On a card billed to promote a superfight between himself and Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins faces Robert Allen for the third time in defense of his WBC, WBA and IBF Middleweight Championship. Although Hopkins threatens to pull out of the fight due to the appointment of Joe Cortez as the referee, Cortez actually lectures Allen for hitting on the break in the first round and docks him a point for a low blow in the fifth without issuing a prior warning to the challenger. In the seventh round, Hopkins lands a looping right hand that spins Allen onto his face on the mat. After shaking off a brief rally from Allen in the eighth, Hopkins coasts to a wide unanimous decision victory and heads to his locker room to watch De La Hoya attempt to lift the WBO title from undefeated Felix Sturm in the main event.

Collision Course: Bernard Hopkins vs. Robert Allen III

In an immediate rematch of their controversial no contest, Bernard Hopkins and Robert Allen square off in yet another foul-filled fight for the IBF Middleweight Championship. Hopkins starts fast and puts Allen on his backside with a right hand in the second round. Allen responds to being hit in a clinch by hitting Hopkins on a break. Things get uglier in the fourth round when Allen flops to the canvas on three separate occasions, claiming low blows, before returning the favor. Referee Rudy Battle deducts a point from Hopkins, who responds by hurting Allen in the fifth round and battering him to the canvas and almost out of the ring in the sixth. Hopkins continues the punishment into the seventh until Battle stops a wobbling Allen on his feet.

Collision Course: Bernard Hopkins vs. Robert Allen III

Bernard Hopkins vs. Robert Allen II

On this Day