ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. ? Bernard Hopkins’ pro boxing career began inauspiciously in this beachside city almost exactly 25 years ago. A quarter of a century after that loss, Hopkins’ Hall of Fame career continued with yet another victory and yet another entry in history.
Hopkins, already the oldest boxer to win a world title, is now the oldest person to successfully defend his championship.
Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs) remains the WBO light heavyweight champion at 48 years, 9 months and 11 days old. He defeated challenger Karo Murat (25-2-1, 15 KOs) by unanimous decision on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall, barely a mile south of where he debuted. Two judges scored the bout 119-108 for Hopkins, while the third had it 117-110.
Hopkins is nearly six months older than heavyweight champion George Foreman was when Foreman beat Lou Savarese in 1997.
The Philadelphia native has long defied expectations and overcome the odds.
Hopkins spent nearly five years in prison in the 1980s. According to lore, Hopkins was told upon his release that he was expected to return behind bars someday. That never happened.
Instead, Hopkins learned from that October 1988 loss to Clinton Mitchell, grew from his 1993 loss to middleweight titleholder Roy Jones Jr., and ultimately won the IBF championship at 160 pounds in 1995. He held onto that title for a decade, rolling off 19 wins, including signature knockouts against Felix Trinidad in 2001 and Oscar De La Hoya in 2004.
Two losses to Jermain Taylor in 2005 ended Hopkins’ reign as middleweight champion and seemed to signify that his time at the top of the sport was nearing an end. Yet he resurrected himself in the 175-pound weight class with an upset win over Antonio Tarver in 2006. Hopkins was 41 at the time, and he could have retired with the knowledge that his legacy was comfortably secure.
Hopkins has kept fighting for another seven years. Nearly every time that he’s been counted out or picked against, he’s proven his doubters wrong.
He followed his loss to Joe Calzaghe in 2008 by scoring a big win over Kelly Pavlik. He held Jean Pascal to a draw in 2010, then defeated him in their 2011 rematch to become, at 46, the undisputed light heavyweight champion. Hopkins lost to Chad Dawson in 2012, then returned once again this past March, beating Tavoris Cloud for the IBF championship.
Hopkins’ win over Murat came against a challenger 18 years his junior. At this point in his career, all of his opponents are younger. More often than not, though, it is Hopkins who is still is so much better.
On the undercard, WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) had difficulty with challenger Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KOs) yet escaped with the victory, winning a 10th round technical knockout after the ringside physician examined a bad cut over Rosado’s left eye.
Quillin stalked forward, seeking openings. He found one in the second round, scoring a knockdown with a right hand followed by a left hook. Rosado jumped back up quickly and adjusted, pressuring Quillin and making him uncomfortable. Toward the end of the fourth, Rosado hurt Quillin with a counter right hand as Quillin came forward.
Rosado showboated and allowed Quillin to recover in the fifth. He kept coming forward, though, landing occasional punches while also getting caught with left hooks from Quillin. Rosado didn’t throw enough punches, and his patient approach ultimately allowed Quillin to land the shot that opened the cut and ended the bout.
American heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder has now knocked out all 30 of his opponents. His latest victim was journeyman Nicolai Firtha (21-11-1, 8 KOs), who was knocked down twice in the first round and then sent down for good in the fourth. Firtha was only the third of Wilder’s foes to last that long.
Wilder, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist from Tuscaloosa, Ala., dodged a charging Firtha in the opening seconds, but soon got caught off-balance with a jab that sent him staggering backward. Wilder withstood the attack, and later landed a left hook and a right hand that put Firtha on the canvas. The same combination would send Firtha down once more before the round was over.
Firtha was bloodied but undeterred. Wilder mixed boxing with showy power punches for the next two rounds, then finished Firtha in the fourth with a hard right hand. The referee waved off the bout at the 1:26 mark as Firtha was attempting to rise.
“Every time you come to see me, you know what you’re going to get,” Wilder said afterward. “A knockout.”
