By DAN GELSTON, AP
Bernard Hopkins has a lot in common with Rocky Balboa.
Both are Philly fighters who keep throwing punches long after a career (or film franchise) should be finished.
Hopkins, though, doesn’t need a movie script to tell him who wins. He writes his own story.
Like Balboa, Hopkins landed triumphantly at the bottom of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.
Hopkins was honored by Mayor Michael Nutter at the base of the “Rocky” statue outside the museum near the steep steps made famous by the boxing films for winning the WBC light heavyweight championship.
Hopkins’ life could easily turn into a movie. He served five years in state prison before he moved on to a perfect 10-year run in the middleweight division. Hopkins became the oldest fighter to win a major world championship, taking the WBC light heavyweight title May 21 from Jean Pascal at the age of 46.
The city where he was born and raised paid tribute to Hopkins on Wednesday in a ceremony honoring the career of the greatest fighter to call Philadelphia home since former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.
“The real reason that Bernard Hopkins is a hero is because he is a survivor and a real-life example of what it means to be given a second chance,” Nutter said.
Hopkins presented Hopkins with a mini replica of the Liberty Bell—leave it to a boxer to get his bell rung—and saluted the champ for his accomplishments over a 23-year career and his contributions to Philadelphia.
Hopkins owns a condo in Philadelphia, and still runs the “Rocky” steps and trains for fights in the city.
He dethroned George Foreman as the oldest boxer to win a world title when he beat Pascal.
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