Taylor beat Hopkins: If you don't win, you lose

By Anthony Evans: If you don't win, you lose and if Bernard Hopkins was even two-thirds the legendary fighter he is drummed up to be he'd know that world championship fights are contested over 12 X 3minute rounds, not 15 or six scoring rounds following six 'practice' rounds. Saturday's fight with Jermain Taylor was scheduled for 12 rounds and was scored on the '10-point must' system and therefore defending champ Hopkins lost the fight because he won less rounds than Taylor.

What's 'controversial' about that?

After point-blank refusing to engage the faster and more active challenger in the first half of the fight, Hopkins simply left himself with a mathematical impossibility in trying to win the fight on points after losing seven of the first nine rounds. Of course, the lion in winter sees things differently.

"From the fifth round on, I put on a clinic," Hopkins said. "I'm at peace with myself. The fans can decide because the judges aren't always right."

No, of course not. But they got it right this time: Taylor won a close split decision in a close world championship fight. And, according to SecondsOut's current reader poll, only 24% of fans thought Hopkins won the bout with his late round surge whereas 42% believe Taylor won more rounds. (And don't bother emailing in saying HBO's allegedly pro-Taylor commentary had an affect on our readers; SecondsOut is a worldwide publication with a large readership outside the USA who don't even know what Jim Lampley sounds like.)

"I hurt him two times. The only thing I did wrong was not knock him out," Hopkins moaned.

No, a knockout wasn't a requirement on Saturday. But fighting in the first half of the bout sure was. Johnny 'the Entertainer' Nelson aside, Bernard 'the Executioner' Hopkins is the most inappropriate ring name in modern boxing, unless, perhaps, this particular hangman has forgone the rope and even the axe in favour of boredom as a means of dispatch. For much of his decade long reign, Hopkins has attempted to evaluate procrastination to an art form.

For me, Hopkins fought as though intimidated for the first fives rounds; I'm not suggested he was afraid of Taylor, but, just like he was against Oscar De La Hoya and Robert Allen last year, Hopkins was afraid of losing. Unwilling to take any risk whatsoever, Hopkins waited, waited, waited until a Taylor weakness (a susceptibility to lead right hands) was revealed.

But Hopkins waited too late this time.

Hopkins's cheerleaders, complete with Everlast pom-poms, have seized upon judge Duane Ford's scoring of the 12th and final round. Ford contrived to score the final stanza for the challenger 10-9, a unique interpretation to be sure as in the eyes of the other two judges (and in the eyes of everyone with eyes) Hopkins clearly won the round from a gassed-out Bad Intentions.

My guess is that Ford had kept a mental calculation of who he had ahead throughout the fight and, knowing that Hopkins would retain his title on a draw if he was given the 12th, elected to give the round to Taylor to ensure the right man won. That's not correct, that's not right as every separate 3minutes should be scored on it's own merits, but several respected judges have told me this is what they do.

But as wrong - and 'wrong' is the word - as that scoring was there was some equally incorrect tabling going on across the ring. Judge Jerry Roth gave Hopkins three of the first five rounds. What the heck was he watching?

A poll of boxing writers apparently voted 14-3 in favour of Hopkins. Yep, the same dudes who had the imagination to decree Hopkins 'manager of the year' after 'the Executioner' had thrown away $millions in turning down fights with Felix Trinidad, Roy Jones and others during the last four years, came out to bat for their antihero.

Some of the stuff written since Saturday has been very disingenuous: Hopkins, we are asked to believe, wasn't lazy and/or intimidated early on but merely "laying the foundations" for his later round rally. Ahem. According to some, Hopkins was actually 'probing for openings' during his early non-effort. Probing for openings? A Vulcan mind-probe, perhaps, but certainly not probing for any kind of physical attack as recognised by the Queensbury rules.

And strategically absent from all the public second-guessing was that Taylor blasted 'the Executioner' to the ropes in round two, where the defending champ had to grasp a rope with his glove to steady himself. Had it been Taylor, not B-Hop, who had stumbled like that no doubt the ex-champ's chorus would have declared it a knockdown.

And, who knows, maybe referee Jay Nady would have ruled it as such, so pro-Hopkins did he appear at times. In the dressing rooms before the bout, Nady talked a good points deduction ("first intention foul is point off") but he allowed Hopkins to clip, cuff, hit low and most importantly head butt all night.

After getting hurt in the second Hopkins deliberately smacked Taylor in the balls in the first minute of the third. There were more low blows in the fourth and they were followed hard upon by subtle butts to the face. Hopkins also held the challenger around the waist and clubbed away to the back of the head; he put Taylor in a guillotine choke (I guess that's where the nickname is apt) and punched away to the gut.

And most importantly it was a butt, caused by careless use of the head, which opened up the hideous cut to the top of Taylor's skull in the fifth. 'Bad Intentions' bled profusely for the rest of the bout and required 15 stitches later that night.

Hopkins could and should have been deducted a point for anyone one of these infringements, but Nady seemed a little browbeaten (maybe he heard Zab Judah was in the building). There was a 'final warning' from Nady in the eighth after yet another low blow when Hopkins thought the ref was blindsided but that was as stern as it got. A Hopkins armlock in the ninth passed without comment from Nady, and three rabbit punches went without deduction in the tenth.

Hopkins won the sixth but backed off too much in the seventh. He then lost the eighth and that was that. Taylor had won 7 rounds and as long as he remained on his feet - which he did - he would be declared the winner - which he was.

Hopkins knew he was behind - he must have - because the counter-puncher turned aggressor in the last three rounds. He did exactly the same thing against Oscar De La Hoya (and Hopkins thought he was behind v Oscar before he upped his workrate) but this time he wasn't fighting a blown up welterweight and his aggression, while effective, didn't get the job done; not with Taylor having seven rounds in the bank.

On July 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins for the world middleweight title. What's more, he beat Hopkins at his own game.


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