Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson Results: Dawson Defeats Hopkins to Win Title

After their previous fight resulted in a controversial finish, there was little question that Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson would do battle again for the WBC and The Ring light heavyweight championships. Dawson came out on top once again Saturday night, and this time it won't be overturned.

The 29-year-old Dawson was out to prove that he could beat the 47-year-old Hopkins, and he did precisely that. In their fight this past October, Dawson lifted Hopkins and dumped him out of the ring, resulting in Hopkins suffering an arm injury. Since Hopkins couldn't continue, Dawson was initially awarded with a TKO victory.

After a protest from Hopkins' camp, however, the result was changed to a no-contest by both the California State Athletic Commission and the WBC. Dawson had to be miffed by the change in ruling as he had to return the titles. But he finished what he started, as he vanquished his much older and more experienced foe Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

Dawson entered the fight with just one loss on his record from an August 2012 bout with Jean Pascal, and although the no-contest didn't look great for him, "Bad" Chad got some redemption versus "The Executioner." The win opens up a world of options for Dawson, including a rematch with Pascal, who will be looking to rebound in his own right from a loss to Hopkins.

As for Hopkins, one has to wonder if this was his last hurrah. He is already one of the most decorated fighters of all time in having defending the middleweight title a record 20 times during his career, and after becoming the oldest boxer to win a major title when he defeated Pascal in May 2011. His career record of 52-6-2-2 is almost unfathomable, but there may not be another fight for B-Hop.

Hopkins has accomplished everything he possibly can as a fighter and is unquestionably Hall of Fame-bound. He has continued to fight at a very high level at an age where most boxers are long retired, so he has nothing left to prove, even after his loss to Dawson.

Failing that, Hopkins could try to work out a rematch, but after the way the first fight ended, there seems to be some bad blood between the fighters. Because of that, Dawson may not be willing to grant Hopkins a second rematch.

With all of that said, this is a huge victory for Dawson despite that fact that Hopkins is 18 years his senior. There aren't many fighters who can say that they have defeated Hopkins, but now Dawson can, and it should do wonders for his career moving forward.