Sad final fights from fighters.

[Warlord]

I think the middle ground is that no one feels that Hopkins being knocked out detracts from his career. He was a viking looking for Valhalla. He was never going to stop until he died in battle.

The sadness comes from a fan perspective, that many wanted the classic "ride off into the sunset" finale from him. And if they didn't understand the character of the man, they might have even felt sorry for him, imagining that he must be devastated to have it ended that way.

As Method pointed out though, this was the only ending Hopkins was ever going to have. He was never going to stop until he found a man that could send him out on his shield. It's that Samurai/Viking mentality.

It wasn't like Roy, who refused to see the reality of things. Or like Joe Louis coming back because he needed the money. Hopkins lived for the ring, and needed to be retired in the ring, not out of it. Valhalla awaits.