Antonio Tarver narrated something interesting about the fights he lost in Hotboxin’s episode. He told Mike Tyson and DJ Whoo Kid that, be it the loss to Roy Jones Jr., Eric Harding, or Glen Johnson, he went for a rematch and avenged the defeats. However, there remained an exception. It was the 2006 defeat to Bernard Hopkins. It didn’t take much time, and soon the discussion hovered around ‘B-Hop’, especially his final exit from boxing.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of the trio, who decided to have a dekko at Hopkins’ last fight. The footage invariably took ‘Iron’ Mike down memory lane. Looking back, as he discussed with Tarver and Whoo Kid, the former heavyweight champion simply couldn’t believe that he had followed a similar path once. ‘The Magic Man’ joined Tyson and the co-host in the Hotboxin’s studio. The Olympic bronze medalist took the duo through his life journey, rivalry with Jones Jr., and, of course, his stint as ‘Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon’ in ‘Rocky Balboa’.
Mike Tyson: You Win Some, You Lose Some
After ‘Iron’ Mike quizzed him, Antonio Tarver shared his experience fighting Bernard Hopkins. On June 10, 2006, the latter defeated ‘The Magic Man’ unanimously to win the IBO and the Ring light heavyweight titles. DJ Whoo Kid stated, “I like the way Bernard Hopkins the way he ended his sh*t; you saw his last fight where he got knocked out; he got knocked out the ring.” Tyson asked for the boxer who knocked out Hopkins.
Tarver could only recall the surname – Smith. The former heavyweight champion immediately asked his assistants to arrange a screening of the 2006 fight. In the meantime, DJ Whoo Kid recalled ‘B-Hop’s trash talks. He mentioned how he felt the latter would win the fight. Finally, the name of the opponent became clear: Joe Smith Jr. Tarver shared that he was a cruiserweight champion from New York. He also added that, by the time Hopkins went into the fight, he was way past his prime.
While watching the video, Tarver said, “Think Hopkins was fighting out of his weight class at that time, but the fact that he say he slipped, he say he slipped…” Soon the fight reached its climax, Whoo Kid asked Tyson, “Mike, is…you remembering these sh*ts, man?” The youngest heavyweight champion replied that he did. “Sometimes I can’t this sh*t look so crazy; I can’t believe I did this sh*t,” he said.
All three appeared shocked to watch. Hopkins, after receiving a flurry of punches from Smith Jr., had fallen down. His body sneaked through the ropes and eventually fell down on the floor.
When ‘B-Hop'(scotched) out of the Ring
It’s been nearly eight years since Hopkins said goodbye to professional boxing. On March 9, 2013, he defeated Tavoris Cloud to become the oldest person to become a boxing world champion. He was 48 years old at the time. The following year, after the loss to Sergey Kovalev, he went inactive. ‘B-Hop’ returned only on December 17, 2016, for one final fight.
The fight for the international light heavyweight title ended in the eighth round when, caught against the ropes, Smith Jr.’s punches literally knocked Hopkins out of the ring. Per the applicable rules for such instances, he received the mandatory count of 20. However, ‘B-Hop’ couldn’t make it through, resulting in the match being awarded in Joe Smith Jr.’s favor.
