Atlantic City- Bernard Hopkins finally acted his age.
The oldest fighter to ever win a world title, Hopkins, who calls himself the 'Alien,' rode a wave of popularity as he entered his title fight with Sergey Kovalev on Saturday just two months and seven days shy of his 50th birthday.
Facing a younger and supposedly stronger opponent, Hopkins could usually be counted on to use his guile and toughness to offset those strengths.
But this time was different.
Looking and fighting like a 49-year-old, Hopkins was easily beaten to the punch and overwhelmed by the hard-punching Kovalev, dropping a unanimous decision and barely holding on to survive the 12th round Saturday in a light heavyweight unification bout at Boardwalk Hall before an announced crowd of 8,545.
Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 knockouts) won by scores of 120-107, 120-107 and 120-106 to win Hopkins' IBF and WBA title and retain his own WBO belt.
Hopkins was dropped in the first round and nearly stopped in the 12th, the first time he would have lost a fight by being counted out.
But Hopkins finished the fight on his feet- barely- again showing the toughness that has marked his incredible career.
'I think now it's time that Hopkins give younger guys a chance,' Kovalev said in the ring afterward. 'Yeah he touched me a little bit it wasn't a really hard punch.'
Hopkins had previously vanquished fighters he wasn't supposed to beat, topping Felix Trinidad Jr., Kelly Pavlik and Antonio Tarver when few gave him a chance.
And while Boardwalk Hall was the venue where Hopkins beat Pavlik and Tarver, Hopkins couldn't pull of the same magic trick on Saturday against an opponent who stuck to his game plan and whose power seemed to deter and give Hopkins pause about landing his own punches.
'He didn't let me fight my fight,' Hopkins said. 'He fought a good fight and stuck to his game plan and he's going to be around for a long time. I did more than anyone expected.'
But Hopkins wouldn't say if he's done with the sport. 'I will think about it,' Hopkins said.
Kovalev dropped Hopkins with a chopping right with 52 seconds left in the first round. Hopkins ducked his head and when he came up Kovalev dropped a right hand, causing Hopkins to lose his balance and fall to the canvas. Hopkins got up quickly but he was forced to fight off the ropes for the remainder of the round and seemed to be surprised by the pace and speed of Kovalev's shots.
Kovalev went down in the third round but it was ruled a slip and a push by Hopkins by referee David Fields. Moments later, Hopkins landed a hard counter-right but Kovalev roared back to tag and stun Hopkins along the ropes as the round ended.
Kovalev continued to pressure Hopkins in the fifth round, stalking and landing some hard right hands.
Rather than be bothered by Hopkins' antics as most fighters are, Kovalev seemed to enjoy them, as when Hopkins ducked his head while in the corner during the sixth round and Kovalev simply smiled and took a step back and seemed to mutter something in Hopkins' direction.
Hopkins had little success landing his go-to punch: the counter right-hand, which he uncoils and launches with a hard jump when his opponent least suspects it.
Kovalev seemed to anticipate the move and he easily danced out of harm's way when Hopkins seemed ready to unleash it.
Hopkins nearly went down again from an overhand right in the eighth round, his knees briefly buckling after the punch came crashing down. But Hopkins returned fire later in the round, landing a hard overhand right of his own.
Hopkins landed a left hook in an exchange in the tenth, again showing that he was still dangerous. But Kovalev returned fire, landing a stiff left uppercut as the round came to a close, causing Hopkins to again retreat.
In the 12th, Hopkins landed a right hand that seemed to connect while Kovalev was off balance and the Russian stumbled across the ring, igniting the crowd. But he seemed fine and Kovalev later landed a hard right hand that caught Hopkins flush and had him struggling to hold on. Hopkins was absorbing a beating and the referee seemed reluctant to stop the fight.
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