https://twitter.com/HBOboxing/status/810356320196902912
On a night that was to be Bernard Hopkins’ glorious swan song, he ended his final fight on his back, outside the ring after a barrage of punches by his opponent Joe Smith Jr. sent him through the ropes and onto the arena floor. Hopkins was every bit the 51-year-old fighter throughout the fight and Smith mercilessly put an end to his night and career in the 8th round of the fight.
Hopkins landed on his head and complained of an illegal push and said he felt a tingling in his legs afterward, but replays showed it was a series of clean punches that finished him off. It’s an embarrassing end to a legendary, Hall of Fame career in which he became the oldest fighter to ever win a world championship at 46, a record he bested at ages 48 and 49. Before age became his claim to fame Hopkins notoriety grew when he defended the middleweight crown a record 20 straight times from 1994 until he lost two controversial decisions to Jermain Taylor in 2005.
At the time of the knockout Hopkins was actually up on one card, but his age finally showed in the ring as he was largely ineffective and eventually wilted under the pressure from Smith and his power. Hopkins said after the fight that he was unaware of the 20 seconds he had to get back in the ring, and doubled down on his claim that he was pushed out of the ring despite being told it was clean punches that did the damage. Hopkins did, however, reiterate that this was the final fight of career despite how upset he was with how it ended.
Check out the devastating knockout and end of Bernard Hopkins’ career from another angle below.
