Biography of Hopkins Boxer

Coaches: Bowie Fisher R. The first boxer, who won over the undefeated in 40 battles by Felix Trinidad and the only one who defeated Trinidad ahead of schedule. The only boxer who won a knockout over Oscar de la Hoya. The first boxer in history, who simultaneously took possession of all four main titles of the world champion. The boxer who owned the world's world title in mid -weight for the longest time in history for 10 years.

A boxer who defended the world's world -weight title is a record number of 20 times. The oldest boxer in history, who owned the world's title in middleweight 49 years. The two -time oldest worldwide champion in the history of boxing, which broke the record of Archie Moore, and then his own. The two -time oldest world champion in the history of boxing, who broke the record of George Forman, and then his own.

How he knows how to box and at what age he does this can be judged by the two nicknames of Hopkinsk: “executioner” and “stranger”. The first nickname belongs to his style boxed, on the one hand, this is the Old Skul, a verified, cautious and smart box with a variety of arsenal, on the other hand, boxing, where “all techniques are good”, if it leads to victory, the same variety of “dirty techniques” with combining “attacking actions” with “clinema”, which did not stand in his career in his career.

Hopkins. The second nickname was obtained by him with age after setting a number of records: at 46, 47 and 49 years old, Bernadr Hopkins managed to win champion belts in different categories, breaking the record of George Forman and his own! The future "executioner" was born in Philadelphia, where, as you know, it is always sunny. Under the bright sun, Hopkins-Jr.

studied the first combat skills in street fights. He fought so often that his family and teachers did not believe that he would live up to 18 years old. Saved a young criminal, oddly enough, a prison. He spent five years almost gave 18! In general, his path is similar to the story of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Hopkins also became a Muslim, like both legends of boxing, and tied with crime with the help of sports, like an iron Mike.

Bernard Hopkins realized quite early that in life he could only hope for two things: his fists and his mind. He is a classic example of a person who has survived in the most severe environment and managed to break out of it. And this story began on the streets of Philadelphia on January 15. The ghetto is not the best place for childhood and youth. Children who are born in the ghetto are very early aware of the true meaning of the phrase "the strongest survives." Every square inch of the sidewalk “belongs” to someone, and wherever you go, attentive eyes are watching you.

Strangers are recognized in the blink of an eye, and the territories are protected with animal rage. In the atmosphere of the ghetto, the aura of hopelessness is hung, which is not nowhere else in the world. A wise man would tell you - if you have no place there, do not go there. As Hopkins himself once said: "From time to time, someone manages to break out, but among these people there are very few Harvard graduates." Among them, there are also no boys from the church choir, and Hopkins were no exception.

From the youngest age, Hopkins earned a reputation as a strong guy thanks to the ability to fight. In fact, his reputation was so strong that weaker children were looking for protection from offenders from neighboring quarters, and Hopkins provided them with this protection. For a fee. Even as a child, Hopkins liked to receive a reward for each of his assault. It could be a trifle, or a couple of sandwiches - for Hopkins, the very fact of payment for the protection of the weak was important for Hopkins.

And with every new fight, he became stronger. The stronger he became, the faster his reputation grew. And with the growth of his reputation, fear grew up in the hearts of the no back and offenders from the quarters. And the more they were afraid of him, the higher the price he appointed for his services. Often some close person has a great influence on the child. He may not suspect this, but nevertheless he plays an important role in the formation of the character of the child.

Hopkins also had such an idol. He was a man named Jazz. Jazz once worked in the police, and after retirement, he turned his basement into a training room for teenagers, where they studied boxing, instead of staggering the streets. Hopkins loved this hall very much, and he especially liked the days when Jazz arranged demonstrative battles at fairs and exhibitions between his wards.

It was in that basement at the age of ten years that the future absolute world champion in middleweight raised the gloves for the first time on his hands, without even suspecting then that these very gloves will lead him to salvation. However, growing up required him to spend more and more time on the streets. Unfortunately, the mother of Hopkins, Shirley, her son increasingly chose the street until the school turned into a vague memory.

