Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as
The Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and the current
Ring Magazine and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
light heavyweight champion. He became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title, when at age 46, he defeated
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on May 21, 2011 by a unanimous decision, surpassing the record previously held by
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
.
Hopkins is also the former undisputed world
middleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus
The Ring belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time.
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
ranked him #3 on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."
In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner with
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
.
Background
Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost 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
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here."
Professional career
He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the
Blue HorizonThe Blue Horizon is a historic 1,500-seat boxing venue in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country....
on February 22, 1990.
Between February 1990 and December 1992, Hopkins scored 21 wins without a loss. He won 16 of those fights by
knockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, 12 coming in the first round. This victorious sequence was halted when he lost to
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
in 1993 for their first encounter.
Winning the IBF middleweight championship
The IBF came again knocking at Hopkins's door on December 17 of that year, matching him with
Segundo MercadoLaurensio Segundo Mercado is a retired male boxer from Ecuador.Mercado represented Ecuador at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing on points in the boxing competition to Martin Kitel of Sweden...
in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. It has been argued that Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
The IBF called for an immediate rematch, and on April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in
Landover, MarylandLandover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
.
In his first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in twenty-four seconds. By the end of 2000, he had defended the IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as
John David JacksonJohn David Jackson , is a former professional boxer who held world titles in the light middleweight and middleweight divisions, and later became a boxing trainer after his career ended.-Professional Career:...
,
Glen JohnsonGlengoffe Donovan Johnson is a professional boxer. Nicknamed Gentleman and The Road Warrior, Johnson is the former IBF and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion.-Amateur career:...
(undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out an aging Roy Jones Jr),
Simon BrownSimon Brown is a former professional boxer. Known as "Mantequilla", a name given to him by his famous trainer Jose 'Pepe' Correa, Brown was an welterweight fighter who held titles at multiple weight classes and at one point was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing.Brown...
, and
Antwun EcholsAntwun Echols is an American boxer. Although he has been a perennial contender in the Middleweight division, Echols has never captured a major title.-Career:...
.
2001 middleweight unification tournament
The arrival of multiple-division champion
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
, a Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight Champion, into the middleweight ranks set off a series of unification fights between major titleholders. The fights involved in the tournament would be reigning
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Middleweight Champion, Bernard Hopkins.
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Middleweight Champion, Keith Holmes.
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Middleweight Champion, William Joppy. The fourth contestant was the undefeated and former
WelterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
&
Light MiddleweightLight Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....
World Champion Félix Trinidad.
Keith Holmes
On April 14, 2001, Hopkins won a unanimous decision over
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
champion Keith Holmes in New York City. Trinidad, however, knocked out Middleweight mainstay
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
in an impressive five rounds. This led to many to believe that Felix Trinidad was simply too much, too strong for Bernard Hopkins.
Felix Trinidad
Then, on September 29, 2001,
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for middleweight unification in
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
For the first time in many years, Hopkins was an underdog in the betting, which led the confident Hopkins to place a $100,000 bet on himself to win the bout. During promotion for the bout, Hopkins caused huge controversy by throwing the
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
flag on the floor in press conferences in both
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the latter conference leading to a riot in which Hopkins had to be run to safety from the angry mob.
During the fight, Hopkins was on his way to a lopsided decision victory when, in the 12th and final round, he floored Trinidad. Referee Steve Smoger called a halt to the fight after Trinidad's father entered the ring to stop the fight. It was the first loss of Trinidad's career, and it made Hopkins the first undisputed world middleweight champion since
Marvin HaglerMarvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
in 1987. 'The Ring' magazine and the 'World Boxing Hall of Fame' named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year.
Undisputed middleweight champion
He defended the undisputed title six times. Hopkins bested
Carl DanielsCarl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....
on February 2 surpassing Carlos Monzon's division record of 14 defenses, 2002, by tenth-round technical knockout;
Morrade HakkarMorrade Hakkar is a French middleweight boxer of Algerian descent who has held a number of regional championship belts during his 11-year professional career...
on March 29, 2003, by eighth-round TKO;
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
on December 13, 2003, by unanimous decision; and
Robert AllenRobert Allen is an American professional boxer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and fights as a middleweight.-Amateur career:...
on June 5, 2004, also by unanimous decision.
Oscar De La Hoya
In the highest-paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder
Oscar de la HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, another welterweight for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. They fought at a catchweight of 158 lbs, two pounds below the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. Hopkins won the bout by knockout in the ninth round with a left hook to the body and thus became the first boxer ever to unify the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies. At the time of the stoppage, Hopkins was ahead on two of the scorecards, with De La Hoya ahead on the other.
In November 2004 de la Hoya invited Hopkins to join his boxing promotional firm,
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
, as president of its new East Coast chapter.
Reaching number 20 - Howard Eastman
At 40 years old, an age at which most boxers are retired, Hopkins reached the middleweight record of 20 title defenses on February 19, 2005, against ranked #1 WBC Middleweight contender
Howard Eastman, the European middleweight champion. Hopkins dominated the fight from start to finish, winning 119-110, 117-111 and 116-112.
Hopkins vs Taylor
In his next fight on July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
via a split decision. Hopkins started slowly but came on strong over the final four rounds. Many press row writers scored the fight for Hopkins. Compubox round-by-round punch stats showed Taylor outscoring Hopkins 6-5-1 in total punches. Hopkins out landed Taylor in power punches 78-50.
Compubox statistics indicated that Hopkins landed more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of the fight, however these statistics may not accurately reflect the judging as rounds are scored in isolation.
On December 3, 2005, Hopkins lost his rematch against Jermain Taylor by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor.
Moving up to light heavyweight — Antonio Tarver
Following his two losses to Jermaine Taylor, Hopkins at 41 decided not to retire and made the decision to jump two weight divisions to face off against
The Ring light heavyweight champion
Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
on June 10, 2006. Going into the fight, Tarver was a 3-to-1 favorite and had been the first man ever to TKO Roy Jones Jr. Many now placed Tarver among the sports top competitors. He was constantly ranked in the P4P rankings. However, Bernard Hopkins picked up a lopsided unanimous decision, scoring 118-109 on all three judges scorecards.
Antonio Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins, after he failed to stop Hopkins in the first six rounds.
Return in 2007 - Winky Wright
On July 21, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Hopkins defended
The Ring light heavyweight championship against former undisputed junior middleweight champion
Winky WrightRonald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American boxer, the former undisputed world light middleweight champion and a current middleweight contender....
. During the weigh-in, Hopkins shoved Wright with an open-hand to the face, igniting a brawl between both fighters' entourages. Hopkins was fined
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
200,000 for instigating the brawl. Hopkins prevailed with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.
