INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Boxing’s most feared fighter, Father Time, doesn’t quibble about A-side/B-side status. Father Time doesn’t fool around with catch weights or rehydration clauses, isn’t concerned purse splits. Father Time doesn’t care about walk out music – whatever his opponents use is fine. Father Time does fight dirty, rarely fights anybody one-on-one, and typically doesn’t start any fights in round one. Father time shows up some time after the first bell, and only fully reveals himself to an opponent a few rounds before there’s an ending. In boxing, that ending is usually an ugly or brutal stoppage.
Saturday night December 17, 2016 sure-fire Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins attempted to walk away from the game that indelibly changed the course of his life before Joe Smith Jr. – Hopkins’ hand picked opponent for his swan song fight – ruined the perfect walk-off moment. Hopkins seemed to overcome 25 months of inactivity to at least set Smith Jr. up for an interesting second half of Hopkins’ 67th, and final fight, until a left hook displaced 51-year old Hopkins from the ring.
Several ringside onlookers instinctively assisted Hopkins in getting back to his feet as referee Jack Reiss completed the allotted 20-second count, bringing the light heavyweight title fight to an end. Although a new WBC International champion was decided the attention appeared to be on Hopkins’ well-being – and his complaint that he was pushed out of the ring. A scenario not too dissimilar to Hopkins’ behavior during the confusion that ended his 2011 fight with Chad Dawson.
Hopkins’ displeasure with the ending of his final fight may have suggested that his illustrious career, one spanning 28 years, may not be over.
Bernard Hopkins (55-8-2, 32 KOs) entered the ring to face Long Island, New York’s Joe Smith Jr. (23-1, 19 KOs) a little less than a month away from turning 52 years old. Hopkins was also expecting to collect an impressive victory on his way into retirement, as Smith Jr. had introduced himself to the boxing world with a stunning first round upset knock out victory over Andrzej Fonfara back in June.
The first round hinted that Hopkins’ inactivity since his November 2014 bout with Sergey Kovalev may be problematic, as Smith Jr connected with 14 power punches. Hopkins appeared to be slightly wobbled after being caught near his temple with a right hand at the end of a clinch. Smith Jr also added a solid left hook in that sequence.
In round two Smith Jr’s body work was highlighted by a thudding right hand that Hopkins paused to acknowledge, the veteran responded shortly after with a straight right hand counter off the ropes – a shot badly needed to command some respect. In the midst of the action Smith Jr was cut above the left eye by a Hopkins butt, and in between rounds Smith’s trainer Jerry Capobianco was overheard reminding Smith that the butt was expected because “he’s a dirty f__.”
Hopkins warmed up in round three, landing a nice right hook and a solid body shot over the first 90 seconds. This was the first moment in the fight that the champion seemed to transition from reacting and began flashing his signature springing straight right hand that has become his best offensive threat over this last phase of his career. Executing this punch is crucial for Hopkins’ success because of his gradually declining punch output through his 40s. Now fighting near or above age 50, CompuBox statistics indicates Hopkins attempted just an average of 15.7 punches per round against his last two opponents Beibut Shumenov and Sergey Kovalev. Landed punches rarely hit 50% in boxing, so Hopkins is already unlikely to land above 8 shots per round.
Over the next few rounds Smith Jr continued to add to his lead, but Hopkins kept reminding the challenger he was in the ring with one sweet science’s all-time greats. In round four’s final minute Hopkins connected with a nice left hook and a right hand in front of Smith Jr’s corner.
Hopkins continued to operate brilliantly off the ropes to open the fifth round, connecting with a pair of right hands as Smith Jr followed him around the ring. However, over the second half of the round Smith Jr’s body work began to pay off, as Hopkins became more stationary making him more susceptible to the types of flurries that Smith Jr was counting on for a knock out.
Smith Jr pumped his jab throughout the sixth round, maintained his pressure by often shooting several power shots, and forced Hopkins to stay sharp defensively. This activity continued into the seventh round, but with less and less offense coming back in return from Hopkins. Suddenly, the notion that the boxing clinic Hopkins put on display against former light heavyweight title holder Tavoris Cloud in 2013 was never going to materialize. The Alien lack the pop in his punches or an extra gear to shift to in his movement.
The first 30 seconds of round eight would remove all suspense. Smith Jr didn’t need to figure out how to cut the ring off, Hopkins slowed down enough for Smith Jr to close the distance and land a multiple punch combination that culminated with a vicious left hook that knocked Hopkins through the ropes. Hopkins gathered himself and got back to his feet, but even as the referee’s count could barely be heard amid the confusion Hopkins appeared to be impaired to some degree.
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After several minutes elapsed as the proper medical attention was administered to Hopkins for both a lower leg injury and a possible head injury, Smith Jr was declared the new WBC International light heavyweight champion. At the moment the knock out occurred, Smith was ahead 69-64 and 67-66 for two judges, but Hopkins was up 67-66 in the eyes of the third judge.
While still in the ring Hopkins assured anybody willing to listen that the balance of fight belonged to him. Later with HBO’s Max Kellerman, back in the dressing room area, Hopkins remained emphatic about being pushed out of the ring by the new champion, and he continued to argue that the fight was playing out in a manner that was to his favor – in his opinion Smith Jr was beginning to fatigue.
Hopkins being ahead in the fight going in to the eight round was laughable. Maybe HBO’s Harold Lederman was too harsh in his critique of Hopkins’ performance being lackluster through the fight’s first half, but ultimately the hard-punching Smith Jr didn’t leave the decision up to the judges. Furthermore, Hopkins’ unexpected loss to Smith Jr shouldn’t be judged too harshly in the eyes of Hopkins’ supporters or his detractors. The Executioner’s run in the fight game is legendary, he holds several records and accomplishments, his resume is impeccable, and he attempted to walk away with a very calculated exit against a game fighter he selected. He didn’t overlook Smith’s talent – he just lost to hard-hitting puncher that is 24 years younger than him.
In this writer’s eyes this loss to Joe Smith Jr – albeit a loss with a brutal ending – will be treated like any other great tale’s epilogue or afterword: The events of the story itself were so great, that I didn’t even bother to read it. Bernard Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in prison at 17 years old, walked out of prison in 1998 after serving five years, and now in 2016 he retires from boxing as a multi-millionaire as a partner of Golden Boy Promotions. B Hop, the only thing you should do the next time you’re in Los Angeles is getting a meeting for a biopic. Movies about Philadelphia boxers don’t too bad!
Had some great guests on the PMNM podcast to discuss Bernard Hopkins and many other recent boxing topics… click play and enjoy!
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