Bernard Hopkins says one fighter ‘hit’ him harder than any other during his historic career

Bernard Hopkins has faced a selection of serious punchers, including Sergey Kovalev and Felix Trinidad, throughout his decorated career, but only one man stands out as the hardest-hitting fighter he has ever faced.

The former two-weight world champion has racked up 65 professional outingsspanning 28 years, thus coming up against an incredibly diverse range of styles.

When it comes to those who have built their identity around being a prolific artist, it has to be said that Kovalev and Trinidad are the two that immediately come to mind.

In addition to them, Hopkins also discovered that Roy Jones Jr, who generated considerable power thanks to his remarkable speed, was not a feather-fisted client either.

The two men first collided in 1993, and Jones, despite suffering a hand injury, win the middleweight world title with a clear victory by unanimous decision.

For Hopkins, however, it wasn’t until 1999, when he fought top middleweight contender Antwun Echols, that he encountered the most violent puncher he ever faced.

During their 12-round fight, Echols floored his durable opponent with a right hand but, due to the punch arriving while the referee was administering a break, he ultimately did not secure the knockdown.

Instead, Hopkins ultimately earned a unanimous decision victory, before defending his IBF title again with a 10th round stoppage in their rematch the following year.

After that, Echols became something of a gatekeeper in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions, but was nonetheless named by Hopkins as the biggest puncher he faced in an interview with Ring Magazine.

“[Antwun Echols] it was clubbing, not fast. Hit. Also, Felix Trinidad, but that’s it. He was truly one-dimensional. He has had great success fighting one-dimensional people.

“It’s not a problem for him, but when you meet a Bernard Hopkins, who is more than one-dimensional, then you have a problem.

“Kovalev was a big puncher but I’ll stick with Antwun Echols – he could crack.”