Joe Calzaghe
On April 19, 2008, at the
Thomas & Mack CenterThe Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Hopkins lost
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
championship to
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
by
split decisionA split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
(116-111 and 115-112 for Calzaghe; 114-113 for Hopkins). Hopkins started the fight well, dropping Calzaghe in the first round and using his ring savvy to confuse the challenger. Calzaghe never got the opportunity to showcase his blazingly fast hands and his combinations. Hopkins would smother him whenever he tried to come in and throw more than one punch. According to
CompuBoxCompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...
, as Calzaghe landing more punches on Hopkins than any of his previous opponents.
HBO's unofficial ringside judge
Harold LedermanHarold Lederman is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since....
scored the bout 116-111 for Calzaghe.
The Associated Press,
New York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
,
Yahoo! SportsYahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
,
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
and Fighthype all scored it 114-113 for Bernard Hopkins.
"It was a good fight. I thought Bernard (Hopkins) won though," commented former undisputed
HeavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion,
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
.
In his post-fight interview, Hopkins said, "... I mean it's clear that the world know, and the fans know other than the
BritsThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, know I won this fight...", Hopkins further proclaimed, "I took the guy to school..."
Kelly Pavlik
On October 18, 2008, Hopkins met middleweight champion
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
in a non-title fight at a catch-weight of 170 lbs. Fans and pundits alike felt that knockout king Kelly Pavlik would become the first man to knock Hopkins out. Pavlik was a 4-1 betting favourite heading into the contest. On the night of the fight, Hopkins turned back the clock to produce a performance he claimed to be the best of his career winning a unanimous decision
(117-109, 119-106, 118-108) over the undefeated Pavlik.
Hopkins prepared for this fight in the late summer heat at his second home, Danny Hawk's "World Famous" Normandy Gym in Miami Beach, FL.
Recent fights
During the Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao media conferences before their fight on May 3, 2009, Bernard Hopkins stated he would be "interested" in a proposed fight with British super middleweight champion
Carl FrochCarl Froch is an English professional boxer and is a two-time and reigning WBC super middleweight champion. He previously held the British, Commonwealth, & English titles at super middleweight.-Amateur:...
.
Enrique Ornelas
On December 2, 2009, Bernard Hopkins fought in his home city of Philadelphia for the first time since 2003 beating
Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
via 12-round unanimous decision
(120-109, 119-109 & 118-110) in what served as a tune-up bout for the 44-year old Hopkins who had not fought since his October 18, 2008 12-round upset victory over undisputed middleweight champion,
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
.
The bout was supposed to be a tune-up for a scheduled March 13, 2010 rematch with Roy Jones, Jr. The rematch was later postponed as a result of Jones, Jr. falling to a first round technical knockout loss to Australian,
Danny GreenDaniel "Danny" Green is an Australian professional boxer and the former IBO cruiserweight champion.- Amateur boxing career and the Olympics :...
.
Rematch with Roy Jones
Hopkins and old foe
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
agreed to fight in a rematch on April 3, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The two boxers fought again 17 years after their first bout in 1993. Hopkins defeated Jones by a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout marred by illegal blows and a skirmish at the end of the sixth round involving ring entourage, the referee and security guards. Judges Don Trella and Glenn Trowbridge scored it 117-110 for Hopkins, while Dave Moretti favored him 118-109. The Associated Press had it 119-108, scoring 11 of 12 rounds for Hopkins.
He then challenged
WBA Heavyweight Champion David HayeDavid Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
who had successfully defended his title against
John RuizJohn "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
. Following Hopkins challenge, Haye ruled out the fight stating Bernard was only looking for a payday. Hopkins later stated his intentions to fight
Lucian ButeLucian Bute is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer, currently based in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the current IBF Super Middleweight champion...
following Bute's third round technical knockout victory over Edison Miranda.
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
also tried to approach retired boxer Joe Calzaghe for a potential rematch in 2010, but Calzaghe, who stated he no longer had the appetite, turned the offer down.
Hopkins vs. Pascal I & II
At 45 years old, Hopkins fought WBC, IBO light heavyweight champion
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on December 18, 2010 at the
Colisée PepsiColisée Pepsi , formerly the Colisée de Québec , is a multi-purpose arena in Quebec City, Quebec.It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972–1995, and is currently the home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
in
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada. The bout ended in a majority draw decision. Judge Steve Morrow had it 114-112 for Hopkins, but was overruled by Claude Paquette (113-113) and Daniel Van de Wiele (114-114). Following the controversy of the fight, WBC chairman Jose Sulaiman sanctioned an immediate rematch.
On May 21, 2011, at the
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, Hopkins defeated Pascal by unanimous decision to capture the to capture the WBC, IBO and
The Ring Light Heavyweight belts. The official scores were 115–113, 116–112 and 115–114. With the win, Hopkins became the oldest man in the history of the sport to win a major world title, supplanting
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
, who had previously held the distinction after his knockout victory over Michael Moorer. Hopkins won at 46 years, 4 months, 6 days, while Foreman was 45 years, 10 months. After the bout, ESPN columnist Dan Rafael stated: "Bernard Hopkins already had lived several boxing lifetimes, but he was born yet again in Saturday's decision over Jean Pascal, becoming the oldest champion in history."
Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson
Hopkins told the world of boxing that his next fight is going to be against former champion
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
. They fought on 15 October 2011. Hopkins lost via TKO for being unable to continue after injuring his shoulder when Dawson threw him off of his back.
After an investigation by the WBC following a protest filed by
Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, the WBC ruled that Dawson intentionally fouled Hopkins and returned the belt to Hopkins.
The Ring magazine also decided to continue to recognize Hopkins as their champion pending the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling on a protest filed on behalf of Hopkins.
Professional boxing record
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|
52 Wins (34 knockouts, 18 decisions),
6 Losses,
2 Draws,
1 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Result
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Notes
|- align=center
|Loss
|52-6-2
|align=left|
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
|TKO|| 2 , 2:48
|October 15, 2011
|
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|52-5-2
|align=left|
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Decision || 12
|May 21, 2011
|
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|51-5-2
|align=left|
Canada Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Draw || 12
|December 18, 2010
|
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Canada
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|51-5-1
|align=left|
United States Roy Jones, Jr.
|Decision || 12
|April 3, 2010 ||
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, USA ||
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Mexico Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
|Decision || 12
|December 2, 2009 ||
Philadelphia,PAPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
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United States Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
|Decision || 12
|October 18, 2008 ||
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
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Wales Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
|
Decision
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=December 9, 2011}}
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and the current
Ring Magazine and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
light heavyweight champion. He became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title, when at age 46, he defeated
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on May 21, 2011 by a unanimous decision, surpassing the record previously held by
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
.
Hopkins is also the former undisputed world
middleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus
The Ring belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time.
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
ranked him #3 on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."
In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner with
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
.
Background
Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost 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
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here."
Professional career
He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the
Blue HorizonThe Blue Horizon is a historic 1,500-seat boxing venue in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country....
on February 22, 1990.
