Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., born on January 15, 1965 in Philadelphia, is an American former
professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016.
Nicknamed "The Executioner," Hopkins is widely regarded as one of the modern era's greatest fighters,
having won 55 out of his 67 fights and holding various world championship titles
across two weight classes.
As of April 2021, he is ranked by BoxRec as the seventh greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.
Born to Bernard Hopkins Sr. and his wife Shirley, Bernard grew up with his family in the Raymond
Rosen housing project in Philadelphia.
Hopkins turned to crime early in his life.
By the age of thirteen he was 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 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 Islam.
Bernard married his wife Jeanette in 1993.
The two have been married ever since and have one daughter together, Latrice Hopkins.
His family life remained out of the spotlight of his boxing limelight, and he remained a
loving, caring, and peaceful family.
Hopkins made his professional boxing debut as a Light heavyweight on October 11th of 1988,
in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but lost to Clinton Mitchell.
Hopkins continued fighting, winning several matches, but remained mostly unknown as a boxer.
He struggled to find meaningful bouts until May of 1993, when he faced off against one
of the sports best, Roy Jones Jr., in a match for the vacant IBF Middleweight title.
The fight lasted 12 rounds, with Bernard losing 116-112 by unanimous decision; however, the
public now saw Hopkins as a serious fighter.
In April 1995, Hopkins earned the IBF Middleweight Title by knocking out Segundo Mercado in the
seventh round.
Bernard continued fighting, retaining his middleweight title, and on September 29th of 2001,
Hopkins was challenged by Félix Trinidad for the vacant WBA Middleweight title.
Hopkins retained his IBF and WBC belts and untied the WBA title.
This achievement earned Hopkins Fighter of the Year honors.
He remained undefeated for several years, and in September of 2004, Bernard fought Oscar
De La Hoya for the WBO Middleweight title.
Hopkins won the fight by knockout in the ninth round and became the first-ever boxer to hold
all four major championships.
Bernard's streak ended in 2005 when he lost to Jermain Taylor.
In May of 2011, Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal to secure the WBC Light heavyweight title.
By doing so, he became the oldest world champion in boxing history.
Bernard beat his own record 22 months later, in a fight that earned him the IBF Light heavyweight title at 48.
Bernard finally hung up his gloves in 2016 at the age of 52.
In the last years of his active career, Hopkins also became a minority partner with Golden
Boy Promotions, with which he still remains post-career.
Nicknamed "The Executioner", and later "The Alien", Hopkins was known among observers
for his longevity and ability to continue competing successfully at an advanced age.
Widely considered one of the greatest boxers of the modern era, he was a highly strategic
and defensive boxer known for carrying good speed and power along with counterpunching skills.
He credits mastering the boxing fundamentals and a great defense for his longevity in the sport.
He was also a very seasoned fighter, being able to take advantage of a wide variety of
situations in the ring and implement rough and dirty tactics while fighting on the inside
or in a clinch.
In 2011, The Ring ranked Hopkins as third on their list of the "10 best middleweight
title holders of the last 50 years."
As of April 2021, he is ranked by BoxRec as the seventh greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.
Bernard Hopkins has a net worth of $40 million, as of 2021.
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 Pacquiao.
"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 Leonards 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."
What's your opinion on this?