Fight Video: Hopkins toyed on Pavlik

Bernard Hopkins gave Kelly Pavlik a boxing clinic lesson and a first defeat that he will never ever forget.

Watch the highlight video how The Executioner dominated The Ghost for 12 rounds.

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The ageless 43 yr. old Hopkins used lightning fast combinations and a sturdy, flawless defense to embarrass and confuse Pavlik in a 12-round non-title bout Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.

Hopkins, who dominated the middleweight class for a decade, made the 26-year-old Pavlik—the WBC and WBO middleweight champion—look slow and powerless in fighting at 170 pounds, 10 pounds over his weight class.

“I think this was my best performance, better than (Antonio) Tarver, better than (Felix) Trinidad, better than Oscar (De La Hoya), better than my 21 defenses,” Hopkins said. “I am extremely happy.”

Hopkins received winning scores of 119-106 from judge Alan Rubenstein, 117-109 from Barbara Perez and 118-108 from Steve Weisfeld.

Predictions: Pavlik vs Hopkins

“My motivation is back pay,” Hopkins said. “And I’m a late bloomer and I’m a late start in everything in boxing. As you look at my history for years, the last five years have been a blessing for Bernard Hopkins and my family and it reflects that I’ve done well.

I’ve done well in the ring and I’ve done well financially and dealing with (Golden Boy Promotions CEO) Richard Schaefer, who comes from the banking industry. I’ve made some great investments.

“But in saying that, I am a late bloomer. Whether history reflects whether it was worth it or not, I can tell you it was for the years that I didn’t get the chance to shine. And you wrote about it many years and, you know, some believe that my decisions were going in the wrong direction and it bought me time. It bought me time to be here at 40-plus years old, still doing what I do at my best.”

What Hopkins has been best at over the years has been finding what his opponent has been best at and taking it away. Pavlik is 34-0 with 30 knockouts, but he’s still a young fighter on the rise and getting better.

Clearly, his power and his right hands are his drawing cards and Hopkins knows that if he neutralizes the right, the chances of a victory increase exponentially.

Preview: Kelly Pavlik vs Bernard Hopkins

Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik and Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins were of different in styles at their press conference last Tuesday. They will meet on Saturday in their light heavyweight bout in Atlantic City.

4 days before the fight, Hopkins was his usual self, trying to bait his opponent into betting $250,000 that Pavlik will become the 1st boxer to knock the hell out of the 43-year-old.

Pavlik, the 26-year-old undefeated middleweight champion, has 30 knockouts in 34 career bouts. Promoter Bob Arum deflected the dare before his boxer even stepped to the podium, and Pavlik spoke briefly and without bluster.

“I haven’t one fight, ever, predicted a KO,” Pavlik said calmly. “I don’t train eight hard weeks with a brutal workout regimen and put my body through what I do just to knock somebody out. I go in there to win—12 rounds. If a knockout comes, that’s great.”

The aggressive, big-hitting Pavlik better be prepared to go 12 rounds with Hopkins (48-5-1), the wily former champ with a knack for outlasting opponents. Hopkins suggested Pavlik won’t be able to adjust his style to win.