Bernard Hopkins: measured against all time

general zod · Dec 2, 2010

For the Hopkins fans-very long read

How good is Hopkins, measured against all-time.

Competition Faced

Hopkins arguably answered more about the quality of his career competition after the age of 40 than he did before it, something that may never be seen again. For years, Hopkins was open for criticism. Despite impressive numbers, the case could be made Hopkins had been defeated by the best fighter he’d faced (the young Jones Jr.) without enough quality wins to compensate for it.

The young Jones may still be the best fighter he’s ever faced, but Hopkins wins post-40 added tremendously to his resume. What Hopkins did before 40 in terms of competition can be underrated, especially when one considers the ease with which he won for most of a decade.

Jones, despite the defeat, was a phenomenal talent and Hopkins comported himself well in winning a solid four rounds on all three judges cards. A win over former Jr. Middleweight titlist Lupe Aquino three fights later was a place for growth. Mercado was not, before or after Hopkins, a notable foe but he had to get through him to win a belt and one could make a case the beating Hopkins dished out the second time ruined Mercado. Of his early title defense victims, Joe Lipsey had shown promise but chose retirement after a fourth round bomb; John David Jackson was faded but capable; and Glen Johnson, while far from the peak form he’d reach at Light Heavyweight, was undefeated in 32 contests to then. Hopkins is still the only man ever to stop Johnson, the product of a sustained beating.

Among other foes prior to his unification run was former Welterweight champion Simon Brown who was admittedly a shell of his once fearsome self along with big punching Antwun Echols, all of it standard fare for a titlist in a split title era where interesting contenders can be made rare by sharing among beltholders. A sizable tick up came in 2001 with a Holmes who was in his second WBC reign and, of course, Felix Trinidad. Contested at a Madison Square Garden rich with the emotion and shadow of 9/11, Hopkins schooled a Trinidad who had been arguably the hottest fighter in the sport. The loss all but marked the end for Trinidad as a significant player in boxing’s upper echelon and allowed Hopkins to tie Monzon’s overall consecutive title defense record.

Hopkins moved to IBF defense number 15 in his first defense of the undisputed crown with a stoppage for former Jr. Middleweight titlist Carl Daniels. The less said about a ‘fight’ against Morrade Hakar the better but Hopkins followed in December 2003 with a shellacking of multiple-time WBA Middleweight titlist Williams Joppy. His September 2004 win over De La Hoya came as a sizable favorite and De La Hoya was lucky to be there after a debated win against Felix Sturm months earlier. Hopkins last successful defense came against the rugged Howard Eastman before a pair of fights where the decisions could well have gone to Hopkins against the then-undefeated Taylor.

It wasn’t a murderer’s row for most of his title reign but, as evidenced, it wasn’t a field easily handled by just anyone. Trinidad, a bona fide Hall of Famer based on his tenures at Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight, was at the peak of his powers and the win deserved all the credit it earned. Then came the second act.

Tarver had all but cleaned out Light Heavyweight and, while he won’t go down as a great fighter he proved very good. Hopkins defeated him in an almost toying fashion, including a knockdown. His only Light Heavyweight defense came in a catchweight affair with former Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright on a 12-0-1 hot streak which included a heated draw with Jermain Taylor for the Middleweight crown, a schooling decision win over Trinidad, and two decisions over Shane Mosley.

While defeated, Hopkins gets credit for accepting the challenge of then-reigning and undefeated Super Middleweight king Joe Calzaghe, scoring a knockdown in the first and building an early lead before flagging late. In his most memorable recent win, Hopkins went into a catchweight fight at 170 lbs. just months after Calzaghe in October 2008, taking on then-reigning and undefeated Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. The bout was no contest, Hopkins finding a fountain of youth and whipping Pavlik from bell to bell.

Since that win, Hopkins took off over a year before returning in late 2009 with a pair of stay busy wins, one of them a long sought piece of revenge. Longtime Middleweight journeyman Enrique Ornelas was a tune-up, followed by an April 2010 decision over a long faded Jones Jr. coming off a first round stoppage defeat. It was enough to wonder if Hopkins was circling the track farewell but then he signed for the reigning, recognized Light Heavyweight champion of the world. He’ll give up approximately eighteen years in the challenge. Assuming the fight comes off as scheduled, win or lose, it will be an extra point in his favor in terms of the level of foe Hopkins has faced.

Competition Not Faced

As always, this section is concerned with what did not occur more than why.

Between title shots at Jones and Mercado, Hopkins shared the same division as a younger John David Jackson, Reggie Johnson, and Gerald McClellan, Julian Jackson, and Steve Collins and any one of those fights would certainly have been intriguing.

