I don't count 2 of his 3 losses to white boys. He was 49 when Kov beat him and 51 when Smith knocked him out of the ring. The Calzaghe loss at 43 is worse but in his very next fight he schooled that white boy Pavlik to make things right.Good career. Being a champion at almost 50.
Did lose to some white boys though, so you got to factor that in to the equation.
That's a joke but.., I hate to say it to those that don't know, black people used to always rile black fighters if they ever lost to a white fighter. My black stepdad would always point out with pride how Ali and Holmes never lost to a white guy, I still remember talking to a local black coach about Tyson losing to a white guy at the end of his career. That sentiment was real, it's changing now though, along with the sport, it's hardly even an american sport anymore.Good career. Being a champion at almost 50.
Did lose to some white boys though, so you got to factor that in to the equation.
IMO he's definitely an ATG, but where he ranks among the greats depends on what criteria you use. Prime vs prime he's worse than other greats, but nobody was even close to as good in his 40s as Bernard was, not even Foreman or Holmes. There's some incredible longevity there.
For me he was a great fighter, but he's not one of the goats.
The main losses which affect his legacy were his 2 losses to Talyor and his loss to Calzaghe. He did lose the first fight against Jones but he was still raw. I would actually rate hopkins as having a better career than Jones.
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Top 5 MW of all time imo. Probably lower than most would place him but as I said, I was never a fan
That really belittles Hopkins’ record for oldest world boxing champion in history.The thing that was impressive about Foreman in his 40s isn't what he did but the revealation about how badly he would have beaten the 90s HWs if they were the same age. Hopkins success at 45-50 was just that success at 45-50 it didn't put past dominance into perspective because he didn't have it.
Hopkins greatness comes from stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya when they came up to MW rather than how good a MW or LHW he was. Thats really were his hype comes from
The thing that was impressive about Foreman in his 40s isn't what he did but the revealation about how badly he would have beaten the 90s HWs if they were the same age. Hopkins success at 45-50 was just that success at 45-50 it didn't put past dominance into perspective because he didn't have it.
Hopkins greatness comes from stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya when they came up to MW rather than how good a MW or LHW he was. Thats really were his hype comes from
Na that’s ridiculous. Mw and lhw are way more skilled than heavyweight. What Bernard did from 40-50 has never been done..
That really belittles Hopkins’ record for oldest world boxing champion in history.
At 48 Foreman retired after a loss to briggs, At 48 Bhop won and defended a major org belt then unified it with another major org belt at 49 (not WBU baloney), then went the distance with Kova the same year.
This feat is one of the most special ones amongst all sports for a human to pull off. Most likely no combat athlete will break or even match it for many decades to come.