Bernard Hopkins

CTL-E-7104 · Person · other · 1965–present

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07976 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7104.

Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served almost five years of an 18-year sentence at Graterford Penitentiary, was paroled in 1988, and — as ESPN's account puts it — kept the promise he made on release never to return. He lost his professional debut in October 1988, then built one of boxing's longest championship careers: he unified the middleweight title, stopping Félix Trinidad in 2001, and made 20 successful middleweight title defenses, surpassing Carlos Monzón's record of 14. Moving to light heavyweight as 'The Executioner' — and later 'The Alien' — he set the age record in dated steps the sources sequence: at 46, in May 2011, he outpointed Jean Pascal in their rematch to become, as Sports Illustrated records, the oldest major world champion in boxing history; at 48, in 2013, he broke his own record by taking a light-heavyweight title from Tavoris Cloud; and at 49, in 2014, he extended it again by outboxing Beibut Shumenov to unify the IBF and WBA titles. The Ring records that he retired in 2016 with a record of 55 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws, 32 by knockout; he was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its Class of 2020.

The record

• Also known as: Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr., The Executioner, The Alien, B-Hop

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0488. Oldest-champion disposition: the claim is carried ONLY as a dated, attributed sequence — oldest major world champion at 46 (May 21, 2011, Pascal rematch; Sports Illustrated, ESPN), his own record broken at 48 in 2013 (Tavoris Cloud; ESPN), and extended at 49 in 2014 by unifying the IBF and WBA titles against Beibut Shumenov (The Ring) — never as an undated standing superlative. Prison arc stated factually as sourced: 18-year sentence at Graterford, almost five years served (Sports Illustrated counts 53 months), paroled 1988; no embellishment added. Nicknames: 'The Executioner' is his long-standing ring name (The Ring); 'The Alien' was his later-career persona — both carried as aliases. Hall of Fame: elected in the Class of 2020, enshrined at the combined 2022 ceremony. Identity: Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. of Philadelphia; no variance. Blocked edges: his 2006 win over Antonio Tarver (S8-25) and his two meetings with Roy Jones Jr. (S8-22) are bouts only — prose, no edges. Photo: CLEARED, CC BY 2.0, 2010 photograph whose Commons file description names Bernard Hopkins at the Fight Night Club event.

Sources

• The Ring. "Best I Faced: Bernard Hopkins." Via Sportsweek.org. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• ESPN. "Life and Career of Bernard Hopkins Would Be a Compelling Movie." ESPN.com, December 2016. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• Sports Illustrated. "Bernard Hopkins Through the Years." SI.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

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