"The Executioner" / "The Alien" / "B-Hop" Bernard Hopkins
Born: Jan. 15, 1965
Bouts: 67
Won: 55
Lost: 8
Draw: 2
NC: 2
KOs: 32
Induction: 2020
Born Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. on January 15, 1965 in Philadelphia, PA.
Hopkins turned pro in 1988 and won the USBA middleweight title before stopping Segundo Mercado (TKO 7) for the vacant IBF belt in 1995 to begin a historic 160-pound title reign that includes a division record 20 successful title defenses. Hopkins unified all four title bets, the first to do so, by defeating WBC champion Keith Holmes (W 12), scoring a riveting 12th round TKO over WBA champ Felix Trinidad and stopping Oscar De La Hoya (TKO 9) for the WBO title. After a decade atop the division, Hopkins lost the belts to Jermain Taylor in 2005 and soon moved up to light heavyweight to beat Antonio Tarver (W 12) in 2006. He won the WBC strap (W 12 Jean Pascal) in 2011, the IBF (W 12 Tavoris Cloud) in 2013 and the WBA (W 12 Beibut Shumenov) in 2014. Following losses to Sergey Kovalev and Joe Smith, Jr. he retired in 2016 with a record of 55-8-2, 2 NC, 32 KOs that includes wins over Roy Jones Jr., Winky Wright, Glen Johnson, Simon Brown, Carl Daniels, Antwun Echols and Kelly Pavlik. Highly respected during his 28 year career for his mental and physical acumen and intensity, Hopkins was named 2001’s “Fighter of the Year” and is the oldest fighter to ever win a world title (48 years) and the oldest to unify belts (49 years).
Hopkins, who was renowned for his aggressive, combination punching style combined with terrific defense, remains involved in boxing as a partner in Golden Boy Promotions.