Shirley Hopkins tried, as she could, to protect her son from dangers associated with a street way of life, and said to him: “You will find yourself in prison, son!The time has come when he stopped enjoying receiving small money for beating a bully. And then he moved to more serious “affairs” - armed robberies, attacks and penetrations into someone else's property. He became such an awesome figure in quarters that more than once, when he approached, people simply gave him everything he wanted, just not to incur his anger.

It was dangerous to call him for battle or put resistance to health, so women were the only people who felt safe. Hopkins never took anything from women. On the way down the criminal round of Hopkins’s life was arrested more than once, and for some time he had to spend in colonies for young criminals - “children's prisons”, as Hopkins called them. Very little time passed, until the prediction of his mother was the prediction.

If the authorities of Philadelphia believe that the system of punishment of young criminals is ineffective in relation to a particular teenager, they have the right to “certify” this teenager. Bernard Hopkis was “certified” by the state at the age of seventeen. He explained what this means: “If you are passing the accused of too large the number of trials, they understand that the system does not work.

In this case, they need to convey to you that you were certified, that is, next time you will not be sent to a children's prison with educators and without grilles, but more serious. ” But even after receiving the “certification”, Hopkins was unable to stop the avalanche of crimes into which his street life turned into, and during the next court hearing, where he took place the accused in several articles at once, the judge’s hammer thundered to mark the verdict for the now “certified” Hopkins.

Hopkins stood on the threshold in a world inhabited by rapists, killers, bandits and other sociopaths that can be represented. These people, at the first opportunity presented, could rape, beat him or even kill him, and there was no way back. Imagine for at least a minute in what horror there should have been a summer little boy, in the OM class of secondary school in the text: “Junior in a High School”: the American school system has 12 classes, of which the last four refers to High School - Freshmen Grade 9, Junior 11th grade and Junior 11th grade and Senior, graduation - to the question that he thought at that moment, Hopkins replies: “How to survive in such a situation, if you are 17 years old?

Quarter, and you know that this quarter is in enmity with yours, and when you pass by a group of guys, you can’t lower your shoulders and be frightened and scared. Those who are cowardly so that they begin to feel the smell of their own armpits, turn out to be fully necessary to confirm their words with action. Any person in life has the moment when you need to do this.

This is how men differ from boys.

” And if you make a mistake? When asked how realistically the American prison is shown in the series "OZ", Hopkins froze for a second, after which he said: “Listen to me. Compared to the Oz prison, this is a Disney cartoon. ” Hopkins knew that he had to go through the test, due to what life he led on the streets. Already on the way to jail you are waiting for you because they know your name and your reputation.

It doesn’t matter who you were - a member of the boxing team, or you have a reputation for a street fighter, or you have already served somewhere - your name begins your own journey. On the streets, everything is exactly the same. If you take some place on the streets, be sure that your name is known to many. They will brag about you, they will not always be good to lie about you, but they will be sure to talk about you.

” And here, in place, there are also their boxers, so they look at me like an opponent. They are kings there. Everyone is talking about them. Therefore, the territorial question comes to the fore. No one wants a new large fish to suddenly appear and attract attention. What bad conditions of their residence were not, they appreciate them and will never refuse what they have.

So this period was very difficult, but I managed to achieve respect. ” In the meantime, Hopkins boxed in the Graitford prison, Smoki Wilson was on his way, who became a second person who had a tremendous influence on Hopkins. Wilson was serving his term for participating in a group murder, and was in Graitford a boxing coach.Wilson saw a talent in Hopkins, which lacks just a cut, like a diamond to freeze with a diamond light, and he decided to take Bernard under his wing.

Being patient and focused by nature, Hopkins worked hard under the leadership of Wilson, and was eventually included in the field team of Graitford boxers, who visited other prisons and participated in inter -firm competitions. For us, prisoners, it was the same holiday as Christmas. ” The champions of such tournaments are almost unlimited in prison.

Usually you can’t talk on the phone for more than ten minutes, but five more are given to you, and they say: “Call, champion, you deserve it.”