Bernard Hopkins vs Robert Allen

Bernard Hopkins’ proposed eighth defence of the International Boxing Federation middleweight championship ended without a result at the Las Vegas Hilton on August 28, 1998, when the champion was accidentally sent through the ropes by referee Mills Lane. Hopkins, who weighed 159 pounds, entered with a record of 34 wins, two defeats and one draw. Robert Allen, the leading IBF contender, weighed 160 pounds and brought a record of 22-2. The championship bout appeared beneath William Joppy’s defence of the WBA title against Roberto Duran and was televised by Showtime.

Hopkins had held the IBF championship since defeating Segundo Mercado in their 1995 return contest. His reign had been built on victories over Joe Lipsey, John David Jackson, Glen Johnson, Andrew Council and Simon Brown. Allen, a southpaw from Atlanta, was younger, physically strong and prepared to make the champion work at close quarters. Hopkins was favoured, but Allen’s awkwardness and willingness to crowd him produced an untidy contest from the beginning.

The first three rounds contained more holding, pushing and wrestling than sustained clean punching. Allen advanced and attempted to deny Hopkins the measured distance from which he preferred to draw mistakes and counter. Hopkins answered by leaning on the challenger, controlling his arms and working for position inside. Their heads and shoulders were frequently close, obliging Lane to intervene repeatedly. Hopkins scored with the more accurate blows when room became available, but Allen’s aggression and physical pressure prevented the champion from taking complete command.

The judges differed considerably over those opening rounds. Glen Hamada awarded all three to Hopkins, making his score 30-27. Bill Graham had Hopkins ahead 29-28, while Mike Glienna gave Allen a 29-28 advantage. The variation reflected the nature of the action. Hopkins’ punches were generally the cleaner, but Allen forced much of the contest and succeeded in making it scrappy. There were no knockdowns, and neither boxer had established a decisive superiority when the bout reached its abrupt conclusion.

With only seconds remaining in the fourth round, the fighters became entangled near a neutral corner. Allen had Hopkins in a clinch as Lane moved between them and used both arms to separate the pair. Allen was pushed backwards into the corner padding. Hopkins, already close to the edge of the ring and moving with the force of the separation, went between the ropes and fell backwards onto the platform and into the ringside area. He landed awkwardly and immediately showed pain in his left ankle.

Hopkins remained down outside the ropes while officials and cornermen gathered around him. Lane initially appeared uncertain how to treat the accident, for no legal punch had caused the fall and Allen had not deliberately thrown his opponent from the ring. Ringside physician Flip Homansky examined Hopkins and determined that the champion could not safely continue. Hopkins protested that he wished to fight on and later insisted that he did not want spectators to believe he had quit, but he could not place proper weight on the injured leg. The contest was stopped at 2 minutes 57 seconds of the fourth round.

Because the injury resulted from an accidental action involving the referee, and because four completed rounds had not elapsed, the bout was declared a no-contest. Hopkins therefore retained the championship, although the evening could not be entered as a completed defence. Lane said afterwards that the combined momentum of the fighters and his attempt to separate them had carried Hopkins out of the ring. The injury was subsequently diagnosed as a sprained ankle rather than the fracture first feared.

The verdict settled nothing between the boxers. Allen had succeeded in frustrating Hopkins without proving that he could defeat him, while the champion was denied the opportunity to impose the control that had characterised most of his title reign. An immediate return was the natural remedy, but Hopkins first required time for the ankle to heal. Allen remained active and won an interim IBF championship three weeks later by stopping Abdullah Ramadan in the opening round. He received another opportunity against Hopkins in February 1999, when the champion provided a conclusive answer by stopping him in the seventh round. Their first meeting, nevertheless, remained one of the more unusual no-contests in championship history, brought to an end not by either fighter but by an accidental intervention from the referee.

I remember this as one of the strangest endings to a championship fight. Hopkins and Allen had spent nearly four rounds holding, shoving and fighting for position rather than producing much clean boxing. Allen’s pressure was making the champion uncomfortable, but anyone claiming he was taking Hopkins apart is talking nonsense. The judges themselves could not agree who was ahead.

Mills Lane stepped between them during another clinch and pushed both men apart. Allen went into the corner; Hopkins went through the ropes, landed badly and damaged his ankle. It was clumsy refereeing, but clearly an accident. With four rounds not completed, the no-contest was the only sensible verdict.

The unfinished business helped sell the rematch, where Hopkins stopped Allen in seven and showed the difference between them. They eventually fought three times, but the first meeting is remembered almost entirely for the night the referee put Bernard Hopkins out of the ring.