GGOATRANK
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Boxing · Middleweight / Light heavyweight · United States

Bernard Hopkins

1988–2016 · Twenty middleweight title defences and a world title at 49.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
88.2
Cultural & brand footprint 58/100 · total legacy 82.8
World titles
4
Title defences
20
Career wins
55
Undisputed reigns
1
Oldest world champion (age)
49
Knockouts
32

Category profile

Dominance
84
Peak
88
Longevity
96
Honours
86
Statistics
88

Career timeline · Form index per season

SeasonForm index per seasonShare of career
19934
19944
19953
19963
19973
19982
19992
20002
20013
20022
20032
20042
20051
20061
20072
20081
20091
20101

Data sources

  • BoxRec
  • The Ring
  • Olympedia

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Bernard Hopkins ranks #12 in Boxing

Bernard Hopkins ranks 12th among Boxing athletes on GOAT Rank and 86th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.2 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 88, Longevity 96, Honours 86, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full Boxing reference universe of 267 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1988–2016 with 18 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1993, which sets the Peak component at 88. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 96 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes world titles 4, title defences 20, career wins 55, undisputed reigns 1.

Immediately ahead sits Julio César Chávez on 89.8, a gap of 1.6 points. Directly behind is Jack Johnson on 88.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Bernard Hopkins GOAT Score explained

Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Hopkins stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full Boxing cohort.
Peak88/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1993. Scored 88/100.
Longevity96/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 28 years of competition and 18 recorded seasons. Scored 96/100.
Honours86/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.

Bernard Hopkins — frequently asked

Is Bernard Hopkins the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Bernard Hopkins ranks 12th in Boxing with a GOAT Score of 88.2, behind Sugar Ray Robinson on 94.3.
What is Bernard Hopkins's GOAT Score?
88.2 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 88 (20%), Longevity 96 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Bernard Hopkins rank all time?
86th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 12th within Boxing.
Bernard Hopkins vs Julio César Chávez: who ranks higher?
Julio César Chávez, on 89.8 against Bernard Hopkins's 88.2 — a margin of 1.6 points.
Compare with Robinson