Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins

Dynasty
Date	December 18, 2010
Location	Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Title(s) on the line	WBC, IBO, and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Titles.
Tale of the tape
Jean Pascal Bernard Hopkins Nickname The Executioner Hometown Laval, Quebec, Canada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Pre-fight record 26-1 (16 KO) 51–5–1 (32 KO) Height 5 feet, 11 inches 6 feet, 1 inches Recognition WBC, IBO, and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion. Former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Undisputed Champion.
Result
Fight ends in a majority draw.

On December 18, 2010, Jean Pascal defended his Light Heavyweight titles with a majority draw against former world champion Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins, a native of Philadelphia, traveled north to Quebec City, Canada to challenge the Quebec native for his titles.^[1]

The fight

The fight started at a good pace, with both fighters getting combinations and landing good shots. Hopkins was knocked down in the 1st round, and again in the 3rd. He complained that it was a blow to the back of the head that caused him to go down in the final seconds of the 1st, but the Montreal ref, Michael Griffin, scored it a knockdown. The knockdown was clearer in the 3rd, when Pascal tagged B-Hop with a left. Hopkins dropped to the canvas and got up with no problem. Pascal began to wear down and Hopkins picked up the pace, knowing he was down on the scorecards. The Canadian boxer was the younger and quicker but was not able to do much and was not that active. He was hit repeatedly in the final six rounds.^[2] Hopkins launched a desperate flurry in the final round but failed to put Pascal down. "The 12th round was vicious," Hopkins said. "He looked to be tired from the sixth round. He was gasping. He held every time I got close. And I just kept coming forward throwing punches. He was holding on for dear life."

There was some early debate over whether the Canadian and Belgian judges' cards had been altered, but that notion was discarded by both camps. Hopkins reluctantly accepted a draw on Pascal's turf, even if he felt he won—and insists he would if they fought again. Hopkins said he wants a rematch, but not in Canada.

"Look at my record -- anyone I fought twice I destroyed," he said. ^[3]

Undercard

Televised

• Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jean Pascal (c) vs. Bernard Hopkins
  • Fight ends in a majority draw (114-112 Hopkins, 113-113,114-114).
• Welterweight bout: Paul Malignaggi vs. Michael Lozada
  • Malignaggi defeats Lozada via TKO at 2:33 of round 6.
• Middleweight bout: Peter Quillin vs. Martin Desjardins
  • Quillin defeats Desjardins via KO at 2:53 of round 1.
• Super Middleweight bout: Daniel Jacobs vs. Jesse Orta
  • Jacobs defeats Orta via TKO at round 5.

Preliminary card

• Welterweight bout: Kevin Bizier vs. Ronnie Warrior Jr
  • Bizier defeats Warrior via RTD at 3:00 of round 3.
• Lightweight bout: Pier-Olivier Côté vs. Cesar Soriano
  • Cote defeats Soriano via TKO at 0:30 of round 1.
• Heavyweight bout: Tyson Fury vs. Zack Page
  • Fury defeats Page via unanimous decision.
• Heavyweight bout: Eric Martel Bahoeli vs. Ruben Rivera
  • Bahoeli defeats Rivera via unanimous decision.
• Light Middleweight bout: Mikael Zewski vs. Leonardo Rojas
  • Zewski defeats Rojas via TKO at 2:59 of round 2.

References

1. Rafael, Dan (2010-09-01). "Bernard Hopkins, Jean Pascal to fight". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5518403= 2010-12-15.
2. "Bernard Hopkins misses chance to become boxing's oldest world champion". Guardian. 2010-12-19. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/dec/19/bernard-hopkins-jean-pascal-draw= 2010-12-19.
3. Rafael, Dan (2010-12-19). "Bernard Hopkins rallies to draw". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5935116= 2010-12-19.