Bernard Hopkins turns 47, wary of black boxing future – Boxing news
Bernard Hopkins, oldest boxing champion of all times, turned 47 last week. His big day was celebrated at the Philadelphia gym, when his friends balled him over with several surprises.
Realising his age, Hopkins is now uncertain about his coming years and at the same time worries about the future of black champions in boxing. Hopkins grabbed the major title at the age of 46, in May 2011, to become the oldest champion ever but was criticised
heavily for his age. He was never taken back by what others had to say about him. He was remarked and picked on by others widely, but never did he shy away from the fact that he is the oldest.
The much criticised boxer said, “I refuse to be the norm,” pointing towards on how different he is from others. Even his birthday cake had the tag, “Believe it or Not, Bernard Hopkins is 47,” but that was all fun and play.
The biggest surprise for the boxer was the arrival of his wax stature by ‘Ripley’s Believe it Or Not!’ in order to acknowledge Hopkins efforts to become the oldest champion ever.
Even though he has tried his level best not to be agitated by what critics have to say, it seems like he has now started to believe that he has to stop sometime soon. He is now moving towards his 50s yet he is challenging some of the big guns of the industry,
which makes most of his friends worried about his wellbeing. After being brutally defeat by Chad Dawson on October 15, 2011, Hopkins finally realised it is about time to hang up his gloves.
Currently, Hopkins is the WBC light heavyweight champion with 61 professional bouts in his portfolio. There are possibilities of Hopkins vs. Dawson rematch somewhere in the upcoming months, but nothing has been decided yet. Hopkins seems to be confused now;
on one end, he wants to keep fighting since it is his passion while on the other end, he is thinking about quitting.
Showing his fury towards critics, the WBC lightweight champion said, “They can't give you a reason other than, 'You're 47 and you don't need to do it anymore’. I haven't had that type of fight to say that, physically, Bernard Hopkins should stop fighting,
or his head is not right, or he can't put three sentences together.”
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