Bernard Hopkins, aka The Alien, successfully defended his IBF light heavyweight title by decisioning Karo Murat after 12 rounds of action?
Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs), aka The Alien, successfully defended his IBF light heavyweight title by decisioning 30-year-old Karo Murat (25-2-1, 15 KOs) by scores of 117-110, 119-108, 119-108 after 12 rounds of action.
Fighting out of the blue corner in black trunks with lime green trim, Hopkins started slowly, even for Hopkins. Paulie Malignaggi, behind the mike for Showtime, described him as ?economical.? But like all economies, there are ups and there are downs, and the rise of Hopkins, at least in this fight, was still to come.
The challenger, fighting out of the red corner in white trunks trimmed with gold, didn?t do much to counter Hopkins? inactivity. Murat wasn?t forcing the action. He swung and missed several times. It looked like Hopkins the ring general was in there against an infantryman. The Alien took round one.
In rounds two and three Murat began letting his hands go. While Hopkins was studying his opponent, deciphering his opponent, his Iraqi-born challenger was applying pressure. Murat isn?t especially skilled, that?s The Alien?s department, but many were wondering if this was the night Hopkins finally grows old.
Murat evened the playing field in round six. He had come to fight and made it a point of letting Hopkins know. He may have been getting hit, but he was hitting back, and more important he wasn?t getting suckered into fighting Hopkins? fight. He reasoned that if he could keep busy and outwork the ?old man,? he had a chance, however remote, of defeating the legend. Before the round ended, Murat was warned for hitting Hopkins when he was down, which resulted from a Hopkins battering ram to the chest that Murat deflected.
Hopkins took round seven. The exceptionally wise but exceptionally ugly clinch/clutch/nullify style of Hopkins was driving Murat nuts. Out of frustration, he decided, if reaction connects to decision, to give Hopkins some of his own medicine, which in this instance meant hitting on the break. It was poorly executed. It was also blatant. The reward for his foolishness was a point deduction for doing no less than Hopkins had been doing all along.
Love him or hate him, Hopkins? mastery cannot be denied. His inside game, which at times seems like the only game he has left, simply cannot be beat. But The Alien unexpectedly let ?er rip in round eight. His straight right was finding the mark. His left hook had come alive. He drove Murat to the ropes, but Murat to his credit came firing back. The trickeration displayed in earlier rounds was replaced by good old-fashioned brawling. Hopkins may have gotten the best of it, and Murat the worst, but a fight had broken out in Atlantic City, to the surprise of almost everyone.
Hopkins was enjoying himself. He opened round nine with a straight right to Murat?s face at the 10 second mark, followed by a jab, another straight right, and a left hook. Now it was Murat?s turn to clinch, but without the confounding efficiency of Hopkins?for whom fighting on the inside is like wrestling an octopus. Murat had his moments. And he was never less than fearless. But when Hopkins drew first blood with a strafing straight right above Murat?s left eye, it added some color to the action-packed proceedings.
Murat fought his way back in round 10. Although he was bleeding and fading and as frustrated as could be, he was all heart as he took the fight to the champ. The scorecards may not have been as close as Murat?s corner believed, but they told him at the end of the round, ?You?re doing great. Take a deep breath. We?re really close to winning the fight. Do whatever you need to do. Stay focused.? The advice from Hopkins? corner was short and sweet: ?Don?t let this guy out-hustle you.?
The championship rounds were all Bernard Hopkins. The fighters continued to exchange meaningful punches in round 11, but Murat knew he was behind, even though his body hadn?t betrayed him. Hopkins went for the knockout in the 12th round and had Murat hurt, but he couldn?t turn out the lights, and not for want of trying. When the bell sounded to end the fight, Hopkins and Murat were still going at it.
After the fight, Bernard Hopkins was himself.
?Richard Schaefer says we?ve got to be crowd-pleasers,? said Hopkins. ?The crowd want to see skills, but they also want to see a little blood, so I?ve got a little blood to give them. But I?m an entertainer, and this is what people want to see. I still could be smart. I still could do the things I?ve been doing. But sometimes if you try to knock a guy out, you gotta take risks. And I took some risks tonight and hit him with some shots. He?s a game number one contender. Any fighter out there, when you get a mandatory and you have to fight him for some reason, don?t take him lightly. I did what I have to do. Trust me, anybody else that think they the champion because they have a belt?they frauds. Showtime got the best light heavyweight in the world.?
Hopkins was asked about the first few rounds and what he was thinking at the time.
?That was planned,? he said. ?That was planned. That was the bone on the string so the dog could follow it to a dark alley, and didn?t realize somebody waiting on him, and that was me. So I led him on. I led him on because he?s a comer, he comes and he stalks. He?s not a quick guy, but a thumping sledgehammer type punching guy. He?s nobody to sleep on. He?s going to give a lot of light heavyweights problems.?
Murat was given the last word.
?Bernard is a good boxer. I lost concentration due to two cuts, which came by headbutts. I know when I?m in good shape I can beat him, but the headbutts disturbed me. This is typical Bernard. I expected this to happen.?
Hopkins had his detractors and deservedly so, but as long as he keeps winning while defying expectations, we might as well give him his props, no matter how painful it might sometimes be.
