Bernard Hopkins? legendary career ended bizarrely Saturday during a fight at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in which he looked every one of his 51-plus years.
Hopkins was knocked out of the ring by a left-right-left combination from Joe Smith Jr. Hopkins fell backward to the floor with a thud, and couldn?t beat referee Joe Smith?s 20-count to get back into the ring.
When he failed to do so, his final fight ended ignominiously, with him on the losing end of an eighth-round technical knockout. He said the outside of his right ankle was throbbing.
Hopkins, who is a month away from his 52nd birthday, said he was pushed out of the ring, but replays clearly showed that was not the case. It was clean punches from Smith that knocked Hopkins into and ultimately through the ropes.
It was the first, and only, loss in his 67-fight career by knockout. Hopkins, who had a long stint as middleweight champion and was also the light heavyweight champion, ends his career at 55-8-2.
?I know for a fact that if I had not been pushed out of the ring after I had made him miss, the second half of the fight, where I?m known for coming back and I?m known for going after it when I?m down multiple rounds, I believe he was starting to fade out,? Hopkins said to HBO?s Max Kellerman in his locker room after leaving the ring.
