, he never achieved world recognition. In 2001, he signed a contract with and in the same year became part of his diamond collection of middleweight champions.
In 2001, he again won, this time over Hopkins. Now Hopkins holds the record for the number of successful defenses of the championship title.
Next he faces a fight with Trinidad, a boxer from Puerto Rico. It should be noted that Hopkins has always been distinguished by his rash actions. So it is in this case. The day before the fight, the boxer threw the Puerto Rican flag on the floor and stood on it with his feet. The whole world was waiting for an apology from Bernard, but it never came. Moreover, in front of tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, Hopkins threw the flag again and wiped his shoes on it. Then he barely escaped the angry crowd.
Fight with Trinidad
The fight 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 stop the fight due to multiple injuries on his son’s face.
In the same year, Hopkins was recognized as 2001.
Further career development
In 2004, Bernard faced and defeated Hopkins. Now he holds championship titles in 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 will ever be able to defeat me.”
Social activity
Hopkins has always paid a lot of attention to children from disadvantaged families. He spent so much time with them that it could hinder 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 enough to meet good girl. The couple is 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, a young Philadelphia guy entered the ring for the first time to try to earn an honest living. The 23-year-old guy began his career with five years of prison experience under his belt and a nine-year parole sentence, which did not allow him to even break traffic rules, not to mention robbery, for which he was sent to the Graterford Correctional Colony. For that fight, which ended in defeat, Bernard Hopkins earned $350 and then spent almost a year and a half deep in thought: did he choose the right path for correction?
December 17, 2016. Almost 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 fight with Joe Smith Jr. is still unknown, but there is no doubt that Hopkins was not mistaken in his choice of path at the time.
Today, Bernard Hopkins has everything that any fighter dreams of: a huge boxing legacy, preserved health and successful business, which will allow you to save and increase money even after your career ends.
All that’s left to do is to put a bright spot and draw a line under the 28-year-old sports career. It is noteworthy that Bernard, like many times before, chooses best option in order to achieve your goal. Now Hopkins’ task is to defeat a worthy opponent without tarnishing his reputation in an outright mismatch, and also to become a role model and motivation for many ordinary people.
“Many people make assumptions about others based on age. But age is just a number. My mission is to prove this. 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 as saying.
You can say as much as you like that Bernard is a boring boxer, you can long and reasonably accuse him of spoilers and dirty boxing, and also be glad that early Sunday morning this irritant will no longer be in the fist sport. But the fact remains that his fans will miss him, neutral fans will nod respectfully in his direction and constantly use B-Hop’s name in comparisons with others, and haters, celebrating the retirement of an unloved boxer, will pay tribute to him somewhere deep down. . An entire era is passing.
In his nearly 30-year 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 consecutive successful middleweight title defenses. The victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2004 allowed Bernard not only to strengthen his status as a superstar, but also to become the first boxer in history to unify 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 the belts.
Such achievements of the Philadelphian are given even greater weight by the fact that throughout almost his entire career he managed without a powerful patron, promoting his career independently. 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, one might say, rob them every day. The choice is small: either fight this state of affairs, or become part of the system. As a champion, I am obliged to take a principled position,” Bernard said in a 1999 interview with Sport Illustrated.
This position, naturally, left its mark on the boxer’s fees. For example, having been a champion for five years, Bernard earned only $450,000 for his fight with Sid Vanderpool in 2000.
The financial situation changed dramatically when Hopkins entered Don King's top middleweight tournament to determine the undisputed middleweight champion. First, Bernard dealt with Keith Holmes, and then unexpectedly inflicted his first defeat on Puerto Rican star Felix Trinidad. Despite the fact that Tito earned $9 million, the winner was “limited” to only 2.5 million. Hopkins received his biggest payday for defeating his current business partner in Golden Boy Promotions, 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 independently delayed his participation in the ceremony for at least ten years. You can only get there five years after the end of your career, and they started sending Hopkins out into retirement since the mid-2000s. But he made the jump to light heavyweight, where he began to swagger, losing on points by decision only to light heavyweight leaders Joe Calzaghe, Chad Dawson and Sergey Kovalev.
