Top 50 middleweights ever - No 5, Bernard Hopkins

Legacy and legend are Bernard Hopkins's two favourite words. Old school is another (well it's two words really). Most of that legacy is built on the ten-year run that made him the longest reigning world middleweight champion in history. But does Hopkins really get the credit he deserves? He certainly doesn't think so.

Hopkins is a product of his times. At the time his reign was beginning, the boxers he hoped would provide that legacy were moving upwards - Roy Jones Jr, James Toney. When you stand back and think about it, it seems remarkable that Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe spent nearly eight years as world champions in division just eight pounds apart, but only met last month at light-heavyweight. The Calzaghe knockers will blame the Welshman for that, but it was Hopkins who backed out of the fight.

Indeed Hopkins's first six years as world middleweight champion, after he had lost to Jones, was remarkably uninteresting. He beat an old light-middleweight champion in John David Jackson (who would later become his pad man) and an old welterweight champion in Simon Brown. His most impressive scalp was that of Glen Johnson, becoming the first man to beat the Jamaican and also stopping him in the eleventh round, having won the first ten.

But Hopkins was very much on the minor circuit, boxing in Indian reservation casinos and places like Shreveport, Louisiana, and Landover, Maryland. Still, when he got his chance, he took it, winning unification matches against Keith Holmes, Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya to become the first boxer to hold WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles at the same time.

Hopkins's lack of opportunities came from his unwillingness to play ball with the television companies and major promoters, while his often unexciting style made him easy to freeze out. The other minus point for him was his unwillingness to travel as a champion - two bouts abroad, a draw in Ecuador and an early career points win over a journeyman as the house fighter in Paris do not make a champion of the world.

Still, for being the longest reigning middleweight champion, Hopkins gets a top five spot.

Comments

[James Fairweather]

As I said, Kid, I don't disagree about the standard of Hopkins' opposition - this isn't his fault and is a charge that is routinely levelled at many long-reigning champions. Joe Louis, Joe Calzaghe and, of more relevance in this division, Marvin Hagler suffer this accusation.

Let's examine Hagler's championship record, leaving out Duran (against whom he was woeful), Hearns, Leonard and Mugabi, all of whom were above their best weights. Fully Obel twice, Mustafa Hamsho twice, Antuofermo, Scypion, Lee, Sibson and Roldan do not constitute an imposing selection of fighters on the face of it and are certainly no better than Joppy, Holmes, Eastman, Echols and Glen Johnson.

I'm not saying this to denigrate Hagler, who is in the Top 10 of my favourite ever fighters, but to point out that it is child's play to pick holes in a fighter's record when he has been champion for any length of time. Hopkins is not the equal of Hagler, we may agree. It is not ridiculous to call him a Top 10 middleweight, however.

[Crashing Dashing Kid]

C'mon fellas ... let the dissenters list Hopkins best wins that did not involve fighters who were moving up in weight or those that were past their best. I wait with baited breath.

[Phill Arrowsmith]

I've never liked Hopkins as a 'fighter' because he is too negative but this brings us back to an argument that has been going on (at least in my mind!) since the Best of British list - that of record over perceived skill. On record alone Hopkins deserves at least a top five place. Unfortunately, despite being a truly exceptional counter puncher, his style is so frustrating that he will never be widely respected and his place in history will merely be in the stats of his achievements as opposed to any glory. Personally I would do the list entirely on a hunch and almost ignore the stats - but then I'd have Herol Graham in the top 10 (had he been around in this day of alphabet champions he'd have ruled for years) so that would just cause more arguments.

[BRAD]

I've got a lot of admiration for Hopkins, but he didn't do himself many favours for moaning after he lost to Calzaghe, and fighting so negatively. If there was a list for boxing's 50 best talkers, then Hopkins would be right at the top, but he often promised more than he actually delivered. His best wins at middleweight were against blown up welters in Trinidad and De La Hoya, while he lost to Roy Jones and Jermain Taylor. A legend in his own lunchtime, I reckon.

[James Fairweather]

C'mon Kid, I'm normally right behind you in your judgements, but there are least a couple of objections here that really can't be sustained.

Hopkins avoided no-one - he wasn't, as Ron Lewis has pointed out, much in the way of box office and was and is a difficult old cuss, which made it easy to sideline him when big fights were in the offing. Are you seriously suggesting that Hopkins was frit of someone at 160 lbs?

He didn't go abroad much - well, true, but Greb was conspicuous by his absence from foreign rings and I don't remember Ketchel travelling much, either.

Your argument about his success against smaller weight fighters is fair enough, but it should be remembered that even the great Hagler gets tarred with that brush. That is to forget Hagler's Philly wars and it also ignores Hopkins' dominance (post Roy Jones) of what was admittedly almost the worst decade in 160 lb history. Hopkins can't be held responsible for that standard.

I'm not sure that Hopkins belongs quite as high as 5, but credit where it's due - he would have held his own in most middleweight eras.

[Crashing Dashing Kid]

Hopkins is not a top 5 middleweight because he
a)avoided many top middleweight fighters
b)rarely fought outside his own country
c)was only successful against smaller fighters stepping up in weight, or fighters on the slide
d)only one of several champs in a very, very weak (historically speaking)division
If asked to name the list of genuine world class middleweight fighters Hopkins had defeated, only silence would follow. Hopkins could not beat Jones Jnr or Calzaghe. This evidence enough that he has never been the best fighter at whatever weight he has fought at. Had there been any decent level of competition at middleweight the better fighters would have stayed there - but all the good fighters by-passed it because it was devoid of class and Hops would not fight them anyways.