Bernard Hopkins became the oldest man to unify world titles with an accomplished points win over Beibut Shumenov in Washington.
The 49-year-old now holds the WBA and IBF light-heavyweight titles following his split-decision victory over the Kazakh at the DC Armory on Saturday night.
One judge scored the bout 114-113 to Sheumenov, but the other two more accurately reflected Hopkins's superiority with a scoreline of 116-111.
The American nearly secured his first stoppage win in over a decade when he floored his opponent, who is 19 years younger than him in the 11th round, but the fight went all the way to the final bell.
It was his astute defence and experience in dictating the pace which helped Hopkins record his 56th professional career victory and a record 20th successful title defence in the division.
Joe Fish
