Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and the lineal light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012. In 2001, Hopkins was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. As of October 2020, he is ranked by BoxRec as the sixth greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.
About Bernard Hopkins in brief
Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and the lineal light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012. In 2001, Hopkins was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. As of October 2020, he is ranked by BoxRec as the sixth greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life, mugging people and being stabbed three times. He 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. He then decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life, and converted to Islam. Hopkins was a highly strategic and defensive boxer known for carrying good speed and power along with counterpunching skills. He credits mastering the boxing fundamentals and a great defense for his longevity in the sport. In the last years of his active career, Hopkins also became a minority partner with Golden Boy Promotions, with which he still remains post-career. Hopkins completed his light heavyweight career on October 11, 2016. Hopkins is married to his wife Shirley, and they have two children, a son and a daughter. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the boxing hall of fame in 2011.
He has also served as an ambassador for the United States Boxing Association, where he is a director of the boxing program. Hopkins has also been involved in the development of the HBO World Series of Boxing, which airs on PBS stations in the U.S. and Canada. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He also has a son, Bernard Hopkins III, who is a professional boxer and a former NFL player. Hopkins won the IBF middleweight world title in 1995. He went on to compile 19 defenses against 17 opponents; a division record at the time, although some outlets erroneously list 20 defenses to include a no-contest against Robert Allen. In 2011, The Ring ranked Hopkins as third on their list of the \”10 bestmiddleweight title holders of the last 50 years. Hopkins was out-pointed 116–112 by Roy Jones on May 22, 1993 for the vacant IBFMiddleweight title. Between 1990 and 1992, Hopkins scored 21 wins without a loss. He won 12 of those fights by knockout, 12 coming in the first round, and in the second round he knocked out Roy Jones. In 2006, Hopkins achieved further success in 2006 when he moved up to light heavyweight, winning the IBO and Ring titles from Antonio Tarver at 42 years of age. This made Hopkins the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship, at the age of 46, breaking George Foreman’s record set in 1994. In 2013, Hopkins later broke his own record by winning the WBA title from Tavoris Cloud, at ages 48 and 49, respectively.
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