Between February 1990 and December 1992, Hopkins scored 21 wins without a loss. He won 16 of those fights by
knockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, 12 coming in the first round. This victorious sequence was halted when he lost to
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
in 1993 for their first encounter.
Winning the IBF middleweight championship
The IBF came again knocking at Hopkins's door on December 17 of that year, matching him with
Segundo MercadoLaurensio Segundo Mercado is a retired male boxer from Ecuador.Mercado represented Ecuador at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing on points in the boxing competition to Martin Kitel of Sweden...
in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. It has been argued that Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
The IBF called for an immediate rematch, and on April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in
Landover, MarylandLandover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
.
In his first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in twenty-four seconds. By the end of 2000, he had defended the IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as
John David JacksonJohn David Jackson , is a former professional boxer who held world titles in the light middleweight and middleweight divisions, and later became a boxing trainer after his career ended.-Professional Career:...
,
Glen JohnsonGlengoffe Donovan Johnson is a professional boxer. Nicknamed Gentleman and The Road Warrior, Johnson is the former IBF and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion.-Amateur career:...
(undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out an aging Roy Jones Jr),
Simon BrownSimon Brown is a former professional boxer. Known as "Mantequilla", a name given to him by his famous trainer Jose 'Pepe' Correa, Brown was an welterweight fighter who held titles at multiple weight classes and at one point was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing.Brown...
, and
Antwun EcholsAntwun Echols is an American boxer. Although he has been a perennial contender in the Middleweight division, Echols has never captured a major title.-Career:...
.
2001 middleweight unification tournament
The arrival of multiple-division champion
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
, a Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight Champion, into the middleweight ranks set off a series of unification fights between major titleholders. The fights involved in the tournament would be reigning
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Middleweight Champion, Bernard Hopkins.
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Middleweight Champion, Keith Holmes.
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Middleweight Champion, William Joppy. The fourth contestant was the undefeated and former
WelterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
&
Light MiddleweightLight Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....
World Champion Félix Trinidad.
Keith Holmes
On April 14, 2001, Hopkins won a unanimous decision over
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
champion Keith Holmes in New York City. Trinidad, however, knocked out Middleweight mainstay
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
in an impressive five rounds. This led to many to believe that Felix Trinidad was simply too much, too strong for Bernard Hopkins.
Felix Trinidad
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad}}
Then, on September 29, 2001,
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for middleweight unification in
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
For the first time in many years, Hopkins was an underdog in the betting, which led the confident Hopkins to place a $100,000 bet on himself to win the bout. During promotion for the bout, Hopkins caused huge controversy by throwing the
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
flag on the floor in press conferences in both
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the latter conference leading to a riot in which Hopkins had to be run to safety from the angry mob.
During the fight, Hopkins was on his way to a lopsided decision victory when, in the 12th and final round, he floored Trinidad. Referee Steve Smoger called a halt to the fight after Trinidad's father entered the ring to stop the fight. It was the first loss of Trinidad's career, and it made Hopkins the first undisputed world middleweight champion since
Marvin HaglerMarvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
in 1987. 'The Ring' magazine and the 'World Boxing Hall of Fame' named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year.
Undisputed middleweight champion
He defended the undisputed title six times. Hopkins bested
Carl DanielsCarl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....
on February 2 surpassing Carlos Monzon's division record of 14 defenses, 2002, by tenth-round technical knockout;
Morrade HakkarMorrade Hakkar is a French middleweight boxer of Algerian descent who has held a number of regional championship belts during his 11-year professional career...
on March 29, 2003, by eighth-round TKO;
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
on December 13, 2003, by unanimous decision; and
Robert AllenRobert Allen is an American professional boxer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and fights as a middleweight.-Amateur career:...
on June 5, 2004, also by unanimous decision.
Oscar De La Hoya
In the highest-paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder
Oscar de la HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, another welterweight for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. They fought at a catchweight of 158 lbs, two pounds below the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. Hopkins won the bout by knockout in the ninth round with a left hook to the body and thus became the first boxer ever to unify the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies. At the time of the stoppage, Hopkins was ahead on two of the scorecards, with De La Hoya ahead on the other.
In November 2004 de la Hoya invited Hopkins to join his boxing promotional firm,
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
, as president of its new East Coast chapter.
Reaching number 20 - Howard Eastman
At 40 years old, an age at which most boxers are retired, Hopkins reached the middleweight record of 20 title defenses on February 19, 2005, against ranked #1 WBC Middleweight contender
Howard Eastman, the European middleweight champion. Hopkins dominated the fight from start to finish, winning 119-110, 117-111 and 116-112.
Hopkins vs Taylor
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor I}}
In his next fight on July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
via a split decision. Hopkins started slowly but came on strong over the final four rounds. Many press row writers scored the fight for Hopkins. Compubox round-by-round punch stats showed Taylor outscoring Hopkins 6-5-1 in total punches. Hopkins out landed Taylor in power punches 78-50.
Compubox statistics indicated that Hopkins landed more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of the fight, however these statistics may not accurately reflect the judging as rounds are scored in isolation.
On December 3, 2005, Hopkins lost his rematch against Jermain Taylor by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor.
Moving up to light heavyweight — Antonio Tarver
Following his two losses to Jermaine Taylor, Hopkins at 41 decided not to retire and made the decision to jump two weight divisions to face off against
The Ring light heavyweight champion
Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
on June 10, 2006. Going into the fight, Tarver was a 3-to-1 favorite and had been the first man ever to TKO Roy Jones Jr. Many now placed Tarver among the sports top competitors. He was constantly ranked in the P4P rankings. However, Bernard Hopkins picked up a lopsided unanimous decision, scoring 118-109 on all three judges scorecards.
Antonio Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins, after he failed to stop Hopkins in the first six rounds.
Return in 2007 - Winky Wright
On July 21, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Hopkins defended
The Ring light heavyweight championship against former undisputed junior middleweight champion
Winky WrightRonald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American boxer, the former undisputed world light middleweight champion and a current middleweight contender....
. During the weigh-in, Hopkins shoved Wright with an open-hand to the face, igniting a brawl between both fighters' entourages. Hopkins was fined
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
200,000 for instigating the brawl. Hopkins prevailed with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.
Joe Calzaghe
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe}}
On April 19, 2008, at the
Thomas & Mack CenterThe Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Hopkins lost
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
championship to
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
by
split decisionA split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
(116-111 and 115-112 for Calzaghe; 114-113 for Hopkins). Hopkins started the fight well, dropping Calzaghe in the first round and using his ring savvy to confuse the challenger. Calzaghe never got the opportunity to showcase his blazingly fast hands and his combinations. Hopkins would smother him whenever he tried to come in and throw more than one punch. According to
CompuBoxCompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...
, as Calzaghe landing more punches on Hopkins than any of his previous opponents.
HBO's unofficial ringside judge
Harold LedermanHarold Lederman is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since....
scored the bout 116-111 for Calzaghe.
