Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins

WBC, IBF, WBA and WBO Middleweight Champion

Date of birth: 01/15/1965

Place of birth: Philadelphia, USA

Height: 185 cm

Weight: 72.5 kg

Attack distance: 178 cm

Track record: 45 wins (32 KOs), 2 losses, 1 draw

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Hopkins acquired much of his boxing skills from street fights ah, fighting the teenagers from the neighborhood. Hopkins' teachers said he would not live to be 18. At 17, he was faced with the prospect of spending 18 years in prison. “I went to court 30 times in 2 years,” says Bernard. “I have never stolen from women or used weapons. In truth, I went on trial to escape the brutality of the street. I regret all the things that I did then, but the path that I chose later speaks for itself. " For almost 5 years, from 1984 to 1989, Hopkins spent at the Graterford Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. “Since then, I haven't even spit on the sidewalk,” says Hopkins.

Hopkins began his professional career on October 11, 1988, losing on points to Clinton Mitchell. The fight took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey and lasted 4 rounds. Hopkins was not worried about the defeat, because his Dream was still achievable. Someone said, "When one door is closed, the other is always open." In the case of Bernard Hopkins, this dictum turned out to be true. After being defeated by Mitchell, he makes the fateful decision to hire English "Bouie" Fisher as coach. Under his leadership, Hopkins won 22 victories in a row, 16 of them by knockout, and after three and a half years won the first championship belt in his life. His Dream almost came true on May 22, 1993, when Hopkins faced Roy Jones for the vacant IBF belt. Hopkins was ranked at number 1, Jones at number 2. Bernard accepted the distance play that Jones had forced him to do and lost on points. Despite the defeat, the second in his career, many were forced to recognize Hopkins as the new star in the middleweight division. He again had a chance to make his dreams come true when Jones gave up the title to move up to the next weight class and face James Toney there.

On December 17, 1994, Hopkins entered the ring against the ranked second Segundo Mercado. This fight for the vacant IBF title took place in the Ecuadorian city of Quito and ended in a draw on points. For 12 rounds of the fight, boxers only twice exchanged punches.

Hopkins' dream finally came true in his rematch with Mercado, which took place on April 29, 1995 at the USAir Arena in Maryland, two hours from his native Philadelphia. This time, Hopkins did not rely on the decision of the judges. He looked through the tapes of Tyson's fights for inspiration, and during the match he hit from the right, one blow after another. In the end, the fight was stopped in the seventh round. The next five title defenses ended in knockouts. One of them was former champion John David Jackson. The fight with him took place on April 19, 1997. Left-hander Jackson laid out all his trump cards already in the initial rounds, and in the 7th he was helplessly trapped in the corner, which forced referee Johnny Femia to stop the fight.

Another victory by knockout in 11 rounds, Bernard defeated future light heavyweight champion Glencoffe Johnson on July 20, 1997, and later that year defeated Andrew Council on points. On January 31, 1998, Hopkins reaffirmed his claim to be the world's best boxer in all weight divisions by stopping Simon Brown in the sixth round. On August 28, 1998, in Las Vegas, Hopkins met with Robert Allen. In the fourth round, as referee Mills Lane pulled the clinched boxers apart, Hopkins slipped and fell through the ropes to the floor, injuring his ankle. The rematch, which took place on February 6, 1999, ended in a 7th round TKO. December 12, 1999 In Miami, Bernard Hopkins met with Antwun Echols. Echols, who possessed heavy blow, just stunned Hopkins in the first round, but Bernard found the strength to keep his composure and won the fight on points. On May 13, 2000, Hopkins fought Syd Vanderpool, and on December 1, a rematch with Echols. In both fights, the victory remained with Hopkins: Vanderpool lost on points by unanimous decision, Echols - by technical knockout in the 10th round (in this fight Echols knocked Hopkins down with a rugby swoop, dislocating his shoulder, but Hopkins refused the victory due to the disqualification of the opponent and continued the fight, knocking the opponent down in the next round). Both of these fights were remembered for the scandals that erupted around them. The ability to stir up scandals by drawing attention to fights became a characteristic of Hopkins, which he later used to achieve the most important fight of his life. Despite the fact that Hopkins has already made 12 successful defenses of his title, he never received the worldwide recognition that he deserved. His next move changed that, as did boxing history in general.

