In the 2:28 minute mark of Round 8, Bernard Hopkins fell out of the ring after a series of punches landed coming from Joe Smith.
It was a bizarre scene to end an extraordinary 28 years boxing career that began in 1988. He was stopped for the first time during the final fight of his incredible career.
The 51 year-old Hopkins (55-8-2 32 KOs) was knocked out of the ring.
This happens to boxers who hangs around a little bit too long. The sport will push you out of retirement. Well for me the best time for Bernard to actually retire was when he beat Beibut Shumenov. He got a title at that time, he was 49. But well, it was really tempting to have another shot at age 50. I think that was a record also in boxing. He lost to Sergey Kovalev when he they fought when he was 50.
Watch: @beastsmithjr knocks @THEREALBHOP out of the ring 53 seconds into round 8, ending the fight. #Final1 https://t.co/Pj2svLUlC9
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) December 18, 2016
Well, for Hopkins it may look like a “controversial” loss because of what had happened. If he did not fell out the ring, he could have got up before the count of ten and manage to continue. In fairness, he wasn’t unconscious when he landed outside the ring.
But anyway, I hope this result will convince Hopkins not to fight again anymore and sticks to retiring. He should not wait to be knockout cold out there. Just like what happen to Roy Jones Jr. in one of his recent fights.
