Last night, 48-year-old fighter Bernard Hopkins broke his own record set two years ago as the oldest boxer to ever win a major boxing title. He beat Tavoris Cloud, 31, in a 12-round unanimous decision for the IBF light heavyweight belt.
Hopkins picked apart the younger, undefeated Cloud in Brooklyn's Barclays Center in a slow, deliberate bout that played to Hopkins style and pace. By the middle and later rounds, the new champion was routinely geting the best of the exchanges, controlling Cloud with jabs and combinations from the outside before dancing away or clinching up.
The most damage came in the sixth round, when a gash opened up over Cloud's left eye that forced a stop in action. Cloud said he'd been elbowed, and the ref called it an accidental head butt. Replays, however, showed that it was a short Hopkins left hook that connected to cause the cut. After the final round, all three judges ruled the fight a lopsided win for the 48-year old, 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112.
Hopkins, now 53-6-2, has vowed not to fight past the age of 50, but still thinks he has a few more fights left in him. But last night after his win, Hopkins had one thing on his mind.
"I'm going to Junior's," the champion told reporters, as he has so often in the past after wins. "I'm going to have cheesecake."