by David P. Greisman

It’s been nearly a decade since Bernard Hopkins won a bout by knockout or technical knockout.

That fight was in September 2004, when Hopkins dropped Oscar De La Hoya for the count with a body shot. Since then, Hopkins has fought 16 times, going 10-4-1 with 1 no contest.

And so when Hopkins dropped Beibut Shumenov in the 11th round of their fight on Saturday, Hopkins wanted the bout to come to an end before the final bell.

“I tried to stop him,” Hopkins told reporters afterward. “He’s tough, and I’m still on my drought.

“I can’t get a damn knockout. I tell you, I’ll retire if I get a knockout,” he joked. “You know I’m going to be around until I’m 80. I’ll retire if I get a knockout.”

Hopkins said he was going for it, but Shumenov “wrapped me up pretty good.”

This was the first time that Hopkins had been awarded a knockdown since his 2008 loss to Joe Calzaghe.

“That drought is over with,” Hopkins said. “So maybe the knockout will come when I fight [Adonis] Stevenson.”

Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com