• Boxing

Hopkins has his revenge

ESPN staff
April 4, 2010
Bernard Hopkins won a unanimous decision after the fight went the full 12 rounds © Getty Images
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Bernard Hopkins ended his 17-year wait for revenge against Roy Jones Jr in Las Vegas with a gruelling unanimous points victory.

Hopkins dominated from the outset, with a combination of defence and aggression, but he was floored in the sixth after Jones threw a left to the back of Hopkins' head. He was on the canvas for three minutes but eventually recovered, but Jones' punch left the 45-year-old struggling to see clearly.

He had his revenge, and unleashed a flurry of punches to Jones' head to the delight of the crowd, and both men continued to exchange punches beyond the bell, and teams and officials were forced to enter the ring to separate them.

Once again in the eighth, Hopkins caught a punch to the back of the head, but he recovered once more, only to sink to his knees for a third time when Jones delivered a low blow early in the tenth.

In the end the judges were unanimous in their decision: Don Trella and Glenn Trowbridge both scored it 117-110 for Hopkins, with Dave Moretti scoring 118-109.

"It was definitely worth it, and it was sweet revenge," Hopkins said. "It was really rough in there. He's a good fighter, and he tried to rough me up. I tried to tough it out, but I was seeing spots from the sixth round on."

Hopkins admitted he would be interested in challenging David Haye for his heavyweight title. "People will think the punch in the back of my head made me a little crazy, but I want David Haye," he said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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