Video And Pics After The Jump
In what turned out to be a very exciting fight, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest boxer to win a legitimate title by beating Jean Pascal last night in Montreal.
He broke the record previously held by George Foreman, who won a heavyweight belt at age 45.
The 46-year old "Executioner" fought like a man half his age, as he outsmarted and outworked his 28-year old opponent.
B-Hop used every trick in the books to successfully get inside the head of Pascal, who seemed to become frustrated by Hopkins tactics.
Hopkins taunted Pascal by talking trash, sticking out his tongue and even doing push ups in the middle of the ring.
In the end though, it was Hopkins boxing skills that won the fight. He consistently beat Pascal to the punch. Using his jab to set up overhand rights that he seemed to land at will.
Although both fighters were hit by some very hard shots, neither was officially knocked down. Pascal should have been called for two knockdowns though. His gloves touched the canvas twice following punches by Hopkins, which should have automatically been ruled as knockdowns, but the referee failed to properly rule them that way.
The fight was a rematch of their December 2010 bout that ended in a controversial draw decision. Most thought Hopkins won that battle.
Leading up to the 2nd fight there was a lot of bad blood and trash talking between the two fighters. At one point Pascal accused Hopkins of using steroids, but those accusations only fueled Hopkins fire.
“I didn't feel like I was 46 tonight, I felt more like 36,” Hopkins said after the fight. “I can say I'm a great fighter, it was exciting, I think everybody enjoyed themselves.”
Hopkins took home the WBC, IBO and The Ring Magazine titles with the victory and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters in middleweight history.
Next up for B-Hop will be a match against Chad Dawson, who fought and won on the undercard.
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