Bernard Hopkins: Daily Routine

He gave up sugar, outworked the talented, and rewrote boxing’s record books—this is how Bernard Hopkins did it his way.

The last sweet treat Bernard Hopkins allowed himself, during his active years as a boxer, was a piece of cheesecake in 2011. It was a celebratory meal to toast his victory over Haitian-Canadian boxer, Jean Pascal, who Hopkins had defeated to win the WBC and The Ring light heavyweight titles.

More importantly, however, the win cemented him as the oldest boxer, at 46 years old, to win a world title, breaking George Foreman’s record — the latter was 45 when he reclaimed the heavyweight title in 1994. Hopkins went on to break his own record when he defeated Tavoris Cloud in 2013, at the age of 49.

The 1969 Frank Sinatra song, “My Way” plays a special role in the former champion’s life. It’s his favourite song and he believes it helps explain his unlikely journey in the boxing world. “Do you understand what ‘my way’ means? Not your way,” he told The New York Times. “Never been your way. Never will be. I’ll compromise, I’ll listen, but my way means just that.”