Bernard Hopkins didn't get the knockout he keeps saying he wants to score -- which would be his first in nearly a decade -- but the 49-year-old light heavyweight titleholder did drop Beibut Shumenov in the 11th round tonight on a hard right hand.
Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO) unified the IBF and WBA titles this evening with the win over Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO), who didn't start too badly but never made a single adjustment, allowing Hopkins to do what he always does, take over the fight, and Hopkins did so with relative ease, despite the bizarre split decision scores from the judges, or at least the ridiculous 114-113 score for Shumenov from judge Gustavo Padilla of Panama.
Hopkins, 49, now moves forward as he aims to face WBC and Ring Magazine champ Adonis Stevenson later this year, likely in Montreal. For Shumenov, it's a big setback, but there are plenty more Tamas Kovacs and Danny Santiagos out there for him to beat, and maybe he can face one of them for a WBA "regular" title and be world champion again.