by David P. Greisman - ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — It didn’t begin that far from here, and yet it’s been a long journey for Bernard Hopkins.
It began at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City on Oct. 11, 1988. If you’d been in the stands that night, you would have seen Hopkins lose his pro debut to Clinton Mitchell, an opponent who at the time was just as unknown.
You would not have foreseen what, and where, Hopkins would be — 25 years and 15 days later, headlining in Boardwalk Hall just a mile’s stroll down the boardwalk from Resorts Casino, scoring his 54th pro victory with a unanimous decision over Karo Murat.
You would not have predicted that Hopkins would go on to win a world title at middleweight in 1995, defending it over the next 10 years with 19 wins and 1 no contest.
You would not have predicted that Hopkins would become the undisputed champion at 160 pounds, knocking out Felix Trinidad in front of a hostile crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 2001.
You would not have even remembered the 23-year-old who left the ring with the 0-1 record.
You cannot help but remember Hopkins now, the 48-year-old man whose every win is another entry in the record books.
This win over Murat wasn’t the most significant, not in terms of the level of opponent. But it did break another record previously held by George Foreman. Hopkins’ win over Tavoris Cloud in March made him the oldest person to win a world title. Saturday’s victory made him the oldest person to defend a world title.
