If you're waiting on Bernard Hopkins (53-6) to get too old to box, you'll have to wait a little while longer.
Not only did he not look like a 48-year-old taking the IBF light heavyweight title from Tavoris Cloud (24-1) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he looked like he could challenge other top fighters in the 175-pound weight range.
After all, Cloud came into the fight as an undefeated champion with a KO percentage of 76 percent. But as we should already know by now, the numbers don't mean much to B-Hop.
He won a clear unanimous decision by cutting, out-boxing and out-thinking a man 17 years his junior. The official judges' scorecards were as follows:
John Poturaj 112-116, Tom Schreck 111-117, John Stewart 112-116.
I scored the fight 117-111, and it was good fans weren't robbed by another questionable decision.
Cloud was the only victim on Saturday night, and after this loss, it is hard to know what to make of him. Did he just lose to a 48-year-old man, or did he lose to a boxing phenomena?
Whatever you describe it as, there is no denying how amazing it is to see Hopkins still performing on a world-class level.
All things considered, Hopkins' performance was one of the greatest you'll see in the sport. Through 12 rounds, he showed toughness, as Cloud did land a few nice shots, but Hopkins shook them off without much issue.
For a man two years shy of 50 years old to win a major boxing championship is more than noteworthy. We may try to avoid harping on the age angle in this seemingly endless story, but it's almost impossible to overstate.
Cloud tried to push the action, but Hopkins never seemed to tire, and he even showed the willingness to trade with the presumably stronger young champion.
There was nothing ugly or boring about this performance, especially not for a boxing fan. Hopkins didn't foul, use questionable tactics, or employ any gamesmanship that his critics could frown upon.
He came to fight and win, and at the end of the night, he did just that.
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