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| Date | July 21, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | The Ring light heavyweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hopkins wins via unanimous decision (117–111, 117–111, 116–112) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernard Hopkins vs. Winky Wright , billed as Coming to Fight, was a professional boxing match contested on July 21, 2007, for the The Ring light heavyweight title. [1]
Bernard Hopkins had announced his retirement after defeating Antonio Tarver in dominating fashion to capture The Ring light heavyweight title the previous year. [2] Despite his impressive performance, Hopkins was adamant during the immediate aftermath that his boxing career was over as he had promised his now-deceased mother he would retire after moving up from middleweight to capture the light heavyweight title. [3] However, Hopkins would announce his comeback only eight months later to face former 2-time light middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright. [4] With Wright having never fought past the middleweight limit of 160 pounds and Hopkins now fighting two divisions above at the 175-pound light heavyweight limit, the two fighters agreed to a catchweight of 170 pounds. [5] As both fighters were known more for their defensive skills rather than their knockout prowess, many boxing pundits, including Teddy Atlas and Angelo Dundee, predicted the fight would be a slow, tactical affair. [6]
At the pre-fight weigh-in, Hopkins and Wright were fact-to-face exchanging words when Hopkins suddenly shoved Wright, causing a melee between both of their entourages. The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that they would withhold 10 percent of Hopkins' $3 million purse pending a hearing on the matter. [7] One month later a five-person panel reduced the fine to 6 percent or $200,000. [8]
Hopkins, using his constant movement and superior defense, completely neutralized Wright's best punch, his right jab, holding Wright to just 87 of 290, while often countering with combinations to the body which weakened Wright as the fight went on. The turning point of the fight came in the second round when Hopkins headbutted Wright opening a large gash near his left eye which hindered him throughout the fight and which Hopkins targeted frequently. Hopkins was not penalized for the butt but was warned for rubbing his head again Wrights whenever the two were engaged in a clinch. [9] After 12 rounds, Hopkins would earn a relatively lopsided unanimous decision victory with all three judges naming him the winner with two scores of 117–111 and one score of 116–112, giving Wright his first defeat in over 7 years.
HBO's Harold Lederman scored the bout a draw, 114–114, while the Associated Press scored the bout 115–113 for Hopkins.
The card generated between 300,000 and 330,000 buys on HBO.
Confirmed bouts: [10]
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catchweight | 170 lbs. | Bernard Hopkins (c) | def | Ronald Wright | UD | 12/12 | Note 1 |
| Featherweight | 126 lbs. | Jorge Linares | def. | Óscar Larios | TKO | 10/12 | Note 2 |
| Lightweight | 135 lbs. | Michael Katsidis (c) | def. | Czar Amonsot | UD | 12/12 | Note 3 |
| Super Lightweight | 140 lbs. | Demetrius Hopkins | def. | Jailer Berrio | TKO | 1/10 | |
| Light Heavyweight | 175 lbs. | Librado Andrade | def. | Ted Muller | TKO | 2/8 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Jose Angel Rodriguez | def. | Keenan Collins | SD | 8/8 | |
| Welterweight | 147 lbs. | Rock Allen | def. | Ramiro Rivera | UD | 6/6 | |
| Featherweight | 126 lbs. | Juan Domínguez | def. | Manuel Gonzalez Garcia | MD | 4/4 |
^Note 1 For The Ring light heavyweight title
^Note 2 For WBC Featherweight title
^Note 3 For WBO Interim lightweight title
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
 United States | HBO |
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