It wasn't flashy, it wasn't showy, but Bernard Hopkins has never cared about that. Last night, he did what he has done for decades now, outboxing Tavoris Cloud en route to a 12-round unanimous decision victory, breaking his own record as the oldest man in boxing history to win a world title. Hopkins now holds the IBF light heavyweight belt.
Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO) says he'll fight on, but it's unclear if he really plans to fight until he's 50, which is what he said last night, but then later said he was joking. At 48, he's still more than good enough to beat most guys in the light heavyweight division. Guys with certain styles (Chad Dawson) will beat him, but these guys who shave technique and go with raw physicality, like Cloud and Jean Pascal, have a terrible time figuring the old man out.
Hopkins would likely fight again this fall at the earliest. As for Tavoris, his future is...cloudy. Hahahahaha.