Bernard Hopkins hopes to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr next year after beating Germany’s Karo Murat in a successful defence of his IBF light heavyweight title.
The 48-year-old from Philadelphia secured a unanimous decision over Murat and remains the oldest fighter in history to win a major world championship.
Two of the judges at ringside in Atlantic City scored it 119-108 to Hopkins, while the third had it 117-110.
Hopkins, who has now won 54 of his 62 fights, with 32 of them being knockouts, was far too good for Murat, who had not fought for almost 18 months.
However, the German did box well in the opening rounds before the veteran, Hopkins, began to get on top in the fourth round, moving Murat backwards with a left-hand counter and then starting to find his range with the jab.
The fight became dirty in the fifth when Murat landed a punch after the bell and Hopkins responded.
In the seventh, Hopkins landed a crisp two-punch combination to the head; that left the challenger hurt on the ropes and, from then on, fans gambling on the bout know there was only ever going to be one winner.
According to the Betfair website, an elated Hopkins said: “The plan was to let the dog follow the bone into the dark alley. I wanted the knockout so you have to take risks. I’m an entertainer and this is what the people wanted to see.”
Of the possibility of going down to middleweight to fight Mayweather Jr, Hopkins added: “You give me until May of next year to make 160, that fight is on. I don’t think too many reporters would count me out.
“Fourteen months from being 50, not a bruise on my face, that’s ahead of the game. If you duck more than you take, you can count your own money later on.”
