Sharing a billing with Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins defends the IBF Middleweight Championship against super middleweight contender Syd Vanderpool, a last-minute substitute for Brian Barbosa, who is cut in sparring. The bigger Vanderpool bullies Hopkins in the first two rounds before the champion slowly starts picking him apart with pot shots. After taking turns tackling each other to the canvas, Hopkins stuns Vanderpool in the ninth round and has him in trouble in the final seconds of the twelfth when Referee Bill Paige jumps in prematurely, mistaking the ten-second notice for the bell to end the fight. Denied the knockout, Hopkins settles for a wide unanimous decision win.

Bernard Hopkins vs. Syd Vanderpool

Jeff Lacy captures his first world title when he stops veteran Syd Vanderpool for the IBF Super Middleweight Championship. Vanderpool gives Lacy a hard way to go in the early rounds, frustrating and even staggering him with big shots in the second round. In the third round, Lacy starts catching Vanderpool with some big right hands. They slug it out in the fifth and sixth rounds until Lacy hurts and wobbles Vanderpool with an uppercut. Another uppercut hurts Vanderpool in the eighth, allowing Lacy to blast away at him once more. With Vanderpool staggering toward the ropes, Referee Robert Byrd stops the fight a tad prematurely, giving Lacy the victory.

Bernard Hopkins vs. Syd Vanderpool

Oktoberfist: Jeff Lacy vs. Syd Vanderpool

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