Friday, July 10, 2009

Bernard Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins, known as the Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer. He is best known for his ten year reign as middleweight world champion in which he successfully defended his title a record 20 times. He is the first fighter to retain all 4 major boxing governing body belts including the Ring Magazine belt in the same fight. He is the oldest man to ever hold the middleweight championship in professional boxing.[1]

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[edit] Background

Born to Bernard Hopkins Sr. and his wife Shirley. Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects in 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 and decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins that he'll "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here." [2]

[edit] Professional career

He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the Blue Horizon on February 22, 1990.

Between February 1990 and September 1992, Hopkins scored 20 wins without a loss. He won 15 of those fights by knockout, 11 coming in the first round.

[edit] Roy Jones Jr.

His first chance at a world title came on May 22, 1993 in Washington, DC, against American great Roy Jones Jr. for the vacant IBF middleweight belt. Hopkins lost by unanimous decision in a tactical bout. However he retained his world ranking and defended his USBA belt three more times. During a November 7, 2008 interview on XM/Sirius' Opie & Anthony Show, he said that he's been trying for another fight with Jones Jr. but Jones has been dodging him saying that he already defeated Hopkins. Hopkins argues he has floored two guys that beat Jones and that he thinks he's earned the right for another fight. Hopkins says that his first big payday was the Jones Jr. fight. Hopkins' purse was $700,000 but after everyone got their hands into it, he only received $80,000 and after taxes, it was less than $50,000. He said he didn't know to ask the questions "how and why" but that all changed when he learned the truth of his purses in federal court.

[edit] Winning the IBF middleweight championship

Jones abandoned the middleweight ranks in 1994, and the IBF came again knocking at Hopkins's door on December 17 of that year, matching him with Segundo Mercado in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. This remains the only time Hopkins has ever been knocked down. The fight was contested in a bull ring and in the midst of the civil war of Ecuador. It has been argued that Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet. [3]

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, Maryland.

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 20 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as John David Jackson, Glen Johnson (undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out Roy Jones Jr), Simon Brown, and Antwun Echols.

[edit] 2001 middleweight unification tournament

The arrival of multiple-division champion Félix Trinidad, a Welterweight into the middleweight ranks set off a series of unification fights between major titleholders. The fights involved in the tournament would be reigning IBFWBC Middleweight Champion, Keith Holmes. WBA Middleweight Champion, William Joppy. The fourth contestant was former Welterweight & Light Middleweight World Champion and the undefeated Félix Trinidad. Middleweight Champion, Bernard Hopkins.

[edit] Keith Holmes

On April 14, 2001, Hopkins won a unanimous decision over WBC champion Keith Holmes in New York City. Trinidad, however, knocked out Middleweight mainstay William Joppy in an impressive five rounds.[4] This led to many to believe that Felix Trinidad was simply too much, too strong for Bernard Hopkins. [5]

[edit] Felix Trinidad

Then, on September 29, WBA champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for middleweight unification in Madison Square Garden.

For the first time in many years, Hopkins was an underdog in the betting which led the confident Hopkins to place a $1,000,000 bet on himself to win the bout. During promotion for the bout, Bernard Hopkins caused huge controversy by throwing the Puerto Rico flag on the floor in press conferences in both New YorkPuerto Rico, the latter conference leading to a riot in which Hopkins had to be run to safety from the angry mob.[6] and

During the fight, Hopkins was on his way to a lopsided decision victory when in the 12th and final round he floored Trinidad and 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 made Hopkins the first undisputed world middleweight champion since Marvin Hagler in 1987. 'The Ring' magazine and the 'World Boxing Hall of Fame' named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year.

[edit] Undisputed middleweight champion

He defended the undisputed title six times. Hopkins bested Carl Daniels on February 2, 2002, by tenth-round technical knockout; Morrade Hakkar on March 29, 2003, by eighth-round TKO; William Joppy on December 13, 2003, by unanimous decision; and Robert Allen on June 5, 2004, also by unanimous decision.

[edit] Oscar De La Hoya

In the highest paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder Oscar de la Hoya, another welterweight for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in Las Vegas. The fight was fought at a catchweight of 158 lbs, two pounds below the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. [7][8] Hopkins won the bout with a 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, while De La Hoya was ahead on the other scorecard.

In November 2004 de la Hoya invited Hopkins to join his boxing promotional firm, Golden Boy Promotions, as president of its new East Coast chapter.

[edit] Reaching Number 20 - Howard Eastman

Aged 40 years old, an age in which most boxers are retired. Bernard 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 & 116-112

[edit] Hopkins vs Taylor

In his next fight on July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to Jermain Taylor via a split decision. Hopkins started slowly but came on strong over the second half of the fight. Many press row writers scored the fight for Hopkins. [9]. 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.

On December 3, 2005, Hopkins lost his rematch against Jermain Taylor by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor.

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.

