GOAT Index

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Bernard Hopkins: the case for the GOAT

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    Bernard Hopkins: the case for the GOAT

    Middleweight · USA · Born 15 January 1965, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA · Career 1988–2016

    'The Executioner', a cerebral middleweight and later light heavyweight. Known for discipline, ring intelligence and defensive craft, he was still winning world titles at 49.

    Career highlights

    Why Bernard Hopkins could be the GOAT

    Hopkins made 20 straight middleweight title defences, a division record, and unified all four major belts. Then, in his 40s, he moved up to beat Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik and won light heavyweight titles at 46 and 49. No one else here was elite for so long.

    What fans say

    Bernard Hopkins is #23 of 25 in the fan ranking, with a 0–2 head-to-head record from 19 Men's boxing votes. See the full Men's boxing GOAT ranking

    Bernard Hopkins head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

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