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Counting down to what will be the final defense of his middleweight title against Jermain Taylor (23-0), Bernard Hopkins (46-2-1), win or lose has earned his place among the all time great middleweight champion's in history. Hopkins, has been middleweight champ since April 29th 1995, and has held it longer than any other fighter who's held the title. His 20 consecutive title defenses rank first among middleweight champion's, surpassing the previous record of 14 held former legendary champ, the late Carlos Monzon.
It can also be said that Hopkins met three of the top fighters of his era—Roy Jones, Felix Trinidad, and Oscar De La Hoya, only losing a decision to Jones. In some circles he's been admonished for losing to Jones. Which doesn't make sense since Jones was considered boxing’s best ever pound-for-pound fighters for nearly a decade. In fairness to Hopkins, he hadn't developed into the seasoned pro that he would eventually become when he met Jones. Since losing to Jones in May of 1993, Hopkins hasn't lost. His only other career defeat was in his pro-debut, something that isn't held against any past all-time great.
Some look at his stoppages of Trinidad and De La Hoya as no great accomplishment since they both moved up in weight to fight him. What is never mentioned is Trinidad was undefeated when he fought Hopkins and had won a piece of the middleweight title in his previous fight. And he was a 5-2 favorite to defeat Hopkins. De La Hoya had suffered three decision loses going into the Hopkins fight. However, two of them were highly disputed decisions. And he was never close to being stopped in any fight before fighting Hopkins. [details]
It can also be said that Hopkins met three of the top fighters of his era—Roy Jones, Felix Trinidad, and Oscar De La Hoya, only losing a decision to Jones. In some circles he's been admonished for losing to Jones. Which doesn't make sense since Jones was considered boxing’s best ever pound-for-pound fighters for nearly a decade. In fairness to Hopkins, he hadn't developed into the seasoned pro that he would eventually become when he met Jones. Since losing to Jones in May of 1993, Hopkins hasn't lost. His only other career defeat was in his pro-debut, something that isn't held against any past all-time great.
Some look at his stoppages of Trinidad and De La Hoya as no great accomplishment since they both moved up in weight to fight him. What is never mentioned is Trinidad was undefeated when he fought Hopkins and had won a piece of the middleweight title in his previous fight. And he was a 5-2 favorite to defeat Hopkins. De La Hoya had suffered three decision loses going into the Hopkins fight. However, two of them were highly disputed decisions. And he was never close to being stopped in any fight before fighting Hopkins. [details]