In 2001, Hopkins, who throughout his life felt an extreme distrust of promoters, made the fateful decision to sign a contract with the legendary Don King. Hopkins immediately joins the diamond collection of middleweight champion Don King, which included WBC champion Keith Holmes, WBA champion William Joppy and Puerto Rican superstar undefeated Felix "Tito" Trinidad. five-time champion a world that gave up the IBF and WBA junior middleweight belts to move to middleweight. On April 14, 2001, Hopkins meets Holmes and defeats him by unanimous decision, using his usual style of street fights in Philadelphia. It was Hopkins' thirteenth defense and thus broke Marvin Hagler's record for the most successful defenses of the world middleweight title. He takes the WBC belt from Holmes and, intending to move on, participates in the tournament along with the rest of Don King's middleweight champions.

On May 12, in Madison Square Garden, Trinidad fought Joppy in front of 18,235 of his Puerto Rican compatriots. Already at the end of the first round, Trinidad drops the opponent with his famous left hook, once again sends him to the floor in the fourth round, and twice in the fifth, after which this beating is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante. Hopkins watched the fight from outside the ring. Now he had to meet with Trinidad. First of all, he had to convince Trinidad and his headquarters that for Tito this battle would be the most important thing in life.

Hopkins is hastily conducting a press tour of four cities, starting in New York, where he throws the Puerto Rico flag to the ground in anger. Many expected Hopkins to apologize the next day, but he refused to do so. “I won't apologize,” Hopkins said. - I always think before I do something. And I will not back down. " But then Hopkins did a really rash act: in Roberto Clemente Coliseo, in Trinidad's hometown of Puerto Rico, in front of ten thousand Puerto Ricans, he again threw the flag of their country on the floor. A scandal broke out. Hopkins was barely able to get away from the outraged crowd. In subsequent interviews, Hopkins reinforced the belief that he was going to use his usual tactics in the fight against Trinidad, and unleash a barrage of punches on the opponent's body, but this was the greatest forgery in boxing history. “I’m accused of fighting dirty,” Hopkins said, “but this is boxing, not golf. If you don't like it, watch golf and have iced tea. " After the flag incident, Hopkins made quite a few accurate predictions for the battle. “I saw fear in Trinidad's eyes when I let go of the flag (and dropped it to the ground) in New York. Maybe for the first time in his life he is not sure of his victory. Trinidad has never had to use Plan B in his entire career, but when the time comes, he will dance to my tune. ” “I'm too good for Trinidad. I will throw him to a depth where he has never been before. The best qualities Trinidad - his fortitude, will and determination. He will not back down. The referee and Trinidad-dad (Felix's father and coach) will have to rescue him. I prefer to win by knockout, but Trinidad will not give up and because of his tenacity he will have to endure so much pain that people will be shocked. " Most still believed that Trinidad would win this battle, and many were sure that the battle would be dirty, but they were all wrong.

Even the terrorist attacks of September 11, which moved the battle from September 15 to the 29th, failed to distract Hopkins from his goal. In the face of a crowd of nineteen thousand gathered in Madison Square Garden, Hopkins displayed such composure and boxing quality that he disarmed Trinidad and thereby shocked the entire boxing world. In this fight, which will forever be remembered by boxing fans, Bernard boxed magnificently. Apparently, Hopkins and his trainer Bowie Fischer spent many hours looking at Tito's fight tapes and trying to find the key to him. During the fight, Hopkins moved a lot around the ring and hit, and the puncher Trinidad only tried to throw his terrible left hook over and over again. Felix looked confused: he had never been hit like that in his entire career. All of Hopkins' predictions regarding this fight came true, and even that the father and coach of Trinidad had to stop the fight in order to save his son from being beaten. This happened in the second minute of the last, twelfth, round, after a crushing blow from the right, which Hopkins brought down on his opponent. Trinidad was still trying to muster up the strength to continue the fight, but his father decided that he had had enough. Referee Steve Smoger only had to announce it officially. Bernard Hopkins became the first undisputed middleweight champion since Marvin Hagler. When asked when he realized that Trinidad was afraid of him, Hopkins replied: “When he signed the contract. To be honest, I'm the best middleweight boxer in the world. I am the new reincarnation of Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler. " Hopkins was named the Best Boxer of 2001 by USA Today, and he received the same honor from the Los Angeles Boxing Hall of Fame.

