George Foreman Speaks Out on Bernard Hopkins Breaking his Record
“I was on the edge of my seat every round,” said George Foreman on 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins breaking his record as oldest fighter to win a world championship. “It was such an exciting fight. Bernard was the better athlete, the smarter fighter and was in the better condition. Now that a 46 year-old has done it, next a 47 year-old, a 48 year-old, a 49 year-old and a 50 year-old will do it, and if somebody does it at 60, then I’ll have to get back in there.
“Look, Hopkins did push-ups. What great conditioning, and he did it in Pascal’s hometown. Isn’t that something? He was just so much better. I’m happy for Hopkins and I’m happy for mature athletes.
“If my record goes down, you want to see it go down that way. If it was the Olympics, Bernard gets the Gold Medal and breaks the record for the world championship. This was the best I’ve seen Bernard take charge of the fight with a young strong champion like Pascal. Long live the king.”
Foreman was 45 when he knocked out Michael Moorer for the heavyweight title on November 5, 1994, 192 days younger than Hopkins when he captured his title.