The Associated Press,
New York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
,
Yahoo! SportsYahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
,
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
and Fighthype all scored it 114-113 for Bernard Hopkins.
"It was a good fight. I thought Bernard (Hopkins) won though," commented former undisputed
HeavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion,
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
.
In his post-fight interview, Hopkins said, "... I mean it's clear that the world know, and the fans know other than the
BritsThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, know I won this fight...", Hopkins further proclaimed, "I took the guy to school..."
Kelly Pavlik
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik}}
On October 18, 2008, Hopkins met middleweight champion
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
in a non-title fight at a catch-weight of 170 lbs. Fans and pundits alike felt that knockout king Kelly Pavlik would become the first man to knock Hopkins out. Pavlik was a 4-1 betting favourite heading into the contest. On the night of the fight, Hopkins turned back the clock to produce a performance he claimed to be the best of his career winning a unanimous decision
(117-109, 119-106, 118-108) over the undefeated Pavlik.
Hopkins prepared for this fight in the late summer heat at his second home, Danny Hawk's "World Famous" Normandy Gym in Miami Beach, FL.
Recent fights
During the Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao media conferences before their fight on May 3, 2009, Bernard Hopkins stated he would be "interested" in a proposed fight with British super middleweight champion
Carl FrochCarl Froch is an English professional boxer and is a two-time and reigning WBC super middleweight champion. He previously held the British, Commonwealth, & English titles at super middleweight.-Amateur:...
.
Enrique Ornelas
On December 2, 2009, Bernard Hopkins fought in his home city of Philadelphia for the first time since 2003 beating
Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
via 12-round unanimous decision
(120-109, 119-109 & 118-110) in what served as a tune-up bout for the 44-year old Hopkins who had not fought since his October 18, 2008 12-round upset victory over undisputed middleweight champion,
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
.
The bout was supposed to be a tune-up for a scheduled March 13, 2010 rematch with Roy Jones, Jr. The rematch was later postponed as a result of Jones, Jr. falling to a first round technical knockout loss to Australian,
Danny GreenDaniel "Danny" Green is an Australian professional boxer and the former IBO cruiserweight champion.- Amateur boxing career and the Olympics :...
.
Rematch with Roy Jones
Hopkins and old foe
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
agreed to fight in a rematch on April 3, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The two boxers fought again 17 years after their first bout in 1993. Hopkins defeated Jones by a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout marred by illegal blows and a skirmish at the end of the sixth round involving ring entourage, the referee and security guards. Judges Don Trella and Glenn Trowbridge scored it 117-110 for Hopkins, while Dave Moretti favored him 118-109. The Associated Press had it 119-108, scoring 11 of 12 rounds for Hopkins.
He then challenged
WBA Heavyweight Champion David HayeDavid Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
who had successfully defended his title against
John RuizJohn "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
. Following Hopkins challenge, Haye ruled out the fight stating Bernard was only looking for a payday. Hopkins later stated his intentions to fight
Lucian ButeLucian Bute is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer, currently based in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the current IBF Super Middleweight champion...
following Bute's third round technical knockout victory over Edison Miranda.
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
also tried to approach retired boxer Joe Calzaghe for a potential rematch in 2010, but Calzaghe, who stated he no longer had the appetite, turned the offer down.
Hopkins vs. Pascal I & II
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal}}
At 45 years old, Hopkins fought WBC, IBO light heavyweight champion
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on December 18, 2010 at the
Colisée PepsiColisée Pepsi , formerly the Colisée de Québec , is a multi-purpose arena in Quebec City, Quebec.It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972–1995, and is currently the home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
in
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada. The bout ended in a majority draw decision. Judge Steve Morrow had it 114-112 for Hopkins, but was overruled by Claude Paquette (113-113) and Daniel Van de Wiele (114-114). Following the controversy of the fight, WBC chairman Jose Sulaiman sanctioned an immediate rematch.
{{Main|Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins II}}
On May 21, 2011, at the
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, Hopkins defeated Pascal by unanimous decision to capture the to capture the WBC, IBO and
The Ring Light Heavyweight belts. The official scores were 115–113, 116–112 and 115–114. With the win, Hopkins became the oldest man in the history of the sport to win a major world title, supplanting
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
, who had previously held the distinction after his knockout victory over Michael Moorer. Hopkins won at 46 years, 4 months, 6 days, while Foreman was 45 years, 10 months. After the bout, ESPN columnist Dan Rafael stated: "Bernard Hopkins already had lived several boxing lifetimes, but he was born yet again in Saturday's decision over Jean Pascal, becoming the oldest champion in history."
Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson}}
Hopkins told the world of boxing that his next fight is going to be against former champion
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
. They fought on 15 October 2011. Hopkins lost via TKO for being unable to continue after injuring his shoulder when Dawson threw him off of his back.
After an investigation by the WBC following a protest filed by
Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, the WBC ruled that Dawson intentionally fouled Hopkins and returned the belt to Hopkins.
The Ring magazine also decided to continue to recognize Hopkins as their champion pending the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling on a protest filed on behalf of Hopkins.
Professional boxing record
{{S-start}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|
52 Wins (34 knockouts, 18 decisions),
6 Losses,
2 Draws,
1 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Result
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Notes
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|52-6-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
|TKO|| 2 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:48
|October 15, 2011
|
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
|align=left|{{Small|TKO after Hopkins is unable to continue after getting thrown from a clinch. The WBC has ruled the fight a "technical draw" and still recognizes Hopkins as their champion. Official result is pending
CSACThe California State Athletic Commission regulates professional boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events....
ruling of a protest in December.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|52-5-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|May 21, 2011
|
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
|align=left|{{Small|Won
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
titles. Awarded WBC Diamond belt.}}
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|51-5-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Canada Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Draw {{Small|(maj.)}} || 12
|December 18, 2010
|
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Canada
|align=left|{{Small|For
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and WBC Diamond
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|51-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Roy Jones, Jr.
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|April 3, 2010 ||
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, USA ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|50-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Mexico Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|December 2, 2009 ||
Philadelphia,PAPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|49-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|October 18, 2008 ||
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
||
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|48-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Wales Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
|
Decision
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=December 9, 2011}}
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and the current
Ring Magazine and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
light heavyweight champion. He became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title, when at age 46, he defeated
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on May 21, 2011 by a unanimous decision, surpassing the record previously held by
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
.
Hopkins is also the former undisputed world
middleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus
The Ring belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time.
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
ranked him #3 on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."
In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner with
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
.
Background
Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost 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
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here."
Professional career
He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the
Blue HorizonThe Blue Horizon is a historic 1,500-seat boxing venue in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country....
on February 22, 1990.
Between February 1990 and December 1992, Hopkins scored 21 wins without a loss. He won 16 of those fights by
knockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, 12 coming in the first round. This victorious sequence was halted when he lost to
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
in 1993 for their first encounter.
