This made Hopkins the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship, at the age of 46, breaking George Foreman's record set in 1994.

[11] Nicknamed "The Executioner", and later "The Alien", Hopkins was known among observers for his longevity and ability to continue competing successfully at an advanced age.

He was also a very seasoned fighter, being able to take advantage of a wide variety of situations in the ring and implement rough and dirty tactics while fighting on the inside or in a clinch.

[19] Hopkins immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Clinton Mitchell.

After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the Blue Horizon on February 22, 1990.

[22] The IBF called for an immediate rematch, and on April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in Landover, Maryland.

[24] On September 29, 2001, WBA champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight championship in Madison Square Garden.

In the highest-paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder Oscar De La Hoya for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in Las Vegas.

Following his two losses to Jermain Taylor, Hopkins at 41 decided not to retire and made the decision to jump two weight divisions to face off against The Ring light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver on June 10, 2006.

[30] On July 21, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Hopkins defended The Ring light heavyweight championship against former undisputed junior middleweight champion Winky Wright.

Calzaghe did however quickly adapt to the style of Hopkins and caught up in the middle to later rounds using his superior hand speed and output volume, leading to a split decision win for the Welshman.

On the night of the fight, Hopkins turned back the clock to produce a performance he claimed to be the best of his career winning a unanimous decision (117–109, 119–106, 118–108) over the undefeated Pavlik.

Hopkins prepared for this fight in the late summer heat at his second home, Danny Hawk's "World Famous" Normandy Gym in Miami Beach, Florida.

The rematch was later postponed as a result of Jones Jr. falling to a first-round technical knockout loss to Australian Danny Green.

Hopkins and old foe Roy Jones Jr. agreed to fight in a rematch on April 3, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Hopkins defeated Jones by a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout marred by illegal blows and a skirmish at the end of the sixth round involving ring entourage, the referee and security guards.

On May 21, 2011, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Hopkins defeated Pascal by unanimous decision to capture the lineal/WBC/The Ring light-heavyweight championships.

[40][41] The official scores were 115–113 from Guido Cavalleri of Italy, 116–112 from judge Rey Danseco of the Philippines, and 115–114 from Thailand's Anek Hongtongkam.

After the bout, ESPN columnist Dan Rafael stated: "Bernard Hopkins already had lived several boxing lifetimes, but he was born yet again in Saturday's decision over Jean Pascal, becoming the oldest champion in history.

[46] Also on December 13, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has ruled that the decision will be overturned to a no-contest upon official review and the testimony of referee of the bout, Pat Russell.

Hopkins broke his own record becoming the oldest man in the history of the sport to win a major world boxing title, by defeating Cloud by unanimous decision.

Hopkins won by split decision with scores of 113–114, 116-111 and 116–111, becoming the oldest boxer in history to unify titles in a weight division.

[56][57][58] A deal was made in October for Hopkins to fight American boxer Joe Smith Jr., who last fought Fonfara in June knocking him out in less than 3 minutes.

Later it was confirmed that another co-feature fight has been signed, as Oleksandr Usyk would be defending his WBO cruiserweight title against Thabiso Mchunu.

Hopkins later explained his comments, saying that it was not meant to be taken as a racial slur or a reflection of his feelings on white fighters, but simply said to create some hype for his fight with Calzaghe.

[citation needed] On January 23, 2008, the fight was officially announced to take place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

In late 2010, Hopkins suggested that African American fighters who possessed what he described as a "slick" inner-city style of fighting would be successful against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

"[70] On May 11, 2011, Hopkins questioned Minnesota Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb's racial credentials in a Philadelphia Daily News online article.

Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that according to Hopkins, McNabb had a privileged childhood in suburban Chicago and, as a result, is not black enough or tough enough, at least compared with, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens.

"The great Sugar Ray Leonard, right now, if he was boxing, the way that they want you to fight, the people that pull the strings of the puppet, he would be boring today.