'Executioner' ruthlessly efficient in final bout
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It was a masterpiece, simple as that.
Bernard Hopkins is going out on top after thoroughly dominating Antonio Tarver to win the light heavyweight world championship Saturday night in a performance of historical proportions.
Hopkins, who made a division-record 20 middleweight title defenses before suffering back-to-back disputed decision losses to Jermain Taylor last year, moved up two weight classes for a shot at Tarver in what he promised would be the final fight of an 18-year, obvious Hall of Fame career.
Before an electric crowd of 10,200 at Boardwalk Hall, Hopkins (47-4-1) pulled off what his boxing idol, Sugar Ray Robinson, failed to do. In 1952, Robinson, who was the reigning middleweight champ, challenged light heavyweight champ Joey Maxim at Yankee Stadium. Although he was leading after 13 rounds, the 100-plus-degree heat had taken its toll, and Robinson quit on his stool because of heat exhaustion.
Not only did Hopkins win the 175-pound title, he did it with ease, including a fifth-round knockdown. From the first round through the 12th, Hopkins was in control in a fight almost as easy as his upset win agaist Felix Trinidad to become undisputed middleweight champ in 2002.