Winning the IBF middleweight championship
The IBF came again knocking at Hopkins's door on December 17 of that year, matching him with
Segundo MercadoLaurensio Segundo Mercado is a retired male boxer from Ecuador.Mercado represented Ecuador at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing on points in the boxing competition to Martin Kitel of Sweden...
in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. It has been argued that Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
The IBF called for an immediate rematch, and on April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in
Landover, MarylandLandover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
.
In his first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in twenty-four seconds. By the end of 2000, he had defended the IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as
John David JacksonJohn David Jackson , is a former professional boxer who held world titles in the light middleweight and middleweight divisions, and later became a boxing trainer after his career ended.-Professional Career:...
,
Glen JohnsonGlengoffe Donovan Johnson is a professional boxer. Nicknamed Gentleman and The Road Warrior, Johnson is the former IBF and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion.-Amateur career:...
(undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out an aging Roy Jones Jr),
Simon BrownSimon Brown is a former professional boxer. Known as "Mantequilla", a name given to him by his famous trainer Jose 'Pepe' Correa, Brown was an welterweight fighter who held titles at multiple weight classes and at one point was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing.Brown...
, and
Antwun EcholsAntwun Echols is an American boxer. Although he has been a perennial contender in the Middleweight division, Echols has never captured a major title.-Career:...
.
2001 middleweight unification tournament
The arrival of multiple-division champion
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
, a Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight Champion, into the middleweight ranks set off a series of unification fights between major titleholders. The fights involved in the tournament would be reigning
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Middleweight Champion, Bernard Hopkins.
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Middleweight Champion, Keith Holmes.
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Middleweight Champion, William Joppy. The fourth contestant was the undefeated and former
WelterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
&
Light MiddleweightLight Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....
World Champion Félix Trinidad.
Keith Holmes
On April 14, 2001, Hopkins won a unanimous decision over
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
champion Keith Holmes in New York City. Trinidad, however, knocked out Middleweight mainstay
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
in an impressive five rounds. This led to many to believe that Felix Trinidad was simply too much, too strong for Bernard Hopkins.
Felix Trinidad
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad}}
Then, on September 29, 2001,
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for middleweight unification in
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
For the first time in many years, Hopkins was an underdog in the betting, which led the confident Hopkins to place a $100,000 bet on himself to win the bout. During promotion for the bout, Hopkins caused huge controversy by throwing the
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
flag on the floor in press conferences in both
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the latter conference leading to a riot in which Hopkins had to be run to safety from the angry mob.
During the fight, Hopkins was on his way to a lopsided decision victory when, in the 12th and final round, he floored Trinidad. Referee Steve Smoger called a halt to the fight after Trinidad's father entered the ring to stop the fight. It was the first loss of Trinidad's career, and it made Hopkins the first undisputed world middleweight champion since
Marvin HaglerMarvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
in 1987. 'The Ring' magazine and the 'World Boxing Hall of Fame' named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year.
Undisputed middleweight champion
He defended the undisputed title six times. Hopkins bested
Carl DanielsCarl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....
on February 2 surpassing Carlos Monzon's division record of 14 defenses, 2002, by tenth-round technical knockout;
Morrade HakkarMorrade Hakkar is a French middleweight boxer of Algerian descent who has held a number of regional championship belts during his 11-year professional career...
on March 29, 2003, by eighth-round TKO;
William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
on December 13, 2003, by unanimous decision; and
Robert AllenRobert Allen is an American professional boxer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and fights as a middleweight.-Amateur career:...
on June 5, 2004, also by unanimous decision.
Oscar De La Hoya
In the highest-paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder
Oscar de la HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, another welterweight for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. They fought at a catchweight of 158 lbs, two pounds below the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. Hopkins won the bout by knockout in the ninth round with a left hook to the body and thus became the first boxer ever to unify the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies. At the time of the stoppage, Hopkins was ahead on two of the scorecards, with De La Hoya ahead on the other.
In November 2004 de la Hoya invited Hopkins to join his boxing promotional firm,
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
, as president of its new East Coast chapter.
Reaching number 20 - Howard Eastman
At 40 years old, an age at which most boxers are retired, Hopkins reached the middleweight record of 20 title defenses on February 19, 2005, against ranked #1 WBC Middleweight contender
Howard Eastman, the European middleweight champion. Hopkins dominated the fight from start to finish, winning 119-110, 117-111 and 116-112.
Hopkins vs Taylor
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor I}}
In his next fight on July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
via a split decision. Hopkins started slowly but came on strong over the final four rounds. Many press row writers scored the fight for Hopkins. Compubox round-by-round punch stats showed Taylor outscoring Hopkins 6-5-1 in total punches. Hopkins out landed Taylor in power punches 78-50.
Compubox statistics indicated that Hopkins landed more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of the fight, however these statistics may not accurately reflect the judging as rounds are scored in isolation.
On December 3, 2005, Hopkins lost his rematch against Jermain Taylor by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor.
Moving up to light heavyweight — Antonio Tarver
Following his two losses to Jermaine Taylor, Hopkins at 41 decided not to retire and made the decision to jump two weight divisions to face off against
The Ring light heavyweight champion
Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
on June 10, 2006. Going into the fight, Tarver was a 3-to-1 favorite and had been the first man ever to TKO Roy Jones Jr. Many now placed Tarver among the sports top competitors. He was constantly ranked in the P4P rankings. However, Bernard Hopkins picked up a lopsided unanimous decision, scoring 118-109 on all three judges scorecards.
Antonio Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins, after he failed to stop Hopkins in the first six rounds.
Return in 2007 - Winky Wright
On July 21, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Hopkins defended
The Ring light heavyweight championship against former undisputed junior middleweight champion
Winky WrightRonald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American boxer, the former undisputed world light middleweight champion and a current middleweight contender....
. During the weigh-in, Hopkins shoved Wright with an open-hand to the face, igniting a brawl between both fighters' entourages. Hopkins was fined
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
200,000 for instigating the brawl. Hopkins prevailed with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.
Joe Calzaghe
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe}}
On April 19, 2008, at the
Thomas & Mack CenterThe Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Hopkins lost
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
championship to
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
by
split decisionA split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
(116-111 and 115-112 for Calzaghe; 114-113 for Hopkins). Hopkins started the fight well, dropping Calzaghe in the first round and using his ring savvy to confuse the challenger. Calzaghe never got the opportunity to showcase his blazingly fast hands and his combinations. Hopkins would smother him whenever he tried to come in and throw more than one punch. According to
CompuBoxCompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...
, as Calzaghe landing more punches on Hopkins than any of his previous opponents.
HBO's unofficial ringside judge
Harold LedermanHarold Lederman is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since....
scored the bout 116-111 for Calzaghe.
The Associated Press,
New York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
,
Yahoo! SportsYahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
,
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
and Fighthype all scored it 114-113 for Bernard Hopkins.
