Not much of a fight to talk of, with the clock showing two minutes in the second round when Chad Dawson pulled a move out of the WWE, body slamming Bernard Hopkins, dislocating the 46 year old’s shoulder and by bizarre decision winning by a TKO, ending up with the WBC and Ring Light Heavyweight title belts.

I know Bernard Hopkins isn’t the most likeable guy with some of the stuff he says and the arrogance in which he carries himself but hey, when you’re 46 and a champion, one of the greatest middleweights of all time, you deserve some bragging rights. Watching Dawson rob him of this fight, of the title, and claiming a million times – I’m the Champion and There will be no rematch, well, it kind of makes you feel bad for boxing. These aren’t the nights that make you happy to be a fan.

Dawson was booed all over at the Staples Center, but didn’t really seem to care. He got his dirty win, and now looks to avenge his loss against Jean Pascal, the only man who ever defeated him. He jumped on me and was pulling me down, so I pushed him off with the shoulder. I was looking forward to a good fight. I trained eight weeks for this. … Yes, he was faking. This is a fight I wanted for three years, and Bernard obviously didn’t want the fight.

Bernard Hopkins, and pretty much everyone else who saw the fight, saw things a little differently. Not the referee. No foul. It’s a TKO. He could not continue because of injury. Hopkins, just so you know, wanted to fight on with only one arm still working. Pat Russell wouldn’t have it, and lifted Dawson’s hand to the chorus of jeers.

Aftermath? Don’t be surprised if the sanctioning bodies overturn this. There’s enough evidence for that. Either way, there will be a protest filed by Golden Boy Promoter.

Hopkins wasn’t keen on fighting Dawson, claiming his weak ticket selling abilities to be the reason. It also had to do with Dawson being a very tough fighter to handle. Apparently also dirty. Hopkins would probably be more pleased with fighting Sergio Martinez or anyone at a lower weight. Sergio also prefers to go down, against Pacquiao or Mayweather, before fighting someone like Hopkins. It doesn’t matter. After 60 fights, Hopkins’ record of never losing inside the distance is now over.

For Dawson, besides Pascal, a temptation of unifying the belts might be a sweet temptation. If he gets to hold on to it. Welsh boxer Nathan Cleverly, the WBO champion, has already made it obvious he’s interested in a fight with either Dawson or Hopkins after his win over Tony Bellew.

Images: Source