The long reign of Hopkins at Middleweight allowed him to face most of who mattered during those years but there are still fighters who could be argued as misses. The most prominent of them, and the man who may have posed Hopkins the most problems, was 1990’s WBO Middleweight titlist Lonnie Bradley. Bradley was undefeated and defended that strap six times from 1995-97, possessing both height and pop only to be untracked by eye injuries.

Another WBO titlist, Harry Simon, looked like an emerging threat in the early 2000’s and had a crowd-pleasing style. A win over Winky Wright at Jr. Middleweight in 1998 spoke to his promise but a car accident and legal troubles in his native Namibia ruined his career. Interestingly, Simon-Hopkins almost came about in 2002, part of a Showtime deal that would also have seen a showdown with Calzaghe, but Hopkins turned the deal down in a bid to finish and get out of a contract with promoter Don King.

Among others who held belts during the reign of Hopkins were rugged Jorge Castro, an aging Jackson, Quincy Taylor, Japan’s Shinji Takehara, Hasine Cherifi, Julio Cesar Green, Otis Grant, Bert Schenk, Hector Velazco, and Felix Sturm. In parallel to Heavyweight Larry Holmes, most of the beltholders around Hopkins were there for short spurts and few defenses before moving along in musical chair fashion. They still merit notice.

Since he never officially fought at Super Middleweight, there isn’t a fighter or fights that can fairly be addressed but it would have been interesting to see Hopkins with a Frankie Liles or even Sven Ottke. At Light Heavyweight, Hopkins went straight at the man at the time. He did not, however, show much interest later on in challenges from a rising Chad Dawson.

Reaction to Adversity

Hopkins would overcome some nasty moments in both bouts with Echols. In the first, a foul right hand when the referee was breaking the fighters dropped and rocked Hopkins. He cleared his head and boxed masterfully against the dangerous puncher. In the rematch, an Echols body slam left Hopkins with at least a nasty shoulder stinger and he fought one handed for a while and laid a whooping while doing so.

These were positives. There are also some negatives. Hopkins has shown, at times, what some might construe as a flair for the theatrical. Hopkins is the master of accentuating a foul. Back in the 1990’s, NBA center Vlade Divac was renowned for his mastery of the flop. Hopkins can be an equivalent in the squared circle. In the Calzaghe fight, replays showed body shots or belt line slaps but Hopkins was able to buy time with reactions that screamed vicious cup shot. In the Jones rematch earlier this year, Hopkins would hold and hit but, when fouled back, react in a way that made one wonder if he could continue. Perhaps he was hurt as he appeared. The possibility exists that Hopkins knew how to work the moments to ultimate advantage, roaring into offense after recovery.

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general zod · Dec 2, 2010

Fouling used to be much more an issue in Hopkins fights generally. For instance, he lost points against Keith Holmes for his willingness to do whatever he felt he needed to do, rules be damned. Hopkins has also never been shy about holding and mauling on the inside. It is part of the old school mystique he carries, his knowledge of what is allowed and not allowed and how to do both towards desired ends. Bending of the rules was not always about overcoming adversity in that sense, but it could mentally defeat men and prevent adversity from cropping up.

Verdict on Bernard Hopkins: All-Time Great
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Do people here agree with this?

general zod · Dec 2, 2010

I would rank him in the 90-100 region

Lights Out · Dec 2, 2010

I'll read it in a bit but I'll say this- The Scene's against all time articles are exceptional. I love looking at fighters resume in depth and the competition faced looks at it in detail. Excellent articles all of them

Lights Out · Dec 2, 2010

It brings up so many wins over smaller men which is a shame really. His wins after 40 of course are his best ever (except him beating Tito). To me its how highlgy you rate his consistency at 160

pahapoisu · Dec 2, 2010

Lights Out said: ↑

It brings up so many wins over smaller men which is a shame really. His wins after 40 of course are his best ever (except him beating Tito). To me its how highlgy you rate his consistency at 160
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He did come in at 157 for the Trinidad fight. His lowest since 1997 and Tito was 158½.

general zod · Dec 7, 2010

Lights Out said: ↑

I'll read it in a bit but I'll say this- The Scene's against all time articles are exceptional. I love looking at fighters resume in depth and the competition faced looks at it in detail. Excellent articles all of them
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I agree, Cliff Rold is the man

general zod · Dec 7, 2010

Lights Out said: ↑

It brings up so many wins over smaller men which is a shame really. His wins after 40 of course are his best ever (except him beating Tito). To me its how highlgy you rate his consistency at 160
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I think his Tarver win is his best win

general zod · Dec 7, 2010

pahapoisu said: ↑

He did come in at 157 for the Trinidad fight. His lowest since 1997 and Tito was 158½.
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But come fight night, he would of dehydrated back up to 172 lbs

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Bernard Hopkins: measured against all time

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