[edit] 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 RingAntonio Tarver on June 10, 2006. Going into the fight, Tarver was a 3-to-1 favorite and had been the first man ever to knock Roy Jones Jr. out. 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. light heavyweight champion

Antonio Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins, after he failed to stop Hopkins in the first six rounds. [10]

[edit] 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 Wright. During the weigh-in, Hopkins shoved Wright with an open-hand to the face, igniting a brawl between both fighters' entourages.[11] Hopkins was fined $200,000 for instigating the brawl.[12][13] Hopkins prevailed with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.

[edit] Joe Calzaghe

On April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Hopkins lost The Ring light heavyweight championship to Joe Calzaghe by split decision.[14] Judges Chuck Giampa (116-111) and Ted Gimza (115-112) scored the fight for Calzaghe, while judge Adalaide Byrd (114-113) scored the fight for Hopkins. [15]

[edit] Kelly Pavlik

On October 18, 2008, Hopkins met middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik at a catch-weight of 170 lbs, with Hopkins defeating the then-undefeated Pavlik via unanimous decision.

[edit] Future Plans

After Tomasz Adamek knocked out Johnathon Banks of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, Hopkins immediately told ESPN's Dan Rafael that he was interested in moving up to cruiserweight to fight him, wishing to become the Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion of the world.

During the Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquio 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 Froch.

[edit] Professional boxing record

49 Wins (34 knockouts, 15 decisions), 5 Losses (5 decisions), 1 Draw, 1 No Contest[16]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Win 49-5-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Kelly Pavlik Unanimous Decision 12 October 18, 2008 Atlantic City, NJ
Loss 48-5-1
Flag of Wales Joe Calzaghe Split decision 12 April 19, 2008 Las Vegas, NV Lost Ring light heavyweight title.

Scoring was 115-112 Calzaghe,
114-113 Hopkins, and 116-111
Calzaghe.

