Boxing: Hopkins dominates Pavlik
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Bernard Hopkins gave Kelly Pavlik a boxing lesson and a first loss that he will never forget.
The 43-year-old Hopkins used lightning quick combinations and a cagey, near-perfect defense to embarrass and confuse Pavlik in a 12-round non-title bout tonight at Boardwalk Hall.
Hopkins, who dominated the middleweight class for a decade, made the 26-year-old Pavlik — the WBC and WBO middleweight champion — look slow and powerless in fighting at 170 pounds, 10 pounds over his weight class.
Hopkins reveived winning scores of 119-106 from judge Alan Rubenstein, 117-109 from Barbara Perez and 118-108 from Steve Weisfeld.
The mismatch was obvious from the opening bell, and Hopkins reveled in the beating he gave the Youngstown, Ohio boxer. By the fifth round, Pavlik was bleeding from the nose and by the seventh Hopkins was taunting him.
During one stretch in the round, Hopkins landed four or five straight punches, and then stepped back started winding up on his punches before delivering them.
Pavlik (34-1) never stopped stalking Hopkins of Philadelphia, but he never seemed to hurt him.
With tinges of gray in his beard, Hopkins even looked the fresher fighter. He came into ring wearing an executioner's mask and black robe with an 'X' on both, and he terminated Pavlik's perfect mark in improving to (49-5-1).
The crowd had come to hail Pavlik, who had battered Gary Lockett in his first title defense in June.
When he was in trouble early, they chanted "Kel-lee! Kel-lee!"
Halfway through the fight the chants become "B-Hop! B-Hop!."
Hopkins landed a barrage of blows in the 12th round and started yelling at Pavlik in a move that was no more than a gleeful taunt.
When the final bell sounded, both fighters continued to throw punches, forcing referee Benji Esteves to dive between them.
Hopkins then walked over to the television cameras and glared, wondering how so many had predicted that Pavlik would knock him out for the first time in his career.
In hindsight, it's a wonder Pavlik was still standing at the end.