In the last 7-8 years there have been many fighters who have entered the ring against the Executioner. He lost to some, as was the case with Calzaghe, Dawson and Crusher, and won against others, leaving serious guys like Kelly Pavlik, Jean Pascal, Tavoris Cloud out of work. But these are just names. The main rival during this period remained age. Each time, Bernard Hopkins was considered the constant underdog of such a confrontation, but until that moment he successfully dealt with it and emerged victorious. The talented Chad Dawson, considered the strongest light heavyweight of the time, although he won, looked paler compared to the Philadelphia pensioner. Sergey Kovalev, the terror of the entire division, was never able 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, B-Hop's boxing legacy will not go away. He has long written his name in history. But Hopkins needs to win. With all due respect to Joe Smith, even with an eye on his 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: B-Hop's long struggle against time is over and, despite many victories in local battles, Bernard has 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 a share 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 man to hold all four major sanctioned bodies duties when he won the World Boxing Association title in 2004. Ring rated its #3 on their “10” list best holders middleweight names of the past 50 years.”
After losing his title to Jermaine Taylor in 2005 and refusing to win it back in a rematch, Hopkins moved up to the light heavwyweight and won the Ring and International Boxing Organizational 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 fighter to ever win a world championship at the age of 46. Hopkins later broke his own record by winning the IBF title from Oblak 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 Graterford 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 serving nearly five years, 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 the prison for final time, the warden told him that he would “see [Hopkins] again when you freak back in here,” to which Hopkins responded, “That I'm never coming 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, with 12 coming in the first round.
Coaches
Hopkins was trained by Philadelphia based English "Bouie" Fisher from 1989 until their separation in 2002, which resulted in Fisher suing Hopkins, claiming he was underpaid by $255,000. They reunited in 2003, but split up again in 2005, again with Fisher claiming to be underpaid, this time to the tune of $200,000. Naazim Richardson, Fishers long-term assistant has taken over as Hopkins' head coach since 2005. Fisher received the Eddie Fouch-John F.C.C. Award. Condon was awarded by the Boxing Writers Association of America for Trainer of the Year in 2001. Bouie died at age 83 in June 2011.
Contradiction
On December 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe faced off in the media room open for Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Ricky Hatton fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe began shouting insults and taunting each other, with Hopkins shouting, “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 go back to projects if I let a white boy beat me up." Hopkins would later explain his comments by saying that it was not intended to be taken as a racial slur or a reflection of his feelings on white fighters, but simply said to create some hype 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 is lost.
In late 2010, Hopkins suggested that African-American fighters who possessed what he described as a "slick" inner-city fighting style would be successful against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. “Perhaps I'm biased because I'm black, but I think that's what's being said in people's homes and around dining table among black boxing and wrestling fans. 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 fighter 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 then again, maybe it is. But the style that most of us black wrestlers are included in, 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 dark enough or tough enough, at least compared to, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens. Hopkins saying 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 who got the extra coat. An 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 was associated with the criminal world from an early age was precisely his bad environment. The boy often ended up in the police station because he was caught committing petty thefts. At the age of 17, he appeared in court, the verdict of which promised him 18 years in prison. Wanting to change his life for the better, Hopkins decided to put his fighting skills in the right direction. Until 1988, the young man was in a correctional 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 career. The debut was not brilliant and began with a defeat, but this did not upset the athlete at all; he still diligently trained day and night. Having changed his coach, the boxer began to gradually win the love of the public. His first significant victory came in 1993 during a fight with Roy Jones for the vacant IBF belt. The aspiring boxer entered the ring as a crowd favorite and did not disappoint. The fight was colorful and Bernard's technically precise movements showed his talent, despite the fact that the fight ended in defeat. The following December 1994, Hopkins entered the ring against Segundo Mercado. Fighters of equal strength and skill were unable to snatch victory from their opponent and the fight ended in a draw.
The beginning of a long series 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 from 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 Hopkins' long list of victories came courtesy of John David Jackson. The boxer did not expect such pressure from a young and inexperienced fighter and already in the seventh round he was pinned in a corner where he received many blows. The fight was stopped by the referee fearing for Jackson's life. Hopkins' next incredible win came against Glencoff Johnson. In 1998, the boxer showed the whole world that he rightfully holds the title of champion. The fight with Simon Brown went quickly and during the sixth round brought Hopkins victory over the champion.