"It was a good fight. I thought Bernard (Hopkins) won though," commented former undisputed
HeavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion,
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
.
In his post-fight interview, Hopkins said, "... I mean it's clear that the world know, and the fans know other than the
BritsThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, know I won this fight...", Hopkins further proclaimed, "I took the guy to school..."
Kelly Pavlik
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik}}
On October 18, 2008, Hopkins met middleweight champion
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
in a non-title fight at a catch-weight of 170 lbs. Fans and pundits alike felt that knockout king Kelly Pavlik would become the first man to knock Hopkins out. Pavlik was a 4-1 betting favourite heading into the contest. On the night of the fight, Hopkins turned back the clock to produce a performance he claimed to be the best of his career winning a unanimous decision
(117-109, 119-106, 118-108) over the undefeated Pavlik.
Hopkins prepared for this fight in the late summer heat at his second home, Danny Hawk's "World Famous" Normandy Gym in Miami Beach, FL.
Recent fights
During the Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao media conferences before their fight on May 3, 2009, Bernard Hopkins stated he would be "interested" in a proposed fight with British super middleweight champion
Carl FrochCarl Froch is an English professional boxer and is a two-time and reigning WBC super middleweight champion. He previously held the British, Commonwealth, & English titles at super middleweight.-Amateur:...
.
Enrique Ornelas
On December 2, 2009, Bernard Hopkins fought in his home city of Philadelphia for the first time since 2003 beating
Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
via 12-round unanimous decision
(120-109, 119-109 & 118-110) in what served as a tune-up bout for the 44-year old Hopkins who had not fought since his October 18, 2008 12-round upset victory over undisputed middleweight champion,
Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
.
The bout was supposed to be a tune-up for a scheduled March 13, 2010 rematch with Roy Jones, Jr. The rematch was later postponed as a result of Jones, Jr. falling to a first round technical knockout loss to Australian,
Danny GreenDaniel "Danny" Green is an Australian professional boxer and the former IBO cruiserweight champion.- Amateur boxing career and the Olympics :...
.
Rematch with Roy Jones
Hopkins and old foe
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
agreed to fight in a rematch on April 3, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The two boxers fought again 17 years after their first bout in 1993. Hopkins defeated Jones by a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout marred by illegal blows and a skirmish at the end of the sixth round involving ring entourage, the referee and security guards. Judges Don Trella and Glenn Trowbridge scored it 117-110 for Hopkins, while Dave Moretti favored him 118-109. The Associated Press had it 119-108, scoring 11 of 12 rounds for Hopkins.
He then challenged
WBA Heavyweight Champion David HayeDavid Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
who had successfully defended his title against
John RuizJohn "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
. Following Hopkins challenge, Haye ruled out the fight stating Bernard was only looking for a payday. Hopkins later stated his intentions to fight
Lucian ButeLucian Bute is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer, currently based in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the current IBF Super Middleweight champion...
following Bute's third round technical knockout victory over Edison Miranda.
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
also tried to approach retired boxer Joe Calzaghe for a potential rematch in 2010, but Calzaghe, who stated he no longer had the appetite, turned the offer down.
Hopkins vs. Pascal I & II
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal}}
At 45 years old, Hopkins fought WBC, IBO light heavyweight champion
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
on December 18, 2010 at the
Colisée PepsiColisée Pepsi , formerly the Colisée de Québec , is a multi-purpose arena in Quebec City, Quebec.It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972–1995, and is currently the home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
in
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada. The bout ended in a majority draw decision. Judge Steve Morrow had it 114-112 for Hopkins, but was overruled by Claude Paquette (113-113) and Daniel Van de Wiele (114-114). Following the controversy of the fight, WBC chairman Jose Sulaiman sanctioned an immediate rematch.
{{Main|Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins II}}
On May 21, 2011, at the
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, Hopkins defeated Pascal by unanimous decision to capture the to capture the WBC, IBO and
The Ring Light Heavyweight belts. The official scores were 115–113, 116–112 and 115–114. With the win, Hopkins became the oldest man in the history of the sport to win a major world title, supplanting
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
, who had previously held the distinction after his knockout victory over Michael Moorer. Hopkins won at 46 years, 4 months, 6 days, while Foreman was 45 years, 10 months. After the bout, ESPN columnist Dan Rafael stated: "Bernard Hopkins already had lived several boxing lifetimes, but he was born yet again in Saturday's decision over Jean Pascal, becoming the oldest champion in history."
Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson
{{Main|Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson}}
Hopkins told the world of boxing that his next fight is going to be against former champion
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
. They fought on 15 October 2011. Hopkins lost via TKO for being unable to continue after injuring his shoulder when Dawson threw him off of his back.
After an investigation by the WBC following a protest filed by
Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, the WBC ruled that Dawson intentionally fouled Hopkins and returned the belt to Hopkins.
The Ring magazine also decided to continue to recognize Hopkins as their champion pending the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling on a protest filed on behalf of Hopkins.
Professional boxing record
{{S-start}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|
52 Wins (34 knockouts, 18 decisions),
6 Losses,
2 Draws,
1 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Result
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|
Notes
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|52-6-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Chad Dawson"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
|TKO|| 2 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:48
|October 15, 2011
|
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
|align=left|{{Small|TKO after Hopkins is unable to continue after getting thrown from a clinch. The WBC has ruled the fight a "technical draw" and still recognizes Hopkins as their champion. Official result is pending
CSACThe California State Athletic Commission regulates professional boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events....
ruling of a protest in December.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|52-5-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|May 21, 2011
|
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
|align=left|{{Small|Won
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
and
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
titles. Awarded WBC Diamond belt.}}
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|51-5-2
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Canada Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
|Draw {{Small|(maj.)}} || 12
|December 18, 2010
|
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Canada
|align=left|{{Small|For
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and WBC Diamond
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|51-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Roy Jones, Jr.
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|April 3, 2010 ||
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, USA ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|50-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Mexico Enrique OrnelasEnrique Andrade Ornelas , is a Mexican boxer. He competes in the Middleweight division.-Personal life:Born in Jesus Del Monte, Guanajuato, he now makes his home in La Habra, California...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|December 2, 2009 ||
Philadelphia,PAPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|49-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Kelly PavlikKelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|October 18, 2008 ||
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
||
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|48-5-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Wales Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
|
Decision {{SmallBernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe was a boxing match that took place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, between The Ring light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe...
|| 12
|April 19, 2008 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small| Lost
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|48-4-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Ronald WrightRonald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American boxer, the former undisputed world light middleweight champion and a current middleweight contender....
