Edward Lamar Hopson is a former professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

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Amateur career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, Hopson took up boxing at the age of seven. Hopson earned a Junior Olympics

Junior olympics

Junior Olympics and Jr. Olympics can refer to any one of many different sporting events and organizations around the world dedicated to youth sporting activities.*Junior Olympic Gold, American national youth singles bowling tournament...

 gold medal in 1987, and was the National Golden Gloves Featherweight Champion the following year. Later in 1988, he won the Olympic Trials in the featherweight division; after a semifinal victory against world amateur champion

World Amateur Boxing Championships

The World Amateur Boxing Championships is a biennial amateur boxing competition organised by the International Boxing Association , which is the sport governing body. Alongside the Olympic boxing programme, it is the highest level of competition for the sport...

 Kelcie Banks

Kelcie Banks

Kelcie Herron Banks is a retired boxer from the United States, who competed in the featherweight division. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno and at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. Inducted to the USA Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993...

, Hopson took a 3–2 decision over Carl Daniels

Carl Daniels

Carl Bryant Daniels , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Amateur :Southpaw Daniels won the junior world championships 1987 and the Golden Gloves at flyweight....

. However, at the Olympic Boxoffs, Hopson lost to Banks in a pair of fights; because of these losses, he did not compete in the 1988 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place in the Chamshil Students' Gymnasium in Seoul. The boxing schedule began on September 17 and ended on October 2. Twelve boxing events were contested, with the participation of 441 athletes and 159 officials from 106 countries...

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Professional career

Known as "Fast" Eddie, Hopson turned pro in 1989 and captured the vacant International Boxing Federation

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

 super featherweight

Super Featherweight

Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....

 title in 1995 with a knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 win over Moises Pedroza. He lost the belt in his first defense, to Tracy Harris Patterson

Tracy Harris Patterson

Tracy Harris Patterson, , is a former boxer who became a two weight world champion. Born Tracy Harris, he is the adopted son of former Golden Gloves and World Champion Floyd Patterson, turned Golden Gloves success into a solid pro career...

, later that year by 2nd round technical knockout (TKO), a round in which Hopson had four knockdowns recorded against him. Shortly afterward, Hopson lost via TKO to Santos Lopez and retired.

He had a brief comeback in 1998 but retired for good in 1999.

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