Bernard Hopkins is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters of all time.
Known by his moniker ‘The Executioner’, Hopkins began his journey as a professional fighter, suffering defeat in his debut before bouncing back and embarking on what turned out to be an accomplished career.
He would go on to win world titles in two weight divisions throughout the course of his tenure, including the undisputed world middleweight championship which he held for four years between 2001 and 2005.
Hopkins also remains the oldest world champion in the history of the sport, breaking this outstanding record back in 2014 when he held the unified WBA and IBF light-heayweight titles at 49-years-old before he was eventually dethroned by Sergey Kovalev.
He racked up victories over a number of generational greats during his career, including the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright to name just a few.
‘The Executioner’ also defeated fellow countryman Roy Jones Jr during the later stages of his tenure, although he was beaten by the five-division world champion when they faced each other for the first time back in 1993.
Speaking to the Ring Magazine, Hopkins admitted that whilst he managed to get the better of Jones when they fought for the second time, he accepts the fact that he would not have beaten his former rival during his prime.
“He was smart enough to neutralise my best weapons and smart enough to not get hit by my big shots. Even though I got my shots in he wouldn’t get hit by more than one. Like if I got one in … and that’s the thing about fighting unique guys … if a guy lands that one shot, normally there’s another coming behind that.
“He was an all-around thing – best boxer, best defence, offence…. Early career Roy Jones Jr. – speed, reflexes, unorthodox, that type of thing. No one, no one would have beat Roy Jones at that level, where he was at right there and then.”
At the height of his career, which came during the 1990s, Jones was regarded as being the most formidable fighter to walk the planet, defeating the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney and Hopkins during this period.
Jones eventually made the move up to heavyweight where he dethroned WBA world champion John Ruiz, an exceptional achievement for someone who was a natural 160lb fighter.