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|July 21, 2007 ||
Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|47-4-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|June 10, 2006 ||
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
|align=left|{{Small|Won
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
Light HeavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|46-4-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|December 3, 2005 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|For
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, WBO &
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|46-3-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
|Decision {{Small|(split)}} || 12
|July 16, 2005 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Lost
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, WBO &
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|46-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United Kingdom Howard Eastman
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|February 19, 2005 || Los Angeles, California
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, WBO &
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|45-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
|KO || 9 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:38
|September 18, 2004 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
,
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
and won WBO
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|44-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Robert AllenRobert Allen is an American professional boxer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and fights as a middleweight.-Amateur career:...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|June 5, 2004 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
&
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|43-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States William JoppyWilliam Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|December 13, 2003 || Atlantic City, New Jersey
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
&
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|42-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
France Morrade HakkarMorrade Hakkar is a French middleweight boxer of Algerian descent who has held a number of regional championship belts during his 11-year professional career...
|TKO || 8 {{Small|(12)}}, 3:00
|March 29, 2003 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
&
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|41-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Carl DanielsCarl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....
|TKO || 10 {{Small|(12)}}, 3:00
|February 2, 2002 ||
Reading, PennsylvaniaReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
,
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
&
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|40-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Puerto Rico Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
|TKO || 12 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:18
|September 29, 2001 || New York City, New York
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
,
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and won
WBA SuperThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles. Awarded vacant
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|39-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Keith Holmes
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|April 14, 2001 || New York City, New York
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
and won
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
titles.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|38-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Antwun EcholsAntwun Echols is an American boxer. Although he has been a perennial contender in the Middleweight division, Echols has never captured a major title.-Career:...
|TKO || 10 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:42
|December 1, 2000 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|37-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
Canada Syd Vanderpool
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|May 13, 2000 ||
Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|36-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Antwun Echols
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|December 12, 1999 ||
Miami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|35-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Robert Allen
|TKO || 7 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:18
|February 6, 1999 ||
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|style="background:#ddd;"|NC
|34-2-1
{{Small|1 NC}}
|align=left|
United States Robert Allen
|No contest || 4 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:57
|August 28, 1998 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|34-2-1
|align=left|
United States Simon BrownSimon Brown is a former professional boxer. Known as "Mantequilla", a name given to him by his famous trainer Jose 'Pepe' Correa, Brown was an welterweight fighter who held titles at multiple weight classes and at one point was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing.Brown...
|TKO || 6 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:00
|January 31, 1998 || Atlantic City, New Jersey
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|33-2-1
|align=left|
United States Andrew Council
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|November 18, 1997 ||
Upper Marlboro, MDUpper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|32-2-1
|align=left|
Jamaica Glen JohnsonGlengoffe Donovan Johnson is a professional boxer. Nicknamed Gentleman and The Road Warrior, Johnson is the former IBF and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion.-Amateur career:...
|TKO || 11 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:23
|July 20, 1997 ||
Indio, CaliforniaIndio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|31-2-1
|align=left|
United States John David JacksonJohn David Jackson , is a former professional boxer who held world titles in the light middleweight and middleweight divisions, and later became a boxing trainer after his career ended.-Professional Career:...
|TKO || 7 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:22
|April 19, 1997 ||
Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|30-2-1
|align=left|
United States William Bo James
|TKO || 11 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:02
|July 16, 1996 || Atlantic City, New Jersey
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|29-2-1
|align=left|
United States Joe Lipsey
|KO || 4 {{Small|(12)}}, 2:50
|March 16, 1996 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|28-2-1
|align=left|
Guyana Steve Frank
|TKO || 1 {{Small|(12)}}, 0:24
|January 27, 1996 ||
Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|27-2-1
|align=left|
Ecuador Segundo MercadoLaurensio Segundo Mercado is a retired male boxer from Ecuador.Mercado represented Ecuador at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing on points in the boxing competition to Martin Kitel of Sweden...
|TKO || 7 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:10
|April 29, 1995 ||
Landover, MDLandover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
|align=left|{{Small|Won vacant
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|26-2-1
|align=left|
Ecuador Segundo Mercado
|Draw || 12
|December 17, 1994 ||
Quito, EcuadorSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
|align=left|{{Small|For vacant
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|26–2
|align=left|
Mexico Lupe AquinoIsaias Guadalupe Aquino , was a professional boxer in the super welterweight division....
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|May 17, 1994 || Atlantic City, New Jersey
|align=left|{{Small|Retained USBA
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|25–2
|align=left|
United States Melvin Wynn
|TKO || 3, 0:48
|February 26, 1994 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|24–2
|align=left|
United States Wendall Hall
|TKO || 3 {{Small|(12)}}, 0:28
|November 23, 1993 || Las Vegas, Nevada
|align=left|{{Small|Retained USBA
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|23–2
|align=left|
United States Roy Ritchie
|TKO || 7 {{Small|(12)}}, 1:47
|August 3, 1993 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|align=left|{{Small|Retained USBA
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|22–2
|align=left|
United States Roy Jones, Jr.
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|May 22, 1993 || Washington, D.C.
|align=left|{{Small|For vacant
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|22–1
|align=left|
United States Gilbert Baptist
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 12
|February 16, 1993 ||
Denver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
|align=left|{{Small|Retained USBA
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|21–1
|align=left|
United States Wayne Powell
|TKO || 1 {{Small|(12)}}, 0:21
|December 4, 1992 || Atlantic City, New Jersey
|align=left|{{Small|Won vacant USBA
MiddleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title.}}
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|20–1
|align=left|
United States Eric Rhinehart
|KO || 1, 1:47
|September 14, 1992 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|19–1
|align=left|
United States James Stokes
|KO || 1
|August 28, 1992 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|18–1
|align=left|
Colombia Anibal Miranda
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 10
|May 21, 1992 ||
Paris, FranceParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|17–1
|align=left|
United States Randy Smith
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 10
|April 3, 1992 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|16–1
|align=left|
United States Dennis MiltonDennis Milton is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Milton had a stellar amateur career, having won four New York Golden Gloves Championships. Milton won the 1981 165 lb Open Championship and won the 156 lb Open Championships in 1982, 1983 and 1984...