On February 2, 2002, in his native Pennsylvania, Hopkins made a mandatory title defense against IBF challenger Carl Daniels. Hopkins controlled the fight from the start, and after the tenth round, Daniels gave up. It was Hopkins' fifteenth successful title defense. He broke Carlos Monzon's 1977 record.In the next three fights, against Morad Hakkar, William Joppy and Robert Allen, Hopkins also scored convincing victories, further cementing his reputation as one of the greatest boxers our time.

On September 18, 2004, Bernard Hopkins faced Oscar De La Hoya and, by defeating him by knockout in the ninth round, became the first boxer in history to unite the championship titles in his hands according to the versions of four major organizations: WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO.

V last years Hopkins is also involved in community service, interacting a lot with children and disadvantaged areas. Bernard tries to help the boys choose the right path in life. He spends so much time with them that sometimes it threatens his career, since there is very little time left for training. One of his favorite things to do is interacting with the youth of Philadelphia. Hopkins is trying to influence them positively. “I was not born with a shirt,” says Bernard. - All these guys can achieve everything they want in life if they put in enough effort and approach their dreams wisely. I cite myself as an example of how a boy who grew up on the street can achieve success in life. "

For his life this famous boxer achieved dizzying career success and built strong relationships. You will learn about how Bernard went to his victories and how he survived the falls from our article.

Childhood and adolescence

As you know, Hopkins Bernhardt was born in a dysfunctional family, so the boy never received proper education. The future boxer spent his childhood on the street, devoting everything free time fights with peers. Lack of upbringing, freedom of action, bad influence - all this significantly affected the formation of Bernard's personality. In one of the street fights, Hopkins got And it was only 13 years old.

Prison

As you know, Hopkins acquired most of his skills by participating in all kinds of street fights. The guy's school teachers argued that Bernard was unlikely to live to see his 18th birthday.

At the age of 17, the young man is brought to trial. A terrible prospect opens before him - to go to jail 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 old people. It just so happened that you have to answer for all your actions. "

Bernard spent 5 years in the Grayford Colony of Pennsylvania. The authorities considered 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 his release from prison, Bernard Hopkins converted to Islam.

First failure

Bernard Hopkins began to take the first steps towards a boxing career already in 1988. The battle in which he took part was lost. The fight took place in New Jersey and lasted 4 rounds. The loss did not in any way affect the further striving of the boxer, but, on the contrary, pushed him to move on with renewed vigor.

Victories and first achievements

After the first defeat, Bernard Hopkins, whose quotes have been 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 the fights he ended by knockout.

Champion title

After a while, Bernard Hopkins meets with Boy going 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 defeat, many recognized Hopkins as the real star of boxing in the middleweight division.

A year later, the boxer again has a chance to make his dream come true. On April 29, 1995, he meets with the ranked second Segundo Mercado. The fight takes place in the city of Maryland. Finally Bernard Hopkins, whose biography is rich interesting facts, achieves its goal. He is the IBF Champion. Subsequent battles for confirmation of the title ended in knockouts of the opponents. Among the defeated was John Jackson, who could not 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 an injury to Hopkins. He fell over the rope and injured his ankle. Fortunately, Bernard quickly came to his senses and easily defeated his opponent in a rematch, knocking him out in the 6th round.

World recognition

Despite the fact that Hopkins spent all the fights, scoring only victories, he never achieved world recognition. In 2001, he signed a contract with and in the same year entered his diamond collection of middleweight champions.

