Masterful Hopkins turns back clock to stun Tarver

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) Bernard Hopkins rolled back the years with a masterful dismantling of Antonio Tarver in Atlantic City earning a unanimous 12-round decision in their light heavyweight contest.

The 41-year-old former middleweight king yesterday knocked down the 37-year-old Tarver once and was the easy winner in the minds of the judges, with all three scoring the fight 118-109 for Hopkins.

Hopkins (47-4-1) frustrated Tarver all night, knocking him down in the fifth round, as he turned in an impressive upset performance after suffering back-to-back losses to Jermain Taylor as a middleweight in his last two fights.

''Half man, half amazing!'' Hopkins yelled to the crowd while standing on the ropes after the fight, which he has indicated would be the last of his 18-year career in the ring.

Tarver (24-4) had bet 0,000 that he would knock out his older opponent in five rounds or less, as a clause in the fight contract stated he would pay that amount to a charity of Hopkins choosing if he failed to do so.

Not only did Tarver fail to do that, he failed to dominate any of the rounds as Hopkins turned the clock back and turned in a masterful performance over a man who has two wins over Roy Jones Jr on his resume.

Using a combination of solid right leads and aggressive tactics, Hopkins kept Tarver off balance all night and when his younger opponent tried to respond, Hopkins used a strategic defense to keep him from getting close.

Hopkins was middleweight champion for 11 years and 20 fights before his losses to Taylor, the last of which came in December.

He jumped up to light heavyweight after that last fight in December and appeared comfortable fighting in the heavier category.

''It wasn't my night,'' Tarver said in a ringside interview moments after the loss. ''I give full praise to Bernard Hopkins.'' Tarver was a 2 to 1 favorite in Las Vegas but had to shed 40 pounds before the fight after going up to 21-0 pounds for his role as a foil to Sylvester Stallone in the upcoming movie ''Rocky Balboa.'' He appeared tentative for most of the fight and had trouble landing punches against Hopkins, who was cheered lustily by the crowd of 10,200 at the Boardwalk Hall, many of whom had traveled from Hopkins' hometown of Philadelphia for the fight.

REUTERS DH RAI1234

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