|TKO || 4 {{Small|(10)}}
|January 31, 1992 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|15–1
|align=left|
United States Willie Kemp
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 10
|December 13, 1991 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|14–1
|align=left|
United States David McCluskey
|TKO || 7 {{Small|(10)}}
|November 26, 1991 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|13–1
|align=left|
United States Ralph Moncrief
|TKO || 1 {{Small|(10)}}, 1:28
|September 23, 1991 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|12–1
|align=left|
United States Danny Mitchell
|KO || 1
|July 9, 1991 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|11–1
|align=left|
United States Pedro Marquez
|TKO || 1
|June 20, 1991 || Parsippany, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|10–1
|align=left|
United States Steve Langley
|TKO || 3 {{Small|(6)}}, 1:10
|March 18, 1991 || Las Vegas, Nevada ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|9–1
|align=left|
United States Richard Quiles
|KO || 1 {{Small|(6)}}
|February 26, 1991 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|8–1
|align=left|
United States Mike Sapp
|TKO || 1
|November 17, 1990 ||
Fort Myers, FloridaFort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|7–1
|align=left|
United States Darrin Oliver
|TKO || 1
|October 20, 1990 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|6–1
|align=left|
United States Percy Harris
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 6
|August 5, 1990 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|5–1
|align=left|
United States Khalif Shabazz
|KO || 1, 0:36
|June 30, 1990 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|4–1
|align=left|
United States Jouvin Mercado
|TKO || 2 {{Small|(4)}}, 0:43
|May 31, 1990 ||
Rochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|3–1
|align=left|
United States Eddie Tyler
|TKO || 1
|May 18, 1990 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|2–1
|align=left|
United States Keith Gray
|TKO || 1
|April 26, 1990 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{yes2}}Win
|1–1
|align=left|
United States Greg Paige
|Decision {{Small|(unan.)}} || 4
|February 22, 1990 || Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ||
|- align=center
|{{no2}}Loss
|0–1
|align=left|
United States Clinton Mitchell
|Decision {{Small|(maj.)}} || 4
|October 11, 1988 || Atlantic City, New Jersey ||
|}
Coaches
Hopkins has been coached by Philadelphia based English "Bouie" Fisher from 1989 until their split in 2002 which resulted in Fisher taking Hopkins to court, claiming he was underpaid by $255,000. They re-united in 2003, but split again in 2005, again with Fisher claiming to be underpaid, this time to the tune of $200,000.
Naazim RichardsonNaazim Richardson is an American boxing trainer most notable for training "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, and for catching Antonio Margarito with a plaster-like substance in his handwraps prior to Margarito's fight with Mosley, leading to Margarito's eventual suspension from the sport of...
, Fishers long-term assistant took over as Hopkins' head coach from 2005. Fisher won the Eddie Futch-John F.X. Condon Award, awarded by the Boxing Writers Association of America, for Trainer of the Year in 2001. Bouie died aged 83 in June 2011.
Controversial quotes
In late 2010, Hopkins suggested that African American fighters who possessed what he described as a "slick" inner-city style of fighting would be successful against Filipino boxer
Manny PacquiaoEmmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
. "Maybe I’m biased because I’m black, but I think that this is what is said at people’s homes and around the dinner table among black boxing fans and fighters. Most of them won’t say it [in public] because they’re not being real and they don’t have the balls to say it. But I do think that a fighter like the
Ray LeonardsSugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
or anyone like that would beat a guy [like Pacquiao] if they come with their game. Listen, this ain’t a racial thing, but then again, maybe it is. But the style that is embedded in most of us black fighters, that style could be a problem to any other style of fighting."
On December 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe met face to face in the media room set up for the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. 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 beat me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me." Hopkins would later explain his comments, 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 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.
On May 11, 2011, Hopkins questioned
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
quarterback
Donovan McNabbDonovan Jamal McNabb is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback from 1999 to 2009 and spent the 2010 season with the Washington Redskins and a portion of the 2011 season with the Minnesota Vikings. In college, McNabb played...
's racial credentials in a
Philadelphia Daily NewsThe Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
online article. 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 with, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens. Hopkins saying in part, "He's got a
suntanIn the United States, acting white is a pejorative term usually applied to African-Americans, which refers to a person's perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of white society. Success in education in particular can be seen as a form of selling out by being...
. That's all... McNabb is
the guy in the houseHouse Negro is a pejorative term for a black person, used to compare someone to a house slave of a slave owner from the historic period of legal slavery in the US...
, while everybody else is on the field... He's the one who got the extra coat. The extra servings . . . He thought he was one of them."
See also
{{Wikiquote}}
External links
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{{S-vac|last=Reggie Johnson}}
{{S-ttl|title=USBA Middleweight Champion|years=December 4, 1992 – 1994}}
Vacated
{{S-vac|next=
Robert AllenRobert Allen is an American professional boxer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and fights as a middleweight.-Amateur career:...
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{{S-vac|last=Roy Jones, Jr.}}
{{S-ttl|title=
IBFThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Middleweight Champion|years=April 29, 1995 – July 16, 2005 }}
{{S-aft|rows=6|after=
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
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{{S-bef|before=Keith Holmes}}
{{S-ttl|title=
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Middleweight Champion|years=April 14, 2001 – July 16, 2005}}
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{{S-new | reason=Unified titles against
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
}}
{{S-ttl|title=
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Middleweight Super Champion
|years=September 29, 2001 – July 16, 2005}}
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{{s-vac | last=
Marvin HaglerMarvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
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{{S-ttl|title=
UndisputedIn professional boxing, the undisputed champion of a weight class is a boxer who is recognized as the world champion at that class by each boxing organization.-History:...
Middleweight Champion |
years=September 29, 2001 – July 16, 2005}}
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{{s-vac | last=
Sumbu KalambaySumbu "Patrizio" Kalambay is a Zaire-Italian former professional boxer who held the WBA middleweight championship. He was born in Zaire, moving to Italy during his youth, which is where he still resides.-Professional career:...
}}
{{S-ttl|title=
The Ring Middleweight Champion |years=September 29, 2001 – July 16, 2005}}
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{{S-bef|before=
Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
}}
{{S-ttl|title=
WBOThe World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
Middleweight Champion|years=September 18, 2004 – July 16, 2005}}
|-
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=
Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
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{{S-ttl|title=
IBOThe International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...
Light Heavyweight Champion|years=June 10, 2006
Immediately vacated}}
{{S-vac|next=
Antonio TarverAntonio Deon Tarver , nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion....
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{{S-ttl|title=
The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion ||years=June 10, 2006 – April 19, 2008}}
{{S-aft|after=
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
}}
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{{s-bef | before=
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.-Early life:...
}}
{{s-ttl | title=
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Light Heavyweight Champion The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion| years=May 21, 2011 -
present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{S-sports}}
{{S-bef|before=
Roy Jones Jr.Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
}}
{{S-ttl|title=
Ring Magazine Pound-for-pound #1 BoxerThe Ring Magazine Pound for Pound is the official list of the current pound for pound professional boxing rankings distributed by The Ring.-Top 10 rankings:-See also:* List of current world boxing champions* List of boxing weight classes...
|years=2004–2005}}
{{S-aft|after=
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes...
}}
|-
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{S-bef|before=
Félix TrinidadFélix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
}}
{{S-ttl|title=Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|years=2001}}
{{S-aft|after=
Vernon ForrestVernon Forrest, nicknamed "The Viper", was an American professional boxer who became a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and noted for his two victories over Shane Mosley and upset losses to Ricardo Mayorga.- Early years and amateur career :Forrest began boxing at...
}}
{{End}}
{{Pride of Philadelphia Award}}
{{Persondata
| NAME = Hopkins, Bernard
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = January 15, 1965
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Philadelphia,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Bernard}}