In 2001, he wins again, this time over Now Hopkins is the record holder for the number of successful champion 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 actions. So in this case. The boxer, the day before the fight, threw the Puerto Rico flag to the floor and stood on it with his feet. The whole world expected an apology from Bernard, but they never came. Moreover, in front of tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, Hopkins threw down the flag again and wiped his boots on it. Then he barely carried his legs away from the angry crowd.

Fight with Trinidad

The fight was expected to be bloody. Hopkins provoked his opponent more and more. The long-awaited battle took place on September 15, 2001. For the first time in the life of a Puerto Rican boxer, he was 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 as 2001.

Further career development

In 2004, Bernard Hopkins met with and defeated him. He now holds championship titles from 4 organizations. As the boxer himself says: "My life has finally acquired a new color. Now I am an innovation in boxing. I am a guru and a 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 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 Hopkins Bernard was released from prison, he was lucky enough to meet good girl... To this day, the couple are together. A boxer always says publicly that this is his beloved woman, to whom he is grateful for everything.

Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. was born 49 years ago in 1965. How he knows how to box can be judged by two nicknames of Hopkinska: "" 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 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. Strange as it may seem, the prison saved the juvenile delinquent. He served five years (almost got 18!) And completely changed. “Since then, I haven’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 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 Hopkinsk did not give up at all. He hired a coach, English Fischer, and trained hard. He lost weight and returned to the ring as a 2nd middleweight champion. In 1992, Hopkins defeated Denis Milton via TKO. The spectators 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 answer them. In total, in 1993, Hopkins fought 4 fights. He won three of them.

Bernard Hopkins - Alien From Planet Boxing

1994-95 became for Bernard Hopkins a 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 struck a strong hook twice, but Hopkins somehow got up. He achieved his goal: the judges recognized a draw. And the audience booed the rising boxing star from Philadelphia again.

In the return match, the situation changed exactly the opposite: now Mercado missed knockout punches 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 "The Executioner". In the future, he will not rely on scoring and will knock out the applicants for his throne five times.

After jail, Hopkins only fights in the ring.

Only with Antwoon 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 contrived and was disqualified. Then Bernard refused to win, waited for Antwun to return to the ring and defeated him by TKO.

In 2004, Bernard Hopkins set a record: he became the first boxer to own all four major belts. The last enemy on this path was for him. He showed nothing intelligible in the ring. Hopkins dominated the entire fight, then he punched Oscar hard in the liver, and he, bent over, fell into the ring. The judge counted out a minute - knockout!

A good-natured guy from Philadelphia

After two fights with Jermain Tayler, opinions on Hopkins' victory were divided. Many considered the victory controversial, and Harold Lederman, an expert from HBO, even considered the champion a loser.

Since 2006, Hopkins moved to light heavyweight. Here he defeated Antonio Tarver, Ronald Wright (Lederman again disagreed and believed that the fight ended in a draw), old opponents 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 up. But psychological impact did its job: Hopkins defeated the previously invincible Felix. He beat him so that Tito's father (and his coach) stopped the fight.

On October 26, 2013, Hopkins beat Karo Murat and defended his championship title again. 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 wins, 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 to get on the right path. 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 kid on the street made his dreams come true, ”says Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., who was saved from prison and death by boxing.

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 the bad environment. The boy often ended up at the police station due to the fact that he was caught on petty thefts. At the age of 17, he appeared before a court whose sentence promised him 18 years in prison. Wanting to change his life for the better, Hopkins decided to let his combat skills in the right direction. Until 1988, the young man was in a correctional colony where they explained to him 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. After changing the coach, the boxer began to gradually win the love of the public. His first significant victory came in 1993 during his fight with Roy Jones for the vacant IBF belt. The novice boxer entered the ring as the favorite of the audience and did not disappoint her. The fight was colorful and Bernard's technically accurate moves showed his talent, despite the fact that the fight ended in defeat. In December 1994, Hopkins entered the ring against Segundo Mercado. Fighters equal in strength and skill could not snatch victory from an opponent and the fight ended in a draw.

