Bernard Hopkins competed from 1988 all the way to 2016, and is known for his ability to defy his age and compete, though everyone has their limit.
Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins was one of the most successful boxers of the past few decades, with a record full of high-profile names.
Hopkins, who was the oldest champion in history, retired at 55-8-2, and has shared the ring with the likes of Sergey Kovalev, Roy Jones Jr., Joe Calzaghe, Oscar De La Hoya, and Felix Trinidad.
His career finally reached its conclusion when, at the age of 51, Hopkins faced a young and hungry fighter.
Joe Smith Jr. retired Bernard Hopkins three years before putting Dmitry Bivol on the map
Joe Smith Jr. was 22-1 and 27 years old when he faced 55-7-2 Hopkins in 2016.
Despite Hopkins’ advanced age, the fight was relatively close, with one judge having the fight in favor of Hopkins going into the eighth round.
Smith Jr. would leave no doubt though, when he knocked Hopkins entirely out of the ring, scoring a knockout win over the seasoned veteran. This was Hopkins’ only loss by stoppage.
Whilst Hopkins, who beat Kelly Pavlik, retired, Smith went on to bigger things, and faced 15-0 Dmitry Bivol in 2019. Bivol beat Smith Jr. in a shutout victory that caused him to receive much attention from fans of the sport.
Smith gathered a few more wins before concluding his career with back-to-back defeats to Artur Beterbiev and Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
Joe Smith Jr. speaks on Bernard Hopkins victory
In an appearance on Sky Sports’ Toe2Toe podcast, Smith Jr. spoke on his win over Hopkins:
“Everyone, going into the fight, was saying I can’t box and I just got lucky by landing a big punch [to knock out Andrzej Fonfara in his previous fight].
Hopkins was underestimating me, big time. I shocked everybody for a second time.”
When asked who his toughest foe was, Smith’s answer was easy:
“Dmitry Bivol is, by far, the best fighter I have faced. I think he’s the best out there at the moment, he is a very good fighter.”