Bernard Hopkins was born on January 15, 1965 in Philadelphia, USA. Over the course of his life, this famous boxer has achieved dizzying career success and built strong relationships. You will learn about how Bernard went to his victories and how he experienced his falls from our article.
Childhood and adolescence
As you know, Hopkins Bernard was born in a dysfunctional family, so the boy never received a proper upbringing. The future boxer spent his childhood on the street, devoting all his free time to fights with peers. Lack of education, freedom of action, bad influence - all this significantly affected the formation of Bernard's personality. In one of the street fights, Hopkins was stabbed. And this is just 13 years old.
Prison
As you know, Hopkins acquired most of his skills by participating in all kinds of street fights. The guy's school teachers claimed that Bernard was unlikely to live to see his 18th birthday.
At 17, a young man is brought to trial. Before him opens a terrible prospect - to sit behind bars on18 years. As boxer Bernard Hopkins himself said: “I regret everything that I have done in my life, I regret that I chose this path. I confess that I have never stolen from children, women and the elderly. It just so happens that you have to answer for all your actions.”
Bernard spent 5 years in the Greyford Colony of Pennsylvania. The authorities considered that during this time the guy completely improved. As the boxer himself said: “After so many years in prison, I’m afraid to spit on the sidewalk.”
It should be noted that Bernard Hopkins converted to Islam after his release from prison.
First failure
The first steps towards a boxing career Bernard Hopkins began to take already in 1988. The fight in which he participated was lost. The fight took place in New Jersey and lasted 4 rounds. The loss did not affect the boxer's further aspirations, but, on the contrary, pushed him to move on with renewed vigor.
Victory and first achievements
After the first defeat, Bernard Hopkins, whose quotes have been read by millions, decides to hire a coach. The choice falls not on anyone, but on English Fisher (Bowie) himself. Under his leadership, Hopkins won 22 times, with 16 of the fights he finished by knockout.
Champion title
After a while Hopkins Bernard meets with Roy Jones. The fight is for the IBF title. Bernard hopes that this particular day will be fateful for him. But it did not happen - the boxer lost on points. Despite the loss, Hopkins was recognized by many as a true middleweight boxing star.
A year later, the boxer again has a chance to make his dream come true. April 29, 1995 he meets with Segundo Mercado, ranked second in the ranking. The fight takes place in Maryland. Finally, Bernard Hopkins, whose biography is full of interesting facts, achieves his goal. He is an IBF champion. Subsequent fights to confirm the title ended in knockouts of opponents. Among the losers was John Jackson, who could not resist the opponent already in the 7th round of the fight.
Win, win, win…
Further, fate smiled at Hopkins all the time. In 1997, Bernard defeated Glenkoff Johnson and then Andrew Council.
In 1998, the boxer met with Robert Allen. The fight ended with an injury to Hopkins. He fell over the rope and injured his ankle. Fortunately, Bernard quickly came to his senses and easily defeated his opponent in a rematch, knocking him out in the 6th round.
Global recognition
Despite the fact that Hopkins fought all the fights, winning only victories, he never achieved world recognition. In 2001, he signed with Don King and was included in his diamond collection of middleweight champions the same year.
In 2001, he wins again, this time over Marvin Hagler. Hopkins now holds the record for most successful title defenses.
Next he will fight with Trinidad, a boxer from Puerto Rico. It should be noted that Hopkins has always been distinguished by his thoughtlessdeeds. So it is in this case. The boxer the day before the fight threw the flag of Puerto Rico on the floor and stood on it with his feet. The whole world was waiting for an apology from Bernard, but they never came. Moreover, in front of tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, Hopkins again threw the flag and wiped his boots on it. Then he barely ran away from the angry mob.
Fight with Trinidad
The duel was expected to be bloody. Hopkins provoked his opponent more and more. On September 15, 2001, the long-awaited battle took place. It was the first time in his life that a Puerto Rican boxer had been beaten like that. His father even had to suspend the fight due to multiple injuries on his son's face.
In the same year, Hopkins was recognized as the best boxer of 2001.
Further career development
In 2004 Hopkins Bernard faced Oscar De La Hoya and beat him. Now he is the owner of champion titles of 4 organizations. As the boxer himself says: "My life has finally acquired a new color. Now I am an innovation in boxing. I am the guru and god of boxing. No one can ever defeat me."
Community activities
Hopkins has always paid a lot of attention to children from dysfunctional families. He spent so much time with them that it could interfere with the development of his career. Hopkins tried to have a positive influence on the boys and demonstrate his own example from life. To this day, the boxer tries to pay maximum attention to them.
Private life
After Bernard Hopkins was released from prison, he was lucky to meetgood girl. The couple are still together to this day. The boxer always says publicly that this is his beloved woman, to whom he is grateful for everything.
