Bernard Hopkins' Body in ESPN's 'The Body' Issue

At almost 50-years-old, unified light heavyweight world champion Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins will be featured in the prestigious annual Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine, which hits newsstands Friday, July 11. The Body Issue celebrates athlete's bodies across all sports.  

Denver Nuggets' Kenneth Faried, and his body, were featured in the 2013 edition.

"We somehow manage to raise the bar each year," said ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com editor in chief Chad Millman. "This year's collection of exceptional athletes and stunning photography showcases an array of sports and body types. It inhabits our mission to pay tribute to these athletes' bodies and all they are capable of."

Hopkins will be pictured alongside 21 other athletes - posing nude - in this year's issue including tennis champion Venus Williams, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. 

Click HERE for the full list of athletes.

"Being a part of the Body Issue is something I will never forget," said Hopkins. "I am thrilled to be recognized with the great lineup of athletes included in this year's magazine as well as in past issues. I hope that these pictures inspire people to want to be healthy, especially the over 40 crowd who I work hard to represent in and out of the ring."

Hopkins is coming off of three consecutive victories on his way to collecting the IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight titles while breaking his own record as the oldest boxer to win a world championship.

Other athletes who posed for the issue include San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis, Amy Purdy, a snowboarder who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Paralympics; U.S. women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe; Jimmy Spithill, the skipper of the America's Cup-winning yacht Oracle Team USA; BMX rider Nigel Sylvester; and women's boxer Danyelle Wolf.

In previous years, the Body Issue has featured sports icons such as Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick, Candace Parker, Blake Griffin, Hope Solo, Kerri Walsh Jennings (posing eight months pregnant), Washington Wizards' John Wall, Apolo Anton Ohno, and 78-year-old golf legend Gary Player.