The Mongoose and the Alien

August 6, 2014
The Mouthpiece

The Mongoose and the Alien – Archie “The Ole Mongoose” Moore vs. Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.

It is an exercise in futility debating hypothetical match-ups and fights that never happened, couldn’t happen or will never happen. But, these discussions are oftentimes beneficial because they shed light on forgotten fighters, facts and statistics—pedagogical tools in furthering awareness of the sweet science. I once engaged in a debate regarding the great Archie “The Ole Mongoose” Moore and Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins. It is impossible to convince me that Archie Moore wasn’t the more skillful and accomplished fighter. He would have beaten Hopkins.

I marvel at Hopkins’ achievements especially being the oldest man ever to win a world boxing championship. Hopkins, born on January 15, 1965, accomplished that feat on March 9, 2013— at the age of 48—when he won a version of the light-heavyweight title for the second time—wresting the IBF light-heavyweight title from champion Tavoris Cloud via 12-round unanimous decision—surpassing his own record by almost two years. Hopkins’ first stint as light-heavyweight champion came on May 20, 2011 when he captured the WBC light-heavyweight title from Jean Pascal at the age of 46. Never taking his foot off the pedal, Hopkins added the WBA title to his mantelpiece defeating champion Beibut Shumenov on April 19, 2014 by unanimous decision—three months after his 49th birthday.

Nearing the half-century mark, the ageless wonder is hell-bent on adding the WBO title to his trophy case in a November showdown with champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. If he is successful, there is little doubt that he will attempt to unify all four titles by challenging WBC light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. Hopkins (55 wins – 6 losses – 2 draws – 32 kos) is a Hall of Famer and is defying all odds by beating men almost half of his age. But, this feat was accomplished long before Hopkins was a twinkle in his daddy’s eye.

Born on December 13, 1913 or 1916 depending on the source, Moore fought from 1935 to 1963 engaging— according to www.boxrec.com—in 219 recorded bouts (185 wins – 23 losses – 10 draws – 1 no contest –131 kos). For the first 17 years of his career, he was denied a shot at the title avoided like a pugilistic plague by champions. Moore was finally given a shot at world light-heavyweight champion Joey Maxim in his 160th bout. Entering the ring on December 17, 1952 with an impressive record of (132 wins – 19 losses – 8 draws) he won the title, besting Maxim by 15-round unanimous decision. Moore was either 39 or 36 years old!

Moore engaged in 59 more fights over the next 10 years fighting as a heavyweight occasionally dropping back down in weight to defend his light-heavyweight belt. He was stripped of the title in 1962— never losing the light-heavyweight belt in the ring. He would fight five more times, going 3 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 3 kos— the sole loss by knockout in the fourth round to a young Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) who was in his sixteenth bout. The Ole Mongoose hung up his gloves permanently after his 131st knockout on March 15, 1963. Moore was 49 or 46 years old depending on his birthday. Many say that Moore was much older!

Numbers Never Lie

Allow me to shed some light on the statistical disparity between Moore and Hopkins. Moore with 131 knockouts is the record holder for most knockouts in a professional boxing career. He has twice the amount of knockouts as Hopkins’ total number of fights. In addition, there are 154 bouts separating the two legends (219 minus 65). Hopkins has been a professional fighter for 26 years (1988 – 2014) averaging 2.6 fights per year (65 fights/26 years). Based on this average he would have to fight another 59 years (154 bouts/2.6 avg. bouts per year) to equal Moore’s fight total of 219. This is where it gets interesting. Hopkins would be 108 years old (49 years old plus 59) when he reaches Moore’s total of 219 bouts. For this to happen – it means that Hopkins would have to be either a vampire or truly an alien as he has been proclaiming since he defeated Cloud.

It is impossible for Hopkins to fight another 59 years until he reaches 108!

Archie Moore joined the punch-for-pay ranks as a welterweight and carried his power all the way to the heavyweight division scoring knockouts at every stop. The last time Hopkins scored a knockout it was almost ten years aback and George W. Bush was on his second term as President of the United States. On September 19, 2004 he stopped undersized WBO middleweight champion Oscar De La Hoya in the ninth round to unify all four belts. Moore scored three knockouts in his last five fights— all against heavyweights.

Hopkins’ accomplishments are remarkable as he continues to win the battle against Father Time. However, there are little comparisons between him and Moore except that they both were light-heavyweight champion in their late forties. There is nothing that would allow me to believe that Hopkins could have remained intact and relevant had he competed in 229 bouts. Lastly, having studied numerous fight films of both – I cannot envision Hopkins being able to out-box, out-fox or out-muscle Archie Moore who was by far one of the wizards of the ring—technically superior with dynamite in both hands.

Archie Moore was the first to discover the fountain of youth and knock Father Time on his ass. Maybe, he was the true alien.

Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!

ghanson3@hotmail.com



One Response to “The Mongoose and the Alien”

1. J'Marie Moore says:

   August 25, 2015 at 3:09 AM

   This article is very well written and full of an entertaining account of two champions!!
   Thank you George!