The beginning 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 fame and public love to the boxer. He was able to defend his title 5 times and prove that he is one of best boxers his generation. One of the victories 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 the 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 in the sixth round brought Hopkins a victory over the champion.

Champion title rematch

In Las Vegas, during a fight with Robert Allen in 1998, a boxer injured his ankle. The referee inadvertently caused Hopkins to fall from the ring. After the fighter fully recovered, a match was held, a rematch, which was supposed to decide who would get the right to be a champion. The rematch ended during a sixth-round knockout by Bernard. Next fight was held in Miami, Hopkins and Antwoon Echols met in the ring. Eckols had a hard-hitting style that disarmed Hopkins from the first minutes of the fight. Fortunately, the boxer managed to overcome the moment of weakness and snatched the victory from the opponent's hands by the end of the 11th round. Soon the athletes met again. The rematch was played almost immediately after the health of the fighters was restored. This time, Hopkins won by knockout, which he spent in the 11th round. Fierce disputes were fought 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 title, Hopkins changes his promoter. Don King became the new representative of the boxer. The star promoter saw the athlete's potential and put him on a par with the greatest in 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 by the number of points earned. With the victory, Hopkins became the boxer with the most title defenses. In the spring of the same 2001, the boxer had the opportunity to enter the ring against the famous Puerto Rican boxer "Tito" of Trinidad. This fight has become one of the most scandalous in the history of boxing. Hopkins put tremendous psychological pressure on his partner. During a press conference, he threw the flag of Trinidad's home country on the floor. This act did not go unnoticed among the 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 took place in New York on that day, the fight was postponed to September 15. This fight changed the history of boxing in general. No one expected Hopkins to show world-class craftsmanship. For a long time, the boxer picked up the tactics that he used in the battle with "Tito". All the threats that Bernard made have come true. Trinidad did not expect such skill and was confused in the ring, which led to his defeat. During the 12th round, Hopkins began to beat his opponent and the corner of Trinidad had to stop the fight. After this fight, Hopkins became the first undisputed champion in his weight category after Marvin Hagler. The next battles took place in hometown boxer. The first contender for his title was Karl Daniels. The boxer immediately took the initiative into his own hands and by the end of the tenth round exhausted the opponent to the point where he was forced to stop the fight. It was the athlete's fifteenth defense that broke Carlos Monzon's old record.

Long line of champion title defenses

In September 2004, Hopkins and. De La Hoya was losing ground for a long time and Hopkins was able to defeat him with ease. With this victory, Hopkins was awarded another record for becoming the first WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO champion in boxing history. The boxer spent the next fight on the verge of a possible. Title contender Jermaine Taylor beat Hopkins to the corner of the ring for the first few rounds. 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 revenge. This time, the results of the judges were mixed as the situation repeated itself. Taylor's dominance at the start of the fight was compelling enough to lead to equal results.

Transition to light heavyweight

In 2006, after moving to light heavyweight, the boxer entered the ring against Antonio Tarver. In this fight, Hopkins' victory was unanimously awarded to him by all the judges. In April 2008, during a duel with Joe Calzaghe, Hopkins was much inferior to his opponent in technique and power of punches. The judges gave the victory to Joe, this loss interrupted Hopkins' long streak of victories.

In 2010, Bernard got the chance to have a rematch with 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 that 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 delivered direct punches to the 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 withdrawal 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 rival to rival throughout the fight. The decisive moment for the judges was the eighth round, in which Bernard was able to regain his primacy. 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 arm in a fall, the fight had to be interrupted. The decision of the judges was ambiguous and at first the victory was awarded to Dawson. After a long trial, Bernard returned 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 over his eye, but continued to fight despite bleeding. Bernard could not resist the pressure of the opponent for a long time and at the end of the fight the victory was unanimously awarded to Dawson.

