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Bernard Hopkins (R) connects with a punch to Enrique Ornelas - Source: Reuters
American Bernard Hopkins returned to the ring after a near
14-month absence to score a unanimous points decision victory over
Mexican Enrique Ornelas in a non-title light-heavyweight
bout.
Hopkins, 44, the former middleweight and light-heavyweight
champion, used his experience to land sharp counters, and when
Ornelas stood back, scored with lead right hands.
After a wobble in round four where Ornelas landed a succession of
right hands, Hopkins took over in the fifth, pinning Ornelas into a
corner and digging to the body with the Mexican visibly tiring by
the tenth.
"I'd like to give Ornelas a lot of credit, he didn't come to lay
down," said Hopkins, who improved to 50-5-1 (32 KO's).
"He hung in there, he took some great shots. I took some great
shots. I think for 44 years old, my energy level was
fantastic."
The judges scored the bout 120-109, 119-109, and 118-110 for
Hopkins, who has said he plans to step up to heavyweight and fight
WBA champion David Haye of Britain.
"I'm going to be the heavyweight champion of the world in 2010,"
Hopkins said
Hopkins had previously said he intended to fight a rematch in March
with long-time rival Roy Jones Jr, who defeated him in a
middleweight title bout in 1993, followed by a challenge to Briton
Haye later in the year.
That first part of that plan seemed to be in tatters after Jones
was stopped in the first round by IBO cruiserweight champion Danny
Green in Sydney but Hopkins offered hope the contest could yet go
ahead.
"Oh yeah, definitely," he said when asked if the Jones fight could
still happen.
