WASHINGTON (AP) — Already the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest to win a unification bout Saturday night as he captured a split 12-round decision over Beibut Shumenov of Kazakhstan.
The announcement of the decision drew boos from the pro-Hopkins crowd. Two judges scored the fight 116-111 for the 49-year-old Hopkins. One judge scored it 114-113 for the 30-year-old Shumenov.
Hopkins rocked Shumenov with a chopping overhand right midway through the 11th round for the only knockdown of the fight, igniting chants of “B-Hop! B-Hop!” from the crowd of 6,823 at D.C. Armory.
After a slow start, Hopkins controlled the action, growing confident, aggressive and playful as the fight progressed. Hopkins was a decisive statistical winner, landing 49 percent of his 383 punches, while Shumenov connected on just 20 percent of his 608 blows.
