The Bernard Hopkins Era Ends

http://gty.im/458005680 Bernard Hopkins is the greatest fighter I ever saw. Not the most exciting, no. But the smartest and most dedicated. Until the age of FIFTY he stayed at the world elite class level and still never took a beating until the very end last night in Los Angeles when he literally had to be punched out of the ring by Joe Smith. Hopkins did not possess extraordinary hand speed or punching power, his best weapon was his mind and his mental strength. He never was protected, they tried to steal his middleweight titles and make him fight all the awkward troublesome spoiler styles and yet he always came out on top. That’s how true greatness is built – by being thrown in with the best, the ugliest, the meanest, the strongest, the avoided, and see if you can handle it. Bernard always handled it and became a ring genius super champion on a level we probably will never see again. Through four decades Hopkins stayed dedicated and lived the life of a gladiator and never let himself fall out of shape. I witnessed many of his fights and press conferences where his intelligence and confidence totally psyched out several opponents long before the first bell. Good, solid, unbeaten, confident, prime fighters too. Bernard Hopkins is the greatest all around fighter I ever saw and it was a great privilege and career highlight to be a part of the sport to cover this amazing (yet still unsung and misunderstood) iconic figure who deserves to have a big budget Hollywood movie produced about his life and career. Thank you Bernard Hopkins, nobody in the history of boxing ever did it better. And mark my words, nobody ever will. – Scoop Malinowski