Pascal retains title with draw against Hopkins

Pascal, 26-1-1 (17 KOs), knocked Hopkins down at the end of the first round and again in the third, the first time Hopkins had been down in a fight since 1994.

Pascal spent the next several rounds on the retreat, throwing wild single punches as Hopkins put together swift combinations.

The Canadian appeared to recover his energy in the latter stages, landing several right hands in an explosive final round.

Hopkins was bitter about the outcome.

"I dominated the fight," he said. "I threw a lot of combinations. This was a sure enough robbery. I took him to school."

Pascal disagreed.

"I believe I won the fight," he said. "It wasn't my best fight, but Bernard fights ugly and dirty. He's a tough guy to box.

"I'm the champion, I like to win, not draw. If he wants a rematch, he can have one any time."

(Writing by Kieran Mulvaney in Washington, D.C. Editing by Peter Rutherford)