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Night of the Undisputed: Bernard Hopkins vs. William Joppy
DateDecember 13, 2003
VenueBoardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Title(s) on the lineWBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring undisputed middleweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer United States Bernard Hopkins United States William Joppy
Nickname "The Executioner"
Hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Silver Spring, Maryland
Purse $350,000 $150,000
Pre-fight record 42–2–1 (1) (31 KO) 34–2–1 (25 KO)
Age 38 years, 10 months 33 years, 3 months
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg) 159 lb (72 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF and The Ring
Undisputed Middleweight Champion		 WBA (Regular)
Middleweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Middleweight[1]
Result
Hopkins defeated Joppy via Unanimous Decision

The Night of the Undisputed, was the billing of a professional boxing event, contested on December 13, 2003.[2][3]

Background

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Promoted by veteran promoter Don King, the pay-per-view section of the bill was to feature five world title bout (two of which for undisputed championships), with eight championship bouts in total. It drew comparisons to the Revenge: The Rematches card in 1994. Bob Goodman, the veteran V.P. of boxing operations and matchmaker for Don King Productions claimed it broke the record for the most world championship bout on a single card saying "This is history. The most world championships ever on a card were six and that was Don's record. He's breaking his own record."[4]

Actor Denzel Washington was one of the 12,000 people who attended the event.[5]

The fights

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Undercard

[edit]

The first of the televised bouts saw Zab Judah easily defend his Light welterweight title against Jaime Rangel, before Alejandro Garcia lost his Light middleweight belt to Travis Simms.

Rahman vs Ruiz

[edit]
Night of the Undisputed: Hasim Rahman vs. John Ruiz
Title(s) on the lineWBA Interim Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer United States Hasim Rahman United States John Ruiz
Nickname "The Rock" "The Quietman"
Hometown Baltimore, Maryland Chelsea, Massachusetts
Pre-fight record 35–4–1 (29 KO) 38–5–1 (27 KO)
Age 31 years, 1 month 31 years, 11 months
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 246 lb (112 kg) 241 lb (109 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 8 Ranked Heavyweight		 WBA
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Ruiz defeated Rahman via Unanimous Decision

After WBA Heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., opted to return to the Light Heavyweight division to face Antonio Tarver,[6][7] the WBA confirmed that he had until 20 February 2004 to decide to either defend the title or be stripped. In the meantime WBA ordered a bout for a "Interim" title, between their top ranked contenders David Tua and Hasim Rahman,[8][9] who had fought to a somewhat controversial draw in March, after the previously top ranked Vitali Klitschko opted to face WBC champion Lennox Lewis in June.[10] However after Tua's estranged management team took him to the High Court, King brought in John Ruiz to replace him.[11][12]

This was Rahman's first bout with new trainer Roger Mayweather.[13] Most expected Rahman to win.[14]

The fight

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Ruiz staggered Rahman with a hard right hand midway though the second round. Rahman spend much of the eighth round kept against the ropes by Ruiz's combinations. There was boos from the crowd during the non-eventful championship rounds.[15] Ruiz won a Unanimous Decision with the cards reading 118–110, 116–112 and 115–114. Speaking after the bout Ruiz would say "I can't always look good. Some fights are gruelling. I need an easier fight to look pretty."

Preceded by Hasim Rahman's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by John Ruiz's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by

Mayorga vs Spinks

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Night of the Undisputed: Ricardo Mayorga vs. Cory Spinks
Title(s) on the lineWBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring undisputed welterweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Nicaragua Ricardo Mayorga United States Cory Spinks
Nickname "El Matador" "The Next Generation"
Hometown Masaya, Masaya, Nicaragua St. Louis, Missouri, US
Pre-fight record 25–3–1 (1) (22 KO) 31–2 (11 KO)
Age 30 years, 2 months 25 years, 9 months
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (177 cm)
Weight 146 lb (66 kg) 146 lb (66 kg)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition WBA, WBC and The Ring
Welterweight Champion		 IBF
Welterweight Champion
The Ring
No. 3 Ranked Welterweight
Result
Spinks defeated Mayorga via Majority Decision

The penultimate bout would see the first Undisputed welterweight champion since Lloyd Honeyghan dumped his WBA belt in 1987.[16] There were talks of Mayorga facing unified light middleweight champion Shane Mosley should he beat Spinks.[17]

Mayorga was the comfortable favourite entering the ring.

