RESULT
Hopkins upsets Tarver!
Former longtime middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) outpointed world light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (24-4, 18 KOs) handily Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After a slow first round, the 41-year-old Hopkins got the upper hand by connecting with lead rights in round two. The Hopkins attack picked up steam in round five when Tarver's glove touched the canvas resulting in Hopkins being credited with a knockdown. "The Executioner," who looked solid as a light heavyweight, took Tarver completely out of his game and consistently beat his foe to the punch. The last several rounds it appeared that Hopkins could have knocked out Tarver if he had chosen to step on the gas. Scores were 118-109 on all cards. The 37-year-old Tarver was surprisingly listless. Word is he lost as much as forty excess pounds after appearing in Rocky 7. In addition to losing the fight, Tarver lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins that he would stop Hopkins within five rounds.
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Despite unexpectedly claiming the light heavyweight title (he came in as a 3:1 underdog), Hopkins said he was still retiring.
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Earlier in the day, promoter Oscar De La Hoya cancelled a planned press conference to announce his next fight. "The Golden Boy" and his preferred opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr. are said to be so far apart in negotiations that any announcement would have been grossly premature.
