Bernard Hopkins regained the upper hand in his bout against Father Time. The 48 year-old fighter broke his own record by becoming the oldest boxer to win a major title after by pounding out a clear-cut decision (official scores: 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112) versus Tavoris Cloud Saturday night.
Nearly one year after losing his bid to snatch Chad Dawson’s WBC light-heavyweight belt, old man Hopkins used his superior defense, counter-punching and boxing IQ to stymie, stump and stupify Cloud in route to snaring his IBF strap.
Seventeen years younger than his challenger, Cloud was the favorite in Las Vegas, but that designation quickly dissipated once he stepped into the ring with the wily old vet. Following a few close and largely inactive rounds, Hopkins did what he has done to a majority of his opponents over his illustrious 25 year career. He took away Cloud’s jab and turned the strong, young champion into a timid fighter.
Going into the bout, Cloud averaged 72 punches per round in his last five bouts. Against Hopkins, his offensive output dropped to just 54 punches per stanza.
Cloud hand a few moments in the fight, landing a few flush head and body shots throughout the fight, but Hopkins’ granite chin, vastly superior ring generalship and crafty defense left Cloud searching for openings that never materialized. In his credit, Hopkins’ was more offensive-minded than usual the second half of the fight. Instead of the 1-2-clutch style that he’s used so often, Hopkins made a concerted effort to throwing three and four punch combinations in addition to hard counter punches.
“I was really working on my speed and reflexes. At 48 years old, I wanted to display them,” Hopkins said. “I’m with the 40-and-up club, and it still rules.”
It was a masterful performance by Hopkins and made onlookers wonder if the Executioner can defy logic by fighting past the age of 50. After the fight, the grizzled vet gave no hint that he’s considering retirement anytime soon.
“I don’t plan to go anywhere,” Hopkins told HBO boxing analyst Max Kellerman. “I’ll stop when I want to stop.”
Immediately after the fight, Hopkins caused a stir by heading over to HBO’s announcers and talking to WBA/WBC Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward. To many onlookers it appeared that Hopkins was calling out the man many consider to be among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the business. However, Hopkins has been a longtime mentor to Ward and the two men have vowed never to face each other in the ring. “Ex” was simply taking the opportunity to speak with his young apprentice to see if he learned anything new watching the old master at work.
“Did you learn anything?” asked Hopkins. “Write it down, watch the tape and use it if you want to, because you’re going to be here for a long time.”
Maybe Hopkins’ future opponents should heed his advice as well.
