It was the end of December 2016, and Jesse Hart was hearing it from everyone in Philadelphia. At the gym, at the supermarket, even at the tire shop.
“People were coming up to me and telling me, ‘You gotta avenge that loss,’” Hart told Boxing Junkie.
Hart, of course, was an undefeated super middleweight contender at the time; he had no personal loss to avenge, technically speaking.
But it sure felt personal to him — and scores of Philadelphians — when, on Dec. 16, 2016, native son Bernard Hopkins, then 51, was literally knocked out of the ring by a union construction worker from Long Island, Joe Smith Jr.
For Hopkins, it was an ignominious ending to an otherwise illustrious career. That it happened all the way out in Inglewood, California seemed to underscore the cruelty of the event. At the time, Hart was in the gym training so he didn’t get to watch the fight unfold live, but he recalls getting a phone call.
“It hurt the little boy in me because Bernard meant a lot to me,” Hard said. “Not only was I so hurt, my city was hurt as well. We all felt like Hopkins should have gone out better than that.
“And that’s the reason this fight is occurring. It’s not secret that I’m the best light heavyweight out of all these jokers.”
Hart (26-2, 21 KOs) gets his chance to exact revenge for his mentor and idol when he faces Smith (24-3, 20 KOs) in a light heavyweight tilt Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on ESPN. It’s business as usual, yes, but also a bit personal. Well, a lot personal.
“As a little boy we all got our inspirations,” Hart said. “I don’t know who that was for you, but I’m saying, as a little boy, you’re inspired by wrestlers, Hulk Hogan, you know what I’m saying. Kids say I want to be like Deion Sanders. The kids say they want to be like Andre the Giant. They say they want to be like Bruce Lee.
“The little boy, what’s the inspiration that inspired you to become whatever you became and to be the best at it? That’s what people don’t understand. Bernard Hopkins inspired me to be what I am today and to be the best at it.”
Last month, Hopkins was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, along with Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley. To Hart, though, Hopkins long surpassed Hall of Fame status.
“He’s an icon,” Hart said. “Not just for this sport of boxing but for life, period. Showing people that you can be knocked down and can get back up and coming from where he came from, the penitentiary and doing those negative things and changing his life around. Being a Hall of Famer is cool, but being an icon surpasses all of that.”
Hart is chasing similarly lofty goals himself. After two close losses at super middleweight against then 168-pound titleholder Gilberto Ramirez, Hart moved up to light heavyweight this year, winning a decision against veteran Sullivan Barrera in June. A win over Smith would get him one step closer to another title shot.
He promises not to suffer the same fate as Hopkins.
“I will not go out the ring,” he said. “I will fight at the highest level that I can perform at ever.”