Cyber Boxing Zone -- Newswire

The Cyber Boxing Zone Newswire -- APRIL 5:2001

Ringside from the Mecca -- Hopkins brawls way to win
By Mike DeLisa

New York City
April 14, 2001

Some 4,223 boisterous fans packed the Theater at Madison Square garden to see the fist round of the Middleweight World Champin Series that will lead, hopefully, to an undisputed champion. (The CBZ will recognize the winner of the series as Lineal Champion.

Madison Square Garden has hosted 27 Middleweight Title fihgts, feturing the very best of the division -- from Greb to LaMotta to Robinson to Monzon to Hagler. Indeed, Hagler's third-round dismantling of tough Syrian Mustafa Hamsho in 1984 was the last Lineal middleweight defense at the Garden.

The crowd at the Hopkins-Holmes eliminator was clearly in favor of the similarly bald Hopkins. First, though, the crowd was hushed by the sudden and horrific ending to the WBO Junior Flyweight title battle between Andy tabanas and Nelson Dieppa.

Dieppa controlled the match, using a classic stand-up style. By the end of the 10th round, it seemed pretty clear that Dieppa would cruise to a decision. In the eleventh, though, Dieppa landed a right-hand bomb as explosive as anything dumped into his hometown of Vieques. Tabanas fell backward, unconscious, and his head slammed to the cnavas. He was obviously seriosly concussed, at a minimum. Ringside medical technicians did a swift job of stabilizing him and trnsporting him to a local hospital. Dieppa, former FEDCARBOX Champion, now holds the WBO belt.

The main event was what has become typlical for a Bernard hopkins fight -- mauling, butting, low blows, and a trip through the rpes by both fighters. Sadly, the southpaw Holmes seemed intimidated by the brawling Hopkins. After hte second round he did nothing to try to win the fight -- except taking several knees after low blows in an apparent effort to win by DQ.

Hopkins, for his part, at least tried to dominate, though the number of clean punches landed b either fighter was minimal. Hopkins was in excellent shape and used his style to thoroughly dominate the scoring, to win a unanimous nod and a trip to the fnal on September 15 agaisnt the winner of Trinidad-Joppy.

Final results from Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
(All records updated post-fight)

Bernard Hopkins (39-2-1) W UD 12 Keith Holmes (35-3)
(Unifies IBF & WBC Middleweight championship)

Nelson Dieppa (20-2-1) KO 11 Andy Tabanas (40-5-1)
(Wins WBO Jr. Flyweight championship)

Sergei Yakovich (14-0) W UD 8 Sedreck Fields (14-13)

Jerson Ravelo (3-0) W UD Manu Ntoh (1-2)

Jaffa Ballogou (38-4) W TKO 2 Shannon Miller (13-16-5)