Hopkins hands Pavlik first loss

Bernard Hopkins clinched a dominant unanimous-decision victory over previously unbeaten Kelly Pavlik last night.

The 43-year-old showed he still has a lot left in the tank, outgunning his 26-year-old opponent from beginning to end in the light heavyweight bout at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

The scores were 119-106, 118-108 and 117-109 in favour of Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs), who had lost three of his previous five fights.

“The Executioner” was quicker to the punch throughout the bout, landing better combinations and even leaving Pavlik unsteady on his feet on a few occasions.

Pavlik (34-1), who is the current WBC and WBO middleweight champion, seemed to have trouble fighting for the first time in the light heavyweight division. He took the fight with Hopkins after struggling to find a quality opponent in his own weight class.

“The Ghost” struggled to find his range and never had the Philadelphia native in trouble, looking much slower than his opponent despite being 17 years younger.

More than a 4-1 underdog entering the ring, Hopkins wobbled Pavlik in the second round with a left uppercut, which caused swelling under the Youngstown, Ohio native’s right eye.

Continuing to control the pace of the fight, Hopkins avoided Pavlik’s jabs and slipped away from the big right hands while scoring with short left hooks.

Hopkins had Pavlik in trouble during the seventh round, scoring with a combination to the head and even showboating while the crowd rose to their feet.

The round seemed to cause Pavlik to start doubting himself as he went back to his stool with blood streaming out of his nose.

Hopkins finished well, delivering another big combination early in the 12th round, shaking Pavlik again to cap a dominant performance.