By John McMullen
jmcmullen@phanaticmag.com
ATLANTIC CITY (The Phanatic Magazine) - Maybe Bernard Hopkins is from another planet.
In case you didn't know the former "Executioner" now calls himself "The Alien" these days and the 48-year-old Hopkins defended his IBF light heavyweight championship by topping German star Karo Murat by unanimous decision at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday.
The nickname change is a nod to reality. After all Hopkins hasn't knocked out anyone since he sent Oscar De La Hoya to the canvas in September of 2004, nearly a decade ago when he was 39. Since then, however, he has been able to beat fighters like Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Roy Jones
Jr., Jean Pascal and now Murat.
So why Alien?
Because a man far closer to 50 than his prime isn't supposed to be in the squared circle with people 20 years younger like Murat, never mind beating them and beating them so soundly.
Hopkins won 119-108 on two scorecards and 117-110 on the third, He was never in any danger save for one flurry late in the 10th round.
"Father Time" is the one opponent who beats everyone but Hopkins has given him a run like no other becoming the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a championship when he took the WBC and Ring Magazine light heavyweight crown from Pascal in May of 2011.
The Philadelphia native then broke his own record in March of this year by taking the IBF light heavyweight belt from Tavoris Cloud in Brooklyn.
Interestingly when he was known as "The Executioner," Hopkins was one of the greatest defensive fighters in the history of the sport. These days, B-Hop has turned into a boxing version of Ric Flair, the dirtiest player in the game, using his smarts to clutch and grab as he frustrates his opponents.
On Saturday, however, Hopkins almost needed to get the executioner's hood out of storage, hurting the 30-year-old Murat on several occasions.
And it was actually Murat, perhaps intent on beating Hopkins at his own game, who turned to the questionable tactics like headlocks and late blows. The German challenger was even docked a point in the seventh round, and tried to head butt Hopkins twice in the closing seconds of the fight.
"Father Time" will eventually get Hopkins but Murat wasn't even close.
"He gave me extra time to spend with my family, stay in the gym longer to get ready for this fight. I feel like a fighter in my 20s not my 40s," Hopkins said.
In the co-main event WBO middleweight champ Peter Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) kept his title by topping Philadelphia's Gabriel Rosado (21-7) by doctor's stoppage in the 10th round.
The talented Quillen, who was born in Chicago and fights out of Brooklyn, served notice early, catching the tough-minded Rosado with a razor-sharp left hook that sent him to one knee.
Rosado, the far bigger and stronger fighter in the ring, had the crowd behind him and he wasn't going to make things easy for "Kid Chocolate." He finished the fourth round with a spectacular flurry that had Quillen slumping toward the ropes.
A confidant Rosado kept pressing the action from there, cutting off the ring as best he could with Quillen's movement skills keeping him from taking consistent punishment.
By Round 7 Quillen started to re-establish himself by using his quick hands well in the counter-punch game. That said, Quillen remained content to let Rosado dictate the pace and score off his offense.
By the ninth round Quillen had opened up a cut above Rosado's left eye and he peppered it enough in Round 10 to get a questionable stoppage from the ringside physician which was greeted by more than a few boos.
"This is boxing. That was nothing," Rosado said of the cut. "I never showed it was bothering me. I don't understand. Who wants a rematch?"
Evidently not the judges.
Kason Cheeks, inexplicably had Quillin up 90-80 on his scorecard when the fight was stopped. The other judges had it scored 89-81 and 87-83 for Quillin but they were judging on reputation. The fight was much
closer than that and The Phanatic Magazine had it scored 86-84 for Quillen.
Compubox stats showed just how close it was with Quillin landing 88-of-349 punches or 25 percent and Rosado connecting on 80-of-297 or 27 percent. Quillin had the edge in jabs (29 to 18) but Rosado landed more power punches (62 to 59).
The WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title evidently didn't mean all that much to Nicolai Firtha as the Ohio native came in out of shape and was outclassed by the sculpted Deontay Wilder.
Firtha (21-11-1) actually stunned the unbeaten Wilder (30-0, 30 KOs) early in the first round but by the end of the frame he had slumped to the canvas twice and may have had a broken nose.
In the third Wilder almost knocked Firtha through the ropes with a combination push-punch before a vicious right cross at 1:26 of the fourth mercifully ended it for the overmatched Firtha.
The impressive Wilder has ended each of his 30 professional fights with a KO.
Unbeaten super middleweight Dominic Wade (12-0, 10 KOs) kicked things off with a bang by knocking out Mexican journeyman Roberto Ventura (12-8) at 2:08 of the opening round.
Puerto Rican featherweight Braullo Santos (11-1, 10 KOs) felt like playing Beat the Clock with Wade and actually one-upped him, needing just 1:49 in the first round to dispose of San Diego's David Clark (6-3) by TKO.
A pair of junior welterweights, Brooklyn's Zachary Ochoa and Alabama's Michael Doyle, took the excitement down a notch by going the distance in a rather dull four-round affair. Neither fighter was very busy but Ochoa (5-0, 3 KOs) was far slicker than the overmatched Doyle, who has won just two of his eight professional fights. Ochoa won all three scorecards (40-36, 39-37 and 39-37).
In the final undercard bout New York junior welterweight Wellington Romero (1-0) pitched a shutout in his professional debut, winning all three scorecards 40-36 over Victor Galindo (1-3).
NOTES:
SHOWTIME Sports and Golden Boy announced a pair of big fight cards on back-to-back weeks in December.
The first one takes place at the Barclays Center on Dec. 7 when former five-time, two-division world champion Zab Judah headlines against a former two-time kingpin Paulie Malignaggi in a bout billed for Brooklyn bragging rights.
The co-feature there will be IBF welterweight champ Devon Alexander defending his crown against unbeaten Shawn Porter. Also on the card will be Erislandy Lara against former world champion Austin Trout for the vacant WBA super welterweight belt. Rounding out the televised card will be Sakio Bika making
the first defense of his WBC super middleweight title against undefeated Antony Dirrell.
A week later in San Antonio's Alamodome, welterweight star Adrien Broner will make the first defense of his WBA crown versus Marcos Maidana in the main event. That card will be supplemented by Keith Thurman's WBA interim welterweight title defense against Jesus Soto Karass as well as Leo Santa
Cruz's WBC super bantamweight title bout against Cesar Seda.
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