By Cliff Rold

Both having failed to capture belts even before the Jr. Welterweight division became quite the deep minefield it is today, Demetrius Hopkins and Mike Arnaoutis squared off with the thinner Welterweight ranks finding room for only one new name on Friday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.  That one, the 29-year old Hopkins (30-1-1, 11 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, boxed efficiently for all of the ten scheduled rounds in scoring a unanimous decision win over Arnaoutis (22-6-2, 10 KO).

Hopkins scaled in spot on the division limit at 147 lbs., Arnaoutis a pound below.

The taller Hopkins, who at 5’11 looked to be more than the inch of advantage listed, used his quick left jab to time the southpaw Arnaoutis as the Greek looked to get close in the opening frame.  Taking quick steps left and right, Hopkins kept his left hand out, blocking the short jabs of Arnaoutis as round two unfolded.  He picked his spots, finding room for some lacing long right hands and coming forward with more frequency, Arnaoutis showing swelling near his right eye by the final minute of the second.  A Hopkins right up top was followed with a left to the body in the waning seconds.

Two quick right jabs from Arnaoutis were blocked at the start of the third and he stayed pinned at the end of the Hopkins jab for all but a couple of fleeting moments.  Recognizing futility in his strategy, Arnaoutis pressed and threw more in the fourth, working in a short left to the body, but Hopkins maintained control.

Matters did not improve in the fifth or sixth despite game spirit from the outskilled Arnaoutis.  Hopkins absorbed the best of some nastily intended left hooks with his gloves and his own lead left seemingly couldn’t, wasn’t going to, miss. 

After another pair of frustrating rounds in the seventh and eighth, Arnaoutis landed his best punch of the night in the ninth.  He caught Hopkins’s attention with a short left inside but couldn’t follow up and lost precious time with a slip to the canvas. 

Avoiding a knockout was all that stood between victory and defeat for Hopkins as round ten began.  Pinning his left to his face defensively and jabbing to set up the occasional right, Hopkins didn’t bother to avoid, closing the bout in style with another exhibition of boxing skill and sealing what looked like it could be a shutout on the cards.  It ended up being just that on one official card, 100-90, with the other two judges each giving Arnaoutis a round at 99-91. 

Hopkins, the nephew of future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, made it two straight in 2010 after taking all of 2009 off.  Arnaoutis drops his fourth in five outings.

The televised swing bout was scheduled for four rounds but did not reach that distance.  26-year old Welterweight Joseph Elegele (9-0, 7 KO), 143, of Winter Haven, Florida, easily won the first two rounds, dropping 29-year old Willie Walton (4-2, 4 KO), 145 ½, of Salt Lake City, Utah, late in the second. 

Elegele continued to dominate in the third and opened up with a flurry near the ropes as the round neared the midway point.  Covering up, Walton’s attempt to weather was halted when referee Wayne Hedgepath stepped in to wave off the fight at 1:37 of the third.  The end drew to booing from the crowd and healthy protest from a lucid Walton.  Well behind in the fight, Walton nonetheless had a fair case and the boo birds stayed alive into the official announcement of the decision.

The televised opener didn’t offer much in the way of drama, which was probably okay with 26-year old Dominican Jr. Welterweight Francisco Contreras (15-0, 13 KO), 135 ½, of Irvington, New Jersey, if only because he maintained the “0” at the end of his ledger.  Contreras opened up only in spots, firing particularly hard to open round eight, but 22-year old Eric Cruz (7-4-3, 7 KO), 135, of Puerto Rico kept his feet and lasted the distance.  Contreras prevailed by scores of   78-74 and 80-72 twice for the unanimous nod.

The referee was Lou Moret.

The fight was broadcast in the U.S. on basic cable outlet ESPN2, promoted by TKO Boxing Promotions.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com