LOS ANGELES – In the latest bizarre night of alleged championship boxing, Bernard Hopkins hurt his left shoulder in a late second-round entanglement with Chad Dawson, and lost his WBC light-heavyweight title.
Hopkins, in his 60th pro fight, was lifted off the canvas by Dawson and fell on his shoulder at the edge of the ropes at Staples Center.
Grimacing and pointing at the injury, Hopkins sat on a stool as Dawson gestured and waved at him impatiently.
Since no foul was ruled and Hopkins couldn’t continue, Dawson took the title, via technical knockout, with 12 seconds left in Round 2.
George Dodd, executive officer of the California athletic commission, said only that “there was no foul and the decision will stand – for now.”
Dawson accused Hopkins of faking the injury and dismissed the possibility of a rematch.
“He’s been talking about Philly and how he’s a gangster, but gangsters don’t quit,” Dawson said.
Hopkins (52-6-2) and Dawson (31-1) had spent over a round and a half staring at each other and occasionally clutching and grabbing before the incident.
Hopkins lunged at Dawson with a right, and Dawson ducked and carried Hopkins into the air.
“He picked me up, both my feet off the ground, and threw me down on my shoulder,” Hopkins said. “I told the referee [Pat Russell] I would continue with one arm, but he stopped the fight. He never told me that if I stopped fighting I’d be disqualified.
“They set me up. Dawson was just in there to rough me up,” Hopkins added. “That was a blatant foul. It should be no contest, not a disqualification.”
Earlier, Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia remained unbeaten with a split decision over veteran Kendall Holt, and thus won the WBO junior welterweight title.
The fight was on the undercard of the main event between Hopkins and former champ Dawson.
Garcia (22-0) practically closed Holt’s left eye and gained strength as the 12-rounder went on. The surprise was that he didn’t win unanimously, considering that he was ahead by six points on two judges’ cards.
“My game plan was to box and not trade with him,” Garcia said of Holt, the New Jersey-based knockout artist whose record is now 27-5. “I think I’m the best fighter he ever fought. It feels phenomenal, and I’m glad I could prove my critics wrong.”
Before that, Dewey Bozella realized a long-deferred dream with a four-round, unanimous decision over Larry Hopkins.
Bozella, 52, had served 26 years on a murder charge that was overturned in October 2009.
While in the Ossining, N.Y., facility he won the prison’s light-heavyweight title. His story inspired a supportive phone call from President Obama on Thursday.
“This is my first fight and my last fight,” Bozella said. “When you’re 52, you don’t have any business boxing. It’s a young man’s game.”
