Hopkins's fifth pro fight

"Jovin Mercado was scheduled to fight tonight... Bernard Hopkins wasn't."
I'm tired of hearing about how former middleweight king Bernard is boring, unentertaining, and only concerned with defense. It's also saddening to hear the great Larry Merchant, who gave him all kudos in 2001, let his personal biases dictate revisionist history in this regard.
So without further ado, here's Hopkins, 25, in his fifth pro fight, resembling an amped-up Felix Trinidad no less, fight with conviction, aggression, accurate left hooks and straight rights, and stalk like nobody's business. Taken on short notice, in the other dude's hometown, this is a true badass, possibly as the underdog.
This Bernard would smoke Taylor in four.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• boxing
• bernard
• hopkins
• al
• bernstein
• middleweight
• badass
• knockout
• mayweather
• mma
• pacquiao
• ufc

[Marz916]

Hopkins paid his dues, he did it the old school way, nothing was given to him, he saw an opportunity to take a fight on short notice and he took it, this man was very very hungry.

[SmelOdies]

@Marz916 And who the hell are you? Just kidding, Marz, I agree. This is the vid I showed friends who thought of Hopkins as the boring guy from the Taylor fights.

[PipRocks666]

Early B-HOP! This is a fight I watch at least once a year again and again! CLASSIC!!

[SmelOdies]

@PipRocks666 I saw your tweet to Bernstein. Cheers! Check out the song I wrote about B-Hop, "Ring Lesson in Quebec." Someone else wrote the words.

[dacoldtruth]

thank you for this upload !! this is classic material !!!! bernard has the best jaw in boxing !!!! never been down and i never seen him cut or hurt ! what a talent and gift to the sport of boxing !!!! they dont come like this often !!! the only others to have success for this long in their careers are boxers like foreman and calzahke and holyfield who were all great in thier late 30's early 40's

[SmelOdies]

Hopkins was down a small handful of times.

[RyanSet]

Bernard Hopkins is nothing short of inspiring dude did 5 years in prison came out and lost his pro debut! Wow can you imagine the feeling? Puts the negativity aside and becomes nothing short of a boxing legend.... Hopkins one of the best to ever lace em up, a fighters fighter

[Jonezaay]

@jimpurdie and about 3 stone lighter lol

[SmelOdies]

@fpapado78 I'll say.

[VILEHINTZ]

ton of vasoline on his face

[DowntownPx]

he lok like hopkns but younger @jimpurdie

[1cwa]

the terror wtf lol b hop my fav fighter of all time

[jimpurdie]

hopkins looks like mike tyson here only a little taller.

[lawrence9423]

Hopkins is a hall of famer and one of if not the best to represent what a fighter is suppose to be about.

[BreuckelensFinest]

Absolutely AMAZING! Hopkins was then and is now a superb Boxing Technician. One of the best I've ever seen.

[mybabe2023]

bernard was robbed in the calzagieh fight any true boxing fan knows this

[FIGHTFANNERD3]

@RyanSet indeed