Bernard Hopkins had an incredible professional boxing career which spanned across four separate decades.
Hopkins made his professional debut in October 1988, in a bout that he actually lost, making his remarkable career even more extraordinary.
He was unable to win his first two world title fights, but at the third time of asking claimed the IBF middleweight title with a seventh round stoppage over Sergundo Mercado.
Hopkins went on to become undisputed at 160lbs after wins over fellow greats Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, before he then moved up to 175lbs and claimed further world honours.
The American would go on to become the oldest world champion in boxing history at the age of 49, before taking part in his final contest in December 2016 at age 51.
Hopkins ended his career with 55 wins, 8 defeats, 2 draws and 2 no contests, with 32 of his wins coming by knockout, and he has now revealed who out of all of his opponents he deemed to have the best chin.
Speaking to Ring Magazine, he said that Robert Allen was the opponent he fought that he felt he could never knock out.
“We fought three times and he went the distance three times and I nailed him a couple of times and he looked at me. But he’s a tough Marine, so no surprise. But he has an iron chin.”
The three fights between Hopkins and Allen took place between 1998 and 2004, with the first ending in a no contest after a Hopkins injury.
Despite the comments of Hopkins, he actually won the second bout via seventh round stoppage – though Allen was on his feet at the time – while their third meeting resulted in a unanimous decision win for ‘The Executioner.’ Allen ended his career with a record of 39 wins, 5 defeats and 1 no contest.