End of career fights

In 2014, a fight took place between the representative of Russia Sergei Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins. Despite his age, Hopkins showed skill and was able to win this fight with a huge gap in the number of eyes. The last fight Hopkins and at the moment ending his career was a fight with Joe Smith Jr. The young boxer was able to wear out fifty-one-year-old Hopkins by the end of the second round. In the eighth round, Smith stabbed his opponent in the jaw and sent him to the canvas. Bernard was able to overcome himself and rise, but the judge 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 combined two championship titles.
• The first boxer to become the world champion in 4 main versions, as well as according to the Ring magazine.

51-year-old Bernard Hopkins in his the last fight in his career received a heavy knockout from Joe Smith Jr.

The principal rivals have been defeated, the records have been broken. He did everything in the ring, and finally at the age of 51 Bernard Hopkins lost the fight by knockout for the first time in his career. Like everything he does, it was epic and meaningful.

They could not do this with him Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Felix Trinidad and Sergey Kovalev... Did it Joe Smith Jr., who made his professional debut in 2009, when Hopkins could hardly be considered an active boxer and elite.

This did not stop him from having a dogfight in revenge with Roy Jones, MMA match with Chad Dawson, where it all ended with a shoulder injury and a lost rematch, then he did push-ups between rounds in a fight with Pascal, when he beat the record and won the title, then took the title from Beibut Shumenov- and there was also Sergei Kovalev, where everything had already become extremely clear - the former Hopkins is no longer there.

THE WAR IS ENDED

He is in professional boxing since 1988, and Joe Smith wasn't even born then. Ten years earlier, in 1978, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Greatford Prison. For five years he watched murders for a pack of cigarettes, rape in showers, and left there with a firm desire never to return there and not to die on the evil streets after being stabbed in the heart.

He succeeded. The scars from the knife, however, remained, and the prison also clearly left its marks. Perhaps that is why, in order to beat Hopkins, it was not enough to have health like a horse, long and quick hands and knockout punch. It was necessary to prevent him from getting into your head, to break your spirit, to ruin the fight - because this is where Hopkins has always been strong. Sometimes someone even managed to show the best in this fight, but in the next round the old man still stood in front of him, grinning in his face and throwing punches in response.

So it was against Smith. The young boxer could not win at least two rounds in a row, Hopkins' skills, which had not yet been completely lost, were enough to stay in the game. But Smith could still build momentum, and Bernard could not.

It happened in the eighth round, Smith exploded, pounced on Hopkins with a series of punches and knocked him out of the ring. While the boxer, formerly known by the nicknames Executioner and Alien, was flying down, he must have already understood everything and did not try to return to the ring, waiting for the referee to finish the count.

After the fight, he, of course, said that Smith had broken the rules and pushed him out of the ring with a push, not a blow, complained of an ankle injury, although he fell downside down and not with his leg ... perhaps he still could not come to terms with the fact that the war ended, only a peaceful life remained. All the last time it seemed that the fight with Smith, if the old man wins, will become just one more stage of preparation for some kind of final, epoch-making performance.

UNIQUENESS SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

You could have disliked Hopkins' boxing - little spectacular, dirty, centered around a thin psychological game on the perception of the judges and the nerves of the audience, but one could not help but love his attitude to the case. With each blow he seemed to say: "I am unique. It cannot be described with mere words. The uniqueness speaks for itself" ...

Reality was supposed to destroy him physically and spiritually, grind him, leave him without money and titles back in the early 2000s. The performance dragged on. The last bow did not work, but the biggest disrespect would be to consider that Hopkins was defeated by time. Time couldn't handle it. And when it was exhausted, only slightly patting Bernard Humphrey Hopkins, he was defeated by Joe Smith Jr., who had recently worked at a construction site and was engaged in boxing in his free time from his main job.

In June, he got the chance of a lifetime by meeting Andrzej Fonfaroy, and destroyed it in a round, and now sent Hopkins to rest. Now he's a contender for the WBC title Adonis Stevenson, and this is bad news for the latter, but good for the audience - otherwise it will not end with a knockout.

What does Hopkins' story teach us? Yes, nothing, it is too unique, it cannot be repeated. It was not just that he went out over and over to the ring under Sinatra's My way. It was the soundtrack of his entire life and boxing career. His last bow turned out to be more of a leap - but no one managed to break his spirit.