Rematch for the championship title
In Las Vegas, during a fight with Robert Allen in 1998, the boxer injured his ankle. The referee inadvertently caused Hopkins to fall from the ring. After the fighter had fully recovered, 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 from 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 his opponent’s hands by the end of the 11th round. Soon the athletes met again. The rematch was held almost immediately after the fighters were restored to health. This time Hopkins won by knockout in the 11th round. There were fierce debates around this fight; both fighters were technically skilled; it is not known how the fight would have ended if there had not been a knockout.
The beginning of a stellar career and a change of promoter
After a series of successful defenses of his champion title, Hopkins changes his promoter. The new representative of the boxer is Don King. The star promoter saw the athlete's potential and put him on par with the greatest representatives of the boxing industry. In 2001, Hopkins entered the ring against Holmes, a fight filled with unusual techniques that Bernard used during street fights. By unanimous decision of all judges, the boxer won based on the number of points earned. Having won, Hopkins became the boxer who had the most a large number of defense of 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 huge impact psychological pressure at your partner. During the press conference, he threw the flag of his home country of Trinidad on the floor. This act did not go unnoticed among Puerto Rican residents.
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 on that day, the fight was postponed to September 15. This fight changed the history of boxing as a whole. Nobody expected Hopkins to show world-class skills. The boxer spent a long time selecting the tactics he used in the fight with “Tito”. All the threats that Bernard made came true. Trinidad did not expect such skill and became confused in the ring, which led to his defeat. During the 12th round, Hopkins began to beat up his opponent and Trinidad's corner had to stop the fight. After this fight, Hopkins became the first absolute champion in his weight category 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 had exhausted his opponent to the point where he was forced to stop the fight. This was the athlete's fifteenth defense, breaking 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 defeat him easily. Thanks to this victory, Hopkins was awarded another record and became the first WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO champion in boxing history. The boxer spent his next fight on the edge of what was 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 control of the situation only at the end of the fight, which allowed him to win. Soon after the end of the fight, Taylor demanded a rematch. This time the results of the judges were ambiguous as the situation repeated itself. Taylor's dominance at the beginning of the fight was quite convincing, which led to equal results.
Moving up to light heavyweight
In 2006, having moved 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 panel. In April 2008, during a fight with Joe Calzaghe, Hopkins was significantly inferior to his opponent in technique and punching power. The judges gave the victory to Joe; this loss interrupted Hopkins' long streak of victories.
In 2010, Bernard had the chance to rematch longtime rival Roy Jones. Hopkins showed his opponent that he was serious about winning. After 17 years, he managed to win and show the audience his skills. In December of the same year, Hopkins entered the ring against Jean Pascal. The young fighter chose aggressive tactics and made Bernard's corner worry about the fate of his fighter. Several times during the third round, Pascal launched direct punches to his opponent's jaw. Hopkins was confused by such an active position of his opponent and was able to change 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 entire 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 of the boxer’s entire career took place. Having entered the ring against world champion Chad Dawson, the fighter risked losing his title. During the second round, Hopkins injured his hand in a fall and the fight had to be interrupted. The judges' decision was controversial and the victory was initially awarded to Dawson. After lengthy proceedings, Bernard was returned to his title, and the result of this fight was a draw. In 2012, the boxers fought in the ring for the second time. Dawson suffered a serious injury above his eye, but continued to fight despite bleeding. Bernard could not resist the pressure of his opponent for long and at the end of the fight the victory was unanimously awarded to Dawson.
Career ending fights
In 2014, a fight took place between Russian representative Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins. Despite his age, Hopkins showed skill and was able to win this fight by a huge margin in points. Hopkins' last fight and this moment The fight with Joe Smith Jr. ended his career. The young boxer was able to wear down fifty-one-year-old Hopkins by the end of the second round. In the eighth round, Smith struck his opponent in the 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 the religion of Islam and vowed never to encounter the world of crime.
- At age 17, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for committing nine crimes.
- Three times the oldest world champion in history, winning the title according to one of the main versions at the ages of 46, 47 and 49 years. At the age of 49, he combined two championship titles.
- The first boxer to become the world champion in 4 main versions, as well as according to Ring magazine.