The fight

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Mayorga lost 2 points during the bout, one in the 5th for hitting after the bell, and another in the 11th for hitting behind the head. After 12 rounds, one judge scored it 114–114, the other two had 114–112 and 117–110 both in favour of Spinks, giving him a Majority Decision victory. Spinks joined his father Leon and uncle Michael as an undisputed champion.[18] Had Mayorga not lost those two points, the fight would have been a draw (tie) with scores of 116-114 for Mayorga, 114-114 and 117-112 for Spinks instead.

Preceded by Ricardo Mayorga's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Cory Spinks's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by

Hopkins vs Joppy

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In the final bout, Undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins faced former two time middleweight champion William Joppy. During a pre-fight press conference, Hopkins bet Joppy $50,000 that he would knock him out.[19][20]

The fight

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Joppy was unable to out-box Hopkins who dominated the bout. Joppy's left cheek face was bruised in the 3rd round, by the 10th, a welt had grown on his right temple. At the final bell, his face was heavily swollen.[21] Hopkins won a lopsided Unanimous Decision with scores of 119–109, 118–109 & 119–108.[22]

Preceded by Bernard Hopkins's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Naotaka Hozumi
 William Joppy's bouts
13 December 2003 		Succeeded by

Aftermath

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On 24 February 2004 Roy Jones Jr. confirmed his full time return to Light heavyweight, prompting the WBA to elevate John Ruiz to their champion, making him a two time Heavyweight champion of world.

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[23]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
United States Cory Spinks Nicaragua Ricardo Mayorga Undisputed Welterweight Championship Majority decision.
United States John Ruiz United States Hasim Rahman WBA Interim Heavyweight Championship Unanimous decision.
United States Travis Simms Mexico Alejandro Garcia WBA (Regular) Super Welterweight Championship 5th-round KO.
United States Zab Judah Colombia Jaime Rangel WBO Light Welterweight Championship 1st-round KO.
Non-TV bouts
Nicaragua Rosendo Álvarez Mexico Víctor Burgos WBA/IBF Light Flyweight Championship Split Draw.
Guyana Wayne Braithwaite Panama Luis Andres Pineda WBC Cruiserweight Championship 1st-round KO.
Nicaragua Luis Alberto Pérez Venezuela Felix Machado IBF Super Flyweight Championship Unanimous decision.

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 United States HBO

References

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  1. ^ "Ring Magazine Monthly Rankings - Last Updated 12.03.03". world-boxing-rankings.com. World Boxing Rankings Index. Archived from the original on 5 February 2004. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ Michael Katz (12 December 2003). "BOXING; Hopkins-Joppy Among Bouts in a Long Night of Fights". nytimes.com. ATLANTIC CITY: New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. ^ STEVE SPRINGER (13 December 2003). "One Night, Many Fights". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  4. ^ Steve Kim (9 December 2003). "Night of the Undisputed, Back-to-Back-to-Back". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  5. ^ Tom Briglia (13 December 2003). "Denzel Washington during "Night of the Undisputed" Boxing Match". filmmagic.com. FilmMagic. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  6. ^ "John Ruiz vs. Hasim Rahman". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  7. ^ TIM SMITH (24 August 2003). "DAVID NOT TUA HAPPY WITH JONES". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  8. ^ "WBA Official Ratings July 2003" (PDF). wbaboxing.com. WBA. 26 September 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Rahman appears likely to fight Tua for 3rd time". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. 29 August 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Boxing: Tua to fight Rahman again". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Herald. 1 July 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Boxing: Tua's fight cancelled as manager heads to court". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Herald. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  12. ^ wban100 (17 October 2003). "Ruiz goes back to his ring future". floridaboxing.com. HBN. Retrieved 1 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Night Of The Undisputed: Final Camp Notes". boxing247.com. East Side Boxing. 5 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Boxing Media Predictions: Night Of The Undisputed". boxing247.com. East Side Boxing. 12 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Ruiz beats Rahman in 'ugly' bout". abc.net.au. ABC. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Ricardo Mayorga vs. Cory Spinks". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  17. ^ Michael J. Woods (26 November 2003). "Hard-Training Mayorga Cuts Back Vices". ESPN. ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  18. ^ Michael Katz (14 December 2003). "BOXING; Spinks Silences Mayorga in a Stunner". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Bernard Hopkins vs. William Joppy". boxrec.com/. BoxRec. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  20. ^ Jason Probst (19 November 2003). "Hopkins, Joppy play middleweight games". espn.go.com/. ESPN. Archived from the original on 3 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  21. ^ Steve Argeris (13 December 2003). "Hopkins Defends Middleweight Title". washingtonpost.com. ATLANTIC CITY: The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  22. ^ George Willis (15 December 2003). "SPINKS, HOPKINS BIG A.C. WINNERS". nypost.com/. New York Post. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  23. ^ "BoxRec – event". boxrec.com.
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