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B-Hop, retiring at the right time?
Well he has surely given us some great fights. I would have loved to see him get in the ring again with Roy Jones, but it appears that its never going to happen. I really came to appreciate the grittiness of Bernard as well as his pugilistic prowess. He was one of the best that Ive seen (keep in mind, Im only 27) at studying a fighter, and being patient. He would set up punches very well, and had one of the best left hooks in the business.
Early in life he was wreckless, and had to learn from his mistakes. After getting out of prison and getting a new outlook on life, he fought his way up the boxing ranks through great competition like Wayne Powell, Roy Ritchie, Keith Holmes, Glen Johnson, Robert Allen, Antwun Echols, Felix Trinidad, William Joppy, Oscar De La Hoya, Howard Eastman, before finally relinquishing his throne as Middleweight king to the young, up and coming, Jermaine Taylor.
He finished out his career on top once again, defeating a solid southpaw light heavyweight champion, in Antonio Tarver- adding to the Hall of Fame legacy he has built over the last 18 years. He will be missed, but Im sure we will be seeing more of him outside the ring in the fututre, now that he is partnered up with Golden Boy Productions, along side Oscar.
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