Win 48-4-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Ronald Wright Unanimous decision 12 July 21, 2007 Las Vegas, NV Retained Ring
light heavyweight title.
Win 47-4-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Antonio Tarver Unanimous decision 12 June 10, 2006 Atlantic City, NJ Won IBO/NBA light heavyweight
titles, which were later vacated.
Loss 46-4-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Jermain Taylor Unanimous decision 12 December 3, 2005 Las Vegas, NV Fight was for WBC/WBA super/WBO
Middleweight titles.
Loss 46-3-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Jermain Taylor Split decision 12 July 16, 2005 Las Vegas, NV Lost IBF/WBC/WBA super/WBO
Middleweight titles. Scoring was
115-113 Taylor, 116-112 Hopkins,
and 115-113 Taylor.
Win 46-2-1
1 NC
Flag of Guyana Howard Eastman Unanimous decision 12 February 19, 2005 Los Angeles, CA Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super/WBO
Middleweight titles.
Win 45-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Oscar De La Hoya KO 9 (12), 1:38 September 18, 2004 Las Vegas, NV Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super
Middleweight titles and won WBO
Middleweight title.
Win 44-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Robert Allen Unanimous decision 12 June 5, 2004 Las Vegas, NV Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super
Middleweight titles.
Win 43-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States William Joppy Unanimous decision 12 December 13, 2003 Atlantic City, NJ Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super
Middleweight titles.
Win 42-2-1
1 NC
Flag of France Morrade Hakkar TKO 8 (12), 3:00 March 29, 2003 Philadelphia, PA Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super
Middleweight titles.
Win 41-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Carl Daniels TKO 10 (12), 3:00 February 2, 2002 Reading, PA Retained IBF/WBC/WBA super
Middleweight titles.
Win 40-2-1
1 NC
Flag of Puerto Rico Felix Trinidad TKO 12 (12), 1:18 September 29, 2001 New York City, NY Retained IBF/WBC Middleweight
titles and won WBA Middleweight
super title, becoming undisputed
champion.
Win 39-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Keith Holmes Unanimous decision 12 April 14, 2001 New York City, NY Retained IBF Middleweight title
and won WBC Middleweight title.
Win 38-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Antwun Echols TKO 10 (12), 1:42 December 1, 2000 Las Vegas, NV Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 37-2-1
1 NC
Flag of Canada Syd Vanderpool Unanimous decision 12 May 13, 2000 Indianapolis, IN Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 36-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Antwun Echols Unanimous decision 12 December 12, 1999 Miami, FL Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 35-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Robert Allen TKO 7 (12), 1:18 February 6, 1999 Washington, D.C. Retained IBF Middleweight title.
NC 34-2-1
1 NC
Flag of the United States Robert Allen No contest 4 (12), 2:57 August 28, 1998 Las Vegas, NV The fight was ruled a no contest
when Hopkins was injured after
he was accidentally pushed out
of the ring by referee Mills Lane,
who was trying to break up a
clinch. Retained IBF
Middleweight title.
Win 34-2-1 Flag of the United States Simon Brown TKO 6 (12), 1:00 January 31, 1998 Atlantic City, NJ Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 33-2-1 Flag of the United States Andrew Council Unanimous decision 12 November 18, 1997 Upper Marlboro, MD Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 32-2-1 Flag of Jamaica Glen Johnson TKO 11 (12), 1:23 July 20, 1997 Indio, CA Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 31-2-1 Flag of the United States John David Jackson TKO 7 (12), 2:22 April 19, 1997 Shreveport, LA Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 30-2-1 Flag of the United States William Bo James TKO 11 (12), 2:02 July 16, 1996 Atlantic City, NJ Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 29-2-1 Flag of the United States Joe Lipsey KO 4 (12), 2:50 March 16, 1996 Las Vegas, NV Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 28-2-1 Flag of Guyana Steve Frank TKO 1 (12), 0:24 January 27, 1996 Phoenix, AZ Retained IBF Middleweight title.
Win 27-2-1 Flag of Ecuador Segundo Mercado TKO 7 (12), 1:10 April 29, 1995 Landover, MD Won vacant IBF Middleweight
title, vacated USBA
Middleweight title.
Draw 26-2-1 Flag of Ecuador Segundo Mercado Draw 12 December 17, 1994 Quito, Ecuador Fight was for the vacant IBF
Middleweight title. Scoring was
114-111 Hopkins, 113-113, and
116-114 Mercado.
Win 26-2 Flag of Mexico Lupe Aquino Unanimous decision 12 May 17, 1994 Atlantic City, NJ Retained USBA Middleweight
title.
Win 25-2 Flag of the United States Melvin Wynn TKO 3, 0:48 February 26, 1994 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 24-2 Flag of the United States Wendall Hall TKO 3 (12), 0:28 November 23, 1993 Las Vegas, NV Retained USBA Middleweight
title.
Win 23-2 Flag of the United States Roy Ritchie TKO 7 (12), 1:47 August 3, 1993 Philadelphia, PA Retained USBA Middleweight
title.
Loss 22-2 Flag of the United States Roy Jones, Jr. Unanimous decision 12 May 22, 1993 Washington, D.C. Fight was for the vacant IBF
Middleweight title.
Win 22-1 Flag of the United States Gilbert Baptist Unanimous decision 12 February 16, 1993 Denver, CO Retained USBA Middleweight
title.
Win 21-1 Flag of the United States Wayne Powell TKO 1 (12), 0:21 December 4, 1992 Atlantic City, NJ Won vacant USBA
Middleweight title.
Win 20-1 Flag of the United States Eric Rhinehart KO 1, 1:47 September 14, 1992 Philadelphia, PA
Win 19-1 Flag of the United States James Stokes KO 1 August 28, 1992 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 18-1 Flag of Colombia Anibal Miranda Decision 10 May 21, 1992 Paris, France
Win 17-1 Flag of the United States Randy Smith Decision 10 April 3, 1992 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 16-1 Flag of the United States Dennis Milton TKO 4 (10) January 31, 1992 Philadelphia, PA
Win 15-1 Flag of the United States Willie Kemp Unanimous decision 10 December 13, 1991 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 14-1 Flag of the United States David McCluskey TKO 7 (10) November 26, 1991 Philadelphia, PA
Win 13-1 Flag of the United States Ralph Moncrief TKO 1 (10), 1:28 September 23, 1991 Philadelphia, PA
Win 12-1 Flag of the United States Danny Mitchell KO 1 July 9, 1991 Philadelphia, PA
Win 11-1 Flag of the United States Pedro Marquez TKO 1 June 20, 1991 Parsippany, NJ
Win 10-1 Flag of the United States Steve Langley TKO 3 (6), 1:10 March 18, 1991 Las Vegas, NV
Win 9-1 Flag of the United States Richard Quiles KO 1 (6) February 26, 1991 Philadelphia, PA
Win 8-1 Flag of the United States Mike Sapp TKO 1 November 17, 1990 Fort Myers, FL
Win 7-1 Flag of the United States Darrin Oliver TKO 1 October 20, 1990 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 6-1 Flag of the United States Percy Harris Unanimous decision 6 August 5, 1990 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 5-1 Flag of the United States Khalif Shabazz KO 1, 0:36 June 30, 1990 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 4-1 Flag of the United States Jouvin Mercado TKO 2 (4), 0:43 May 31, 1990 Rochester, NY
Win 3-1 Flag of the United States Eddie Tyler TKO 1 May 18, 1990 Atlantic City, NJ
Win 2-1 Flag of the United States Keith Gray TKO 1 April 26, 1990 Philadelphia, PA
Win 1-1 Flag of the United States Greg Paige Unanimous decision 4 February 22, 1990 Philadelphia, PA
Loss 0-1 Flag of the United States Clinton Mitchell Majority decision 4 October 11, 1988 Atlantic City, NJ

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