Hopkins (left) successfully defended his middleweight crown for 10 years

Bernard Hopkins avenged a 17-year-old defeat by Roy Jones Jr on Saturday - and promptly declared he wanted to face WBA heavyweight champion David Haye.

Ex-middleweight champion Hopkins, 45, beat Jones, 41, by unanimous decision in an ill-tempered Las Vegas bout.

The non-title fight erupted into life in the sixth round after Hopkins took a blow to the back of the head.

Afterwards, he said: "People will think the punch in the back of my head made me a little crazy, but I want Haye."

When the pair met in 1993 Jones beat Hopkins on points and the cagey start to the belated rematch suggested the full 12 rounds would be needed once more.

Indeed, the action was in stark contrast to the display put on just hours earlier in Manchester as Haye dropped John Ruiz twice in the first round and twice more later on to stop the durable American for only the second time in 55 fights.

However, as the Las Vegas contest reached its mid-point, the contest finally sparked into life as Jones spun out of a clinch and landed a short punch to the back of Hopkins' head.

606: DEBATE Could Hopkins take on Haye?

Hopkins dropped to his knees for several minutes but when the round resumed, he attacked Jones with a furious flurry and the two men continued to exchange punches as the bell rang, with security guards having to restore order.

Hopkins went down on two other occasions, albeit from another rabbit punch and a low blow, while an accidental head butt in the 11th round opened a gash on Jones' left eyelid.

"It was kind of rough," said Hopkins, who improved his record to 51 wins, five defeats and one draw. "Roy's a veteran. He was tying me up. I was tying him up. It was a good fight."

Former super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight title holder Jones, whose record slipped to 54 wins and seven defeats with his sixth loss in 11 fights, admitted he may now choose to call time on a glorious career.

"I'll go back and talk to my coaches and my dad and if we think I still have it, we'll keep going, and if not, we'll call it a day," he said.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version