ATLANTIC CITY ? Sergey Kovalev and perhaps time caught up with Bernard Hopkins early Sunday morning.
Russia?s Kovalev methodically dominated the crafty legend from Philadelphia and won a 12-round unanimous decision in their light heavyweight championship unification fight before a crowd of 8,545 at Boardwalk Hall. All three judges ? New Jersey?s Lawrence Layton (120-106), New York?s Carlos Ortiz (120-107) and Rhode Island?s Clark Sammartino (120-107) ? scored the fight for Kovalev by very wide margins.
Kovalev, who had knocked out 88 percent of his previous opponents, had little difficulty boxing beyond the eighth round for the first time in 27 professional fights. The 31-year-old Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs) nearly became the first fighter in Hopkins? 26-year pro career to knock out Hopkins in the 12th round as well, but the final bell seemingly saved Hopkins from suffering that indignity.
Kovalev, who?s promoted by Totowa-based Main Events, retained his WBO light heavyweight titles and took Hopkins? IBF and WBA 175-pound championships.
The 49-year-old Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs, 2 NC), the oldest recognized world champion in boxing history, spent much of the fight in survival mode against the heavy-handed Kovalev. He caught Kovalev with a right hand during the final minute of the 10th round, but otherwise didn?t appear to affect his younger, stronger opponent with any of his punches.
Despite Hopkins? age, Kovalev recorded what is by far the most impressive, important win of his five-year pro career. He had knocked out 23 of his first 26 opponents, but none were nearly as accomplished or experienced as Hopkins.
The hard-hitting Kovalev might?ve altered Hopkins? strategy as early as the first round. He landed a right hand to the side of Hopkins? head that knocked down a lunging Hopkins with a little less than a minute left in it.
A surprised Hopkins got right to his feet and was able to avoid more damage before the round ended. He approached Kovalev cautiously throughout the second round, but fired back when Kovalev attacked him near Kovalev?s corner in the third round.
Kovalev knocked Hopkins off balance with another overhand right to the side of Hopkins? head around the midway mark of the eighth round. Hopkins again regained his footing and made the rest of the round competitive.
By the end of the 12th round, Kovalev was knocking all around the ring with power punches that snapped back Hopkins? head.
In the first bout broadcast by HBO on Saturday night, unbeaten Brooklyn welterweight Sadam Ali (21-0, 13 KOs) pulled off an upset by scoring a ninth-round technical knockout against Argentina?s Luis Carlos Abregu (36-2, 29 KOs).
The 26-year-old Ali dropped Abregu with a right hand in the sixth round and with another right hand in the ninth round. Abregu ? considered the more experienced, powerful fighter entering their scheduled 10-round bout ? got off his knees to answer referee Harvey Dock?s count both times, but Ali didn?t allow him to survive the trouble in the ninth.
Ali swarmed him near a neutral corner, landed three unanswered punches and Dock stepped in to stop the fight at 1:59 of the ninth round.
?He?s very strong,? Ali said. ?I had to be aware the whole time. I was prepared. This is what I?ve always wanted for myself, but I felt I had to earn it. And [Saturday night] I earned it.?
Though unbeaten before Saturday night, Ali had been matched carefully since making his pro debut in January 2009, four months after he represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
His handlers still believed the time was right to take a significant step up in competition. They were particularly sure Ali could compete with Abregu because he fared well in about 30 rounds of sparring against Abregu before Abregu stopped Puerto Rico?s Thomas Dulorme (21-1, 14 KOs) in the seventh round of an October 2012 fight.
Ali proved them correct mostly by using his hand speed and athleticism to avoid many of the rugged Abregu?s power punches throughout the bout. Abregu stung him a few times, but Ali was beating Abregu, 78-73, on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
?He?s a great fighter,? Abregu said. ?I thought the ref stopped it abruptly and I could?ve continued. His speed got to me. He was very fast and he found a way to get out [of trouble]. He was way faster than I thought he would be.?
The 30-year-old Abregu lost for the first time in eight fights since suffering his first defeat, a 12-round unanimous decision over former welterweight and junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley in July 2010.
