He then decided to move up to middleweight, Don King had then organized a middleweight tournament featuring Keith Holmes, William Joppy, Bernard Hopkins & Félix Trinidad. On April 14, 2001, Hopkins defeated Keith Holmes by unanimous decision to retain IBF middleweight championship and also capture the WBC belt. By defeating Holmes, Hopkins advanced to the final. The bout was originally scheduled for September 15, 2001, but because of the September 11 terrorist attacks it was postponed for two weeks until September 29. Bout summary The fight begins slowly, with both fighters circling the ring at a distance and trading jabs in a close first round.
He then decided to move up to middleweight, Don King had then organized a middleweight tournament featuring Keith Holmes, William Joppy, Bernard Hopkins & Felecia Trinidad. On April 14, 2001, Hopkins defeated Keith Holmes by unanimous decision to retain IBF middleweight championship and also capture the WBC belt. By defeating Holmes, Hopkins advanced to the final. The bout was originally scheduled for September 15, 2001, but because of the September 11 terrorist attacks it was postponed for two weeks until September 29. Bout summary The fight begins slowly, with both fighters circling the ring at a distance and trading jabs in a close first round.

