Before 1910, boxing matches lasted an unlimited amount of rounds. A fight wasn’t over until one man was knocked unconscious, quit or the local police stepped in to halt the bout. The longest bout in recorded history took place in 1893 when Andy Bowen and Jack Burke battled for 111 three-minute rounds. After both fighters were too dazed and exhausted to answer the 112th bell, the referee ruled the bout a no-contest. Bernard Hopkins was ringside.
OK, Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KO) is not quite that old – yet. However, Saturday night on HBO World Championship Boxing, the soon-to-be 52-year-old fighter will face-off against 27-year-old Joe Smith Jr. in the final fight of his career.
Hopkins’ career has a lot in common with the infamous bout between Bowen and Burke. It has lasted much longer than anybody in their right mind would have expected. Unlike Bowen and Burke though, it appears that Hopkins will end his career on his terms – on his feet with his physical and mental faculties intact.
Police almost halted Hopkins’ career before it ever started. The Philadelphia native was arrested more than 30 times as a youth and eventually spent five years in prison for armed robbery. Hopkins discovered his love for boxing behind bars and it gave him hope that he could escape the street life.
Shortly after he was released from prison, Hopkins turned pro and lost his first fight via majority decision. According to Hopkins, he turned back to the streets for the next two years before deciding that his legacy would be built in the ring and not inside the Pennsylvania penal system.
Hopkins changed his habits. In addition to changing his grimy ways, he gave up eating sweets and drinking alcohol and soda. He began to get serious about his training regime and his diet.
While Hopkins was never the fastest or hardest-hitting fighter, the discipline he developed outside of the ring began to show inside it.
Following a loss to Roy Jones Jr. in 1993, Hopkins went 26 fights without a loss, including a record-setting 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses.
The victory that put Hopkins on the mainstream map was his destruction of then-undefeated icon Felix “Tito” Trinidad Jr. in 2001. He knocked out the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya three years later and became a bankable boxing star.
All along, Hopkins did it his way. Inside boxing circles, the crafty ring general was known for being as difficult outside the ring as he was inside it. Hopkins routinely sued his own promoters, griped at reporters for perceived disrespect and nearly started an all-out riot after stomping on the Puerto Rican flag prior to his bout with Trinidad. In the ring, he was known to use low blows, elbows, shoulder butts or any advantage he could when the referee wasn’t looking.
At age 51, the fighter once known as “The Executioner” has become much more mellow and statesmanlike in his demeanor, but it just as tough and strong-willed as ever.
While other fighters have fought into their late 40s or early 50s, most have cringe worthy performances, by badly damaged fighters chasing the almighty dollar. Look no further than Jones, who at 47 continues to round the globe fighting bums. The once-untouchable Jones looks every bit of his age in the ring. He’s been knocked out against the last four decent fighters he’s faced, but has sandwiched those losses with wins against cab drivers and yoga instructors.
Hopkins continues to fight world-class opponents. Smith (22-1-0, 18 KO), his upcoming opponent, is coming off an upset KO victory over former light heavyweight title contender Andrzej Fonfara. Smith is no Sergey Kovalev, who soundly defeated Hopkins in his last bout in 2014, but the fellow knockout artist is a credible opponent and is currently the #2 rated fighter by the WBC.
At nearly 52-years-old, most people would advise Hopkins not to fight at all. If he did, surely boxing fans would give Hopkins a pass for fighting a tomato can the last time he laced up his gloves.
That’s not Bernard Hopkins’ style.
“We as humans put limitations on ourselves,” Hopkins told reporters at his media workout. “When all is said and done, I don’t want to regret what I didn’t do.”
What Hopkins didn’t do is give up or give in. “The Alien” always managed to defy the odds, which is why he is likely to emerge as the victor against a man nearly 25 years his junior. Hopkins is just too crafty, too-wily and too-stubborn to lose in his farewell fight.
Unlike other fighters, who retire and unretire like they worked at Bridgestone, there’s little chance of seeing Hopkins back in the ring, except as a promoter. Hopkins has earned all the money, the titles and most-importantly the respect that he always deserved – and then some. And he did it the only way he knows how – the hard way.
“I want the book to be written good,” Hopkins said. “The last thing you remember about a good book is not the beginning, it’s the ending. I look at this as the final icing on the cake or that exclamation point. This is it. You know this is history.”
Win, lose or draw, just like that infamous fight 123 year ago, there’s no contest to claim Hopkins as a boxing legend and future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
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