Bernard Hopkins faced some of the best fighters of his era, including sharing 24 rounds with Roy Jones Jr and nine with Oscar De La Hoya.
‘The Executioner’ still holds the record as boxing’s oldest ever world champion at the age of 49. He was undisputed at middleweight and a three-time titlist at light-heavyweight.
Hopkins first faced Jones Jr way back in 1993, with ‘RJJ’ winning the IBF Middleweight world Title via unanimous decision while serving Hopkins his second loss after being defeated in his pro debut. The pair would rematch an incredible 17 years later, with Hopkins reversing the result to win on all three judges’ scorecards.
In between the two fights, Hopkins faced De La Hoya in 2004, a middleweight unification bout in which he dropped and stopped ‘The Golden Boy’ with a body shot in the ninth – his first knockout loss.
Speaking to The Spit Bucket Podcast, Hopkins said that Jones hit him the hardest in his career entire.
“The hardest punch I got hit with was when Roy hit me with a left hook early in that fight. I believe the 4th or 5th round. He hit me with a left hook to the body, to the ribcage, it got underneath my elbow.
“I knew I better not get hit with that no more tonight. My strength and determination is one of the reasons I didn’t go down, but it felt like a knife, that I was getting stuck with a knife.
“I couldn’t show Roy. Roy knew he got there he just knows I didn’t go nowhere. That changed my whole approach and had me hesitant. I learned from that. History shows that fight made me better and that experience made me better. I know what a shot like that can do to you.”
Hopkins and De La Hoya are now in business together in the form of Golden Boy Promotions, while Jones Jr has turned his hand to training up and coming fighters.
