Russian Sergey Kovalev dominates Bernard Hopkins in title bout
American shows his age as he is pounded in his light heavyweight bout in Atlantic City
Sergey Kovalev of Russia dominated Bernard Hopkins from the start, winning a unanimous decision yesterday to stake his claim as the best light heavyweight.
Kovalev has three versions of the 175-pound belt after taking two from the 49-year-old Hopkins in the decisive victory. Kovalev is 26-0-1 with 23 knockouts.
I wanted to show fans that I know how to box and I did
Kovalev received winning scores of 120-107 from two judges and 120-106 from the third. The 31-year-old Russian won the IBF and WBA light heavyweight belts to go with his own WBO title.
Two months shy of 50, Hopkins (55-7-2) could face retirement after a rare title bout where he was never a factor. Kovalev knocked down Hopkins in the first round and never backed off his punishing pace.
Kovalev hadn't fought past the eighth, but was at his best against Hopkins in the 12th. He wanted the KO and battered Hopkins against the ropes, making the Philadelphia fighter at last look his age.