Philadelphia, PA (The Phan) - For a boxer closing in on the age of 45, a 14-month layoff isn't exactly a prudent game plan but Bernard Hopkins is no ordinary fighter.
The Philadelphia native ignited his hometown Wednesday pitching a virtual shutout against Mexican Enrique Ornelas in a non-title light-heavyweight bout from the Liacouras Center in North Philly on Wednesday.
Hopkins really took over the nationally televised bout in Round 7 battering Ornelas (29-6) with body blows and a succession of right hands. By the 10th the only question was of Ornelas could hang on and the Mexican, who came into the ring wearing a "Death B4 Defeat" T-shirt proved to be game if not competitive.
The final scorecards read 120-109, 119-109, and 118-110 for Hopkins.
"I'd like to give Ornelas a lot of credit, he didn't come to lay down," said Hopkins, who improved to 50-5-1 (32 KO's). "He hung in there, he took some great shots. I took some great shots. I think for 44 years old, my energy level was fantastic."
Hopkins also made some news after the fight saying he plans to step up to heavyweight and fight WBA champion David Haye of Britain.
"I'm going to be the heavyweight champion of the world in 2010," Hopkins said
Hopkins had been set for a long awaited rematch in March with long-time rival Roy Jones Jr, who defeated him in a middleweight title bout in 1993 but Jones was dismantled in the first round by IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green in Sydney on Wednesday.
The undercard featured a distinct Philadelphia flavor. Philly's Danny Garcia (15-0, 10 KO's) stayed undefeated and won the WBC Youth Intercontinental Junior Welterweight Title with a second round TKO of Mexico's Enrique Colin (23-5-3).
In the other televised match on Versus, Texas' Guadalupe De Leon (8-9, 4 KO's) upset the previously unbeaten Derrick Wilson (5-1-1) of Florida by split decision in a four round featherweight bout, taking two of three scorecards, 39-37. The third judge also saw it as a 39-37 fight but in the other direction. The Phanatic Magazine also scored the bout 39-37 for Wilson, the busier fighter.
Non-televised matches saw Newark's Mike Perez (6-0-1, 3 KO's) stay unbeaten with a second round TKO of journeyman Ron Boyd (6-10) in a lightweight bout. Boyd went to his knee twice from vicious body blows before finally succumbing.
Philadelphia junior welterweight Karl Dargan (6-0) also remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Samuel Santana (2-4-2) of Puerto Rico, while Lamont Barnes (3-3) took a majority decision from Teneal Goyco (3-1) in a battle of Philly cruiserweights.
Meanwhile, the opener saw Jessie Vargas (7-0, 3 Ko's) of Las Vegas score a second round TKO over Missouri's Travis Hartman (10-16-1) in a welterweight tilt.
No comments:
Post a Comment