HOPKINS DOMINATES TARVER

June 10, 2006

The legend killed the legend-killer in the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City as the retiring future-hall-of-famer Bernard Hopkins beat light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver in a 12-round decision Saturday night.

The 41-year-old Hopkins, fighting 14 pounds over the weight at which he made boxing history with a decade-long reign as middleweight champion, enhanced his reputation further with a pole-to-post domination of Tarver. All three judges scored the fight 118-109, and it would have been easy to call it a clean sweep for Hopkins, who was more aggressive early and seemed to gain energy late in the fight.

Tarver, for his part, seemed physically weak and sluggish throughout the match; after the fight, he dismissed the idea that his weight loss for the fight - reputed to be as much as 50 pounds - was a factor. "Sometimes you wake up, and it's not your day," he said. "Physically, I never felt I had the pop. When I saw openings, I felt I was late."

Tarver, who shuffled around the ring for most of the bout, landed just 78 punches --18 percent. Despite urging from his corner, he never became the aggressor in the fight, though he enjoyed a height and reach advantage. Hopkins, a notoriously stingy puncher, managed 133 punches landed, for 43 percent.

After the fight, Hopkins seemed fresh, jibing with HBO's Larry Merchant and discussing the idea of holding off on retirement. "I told people they'd be surprised," he said, adding, "I could have moved up years ago."