New York, Mar 10 (IANS): At age 48, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest boxer to win a major World Championship here, beating Tavoris Cloud.

Hopkins won the 12-round International Boxing Federation's (IBF) light heavyweight title Saturday, overturning Cloud, who is 17 years his junior, reports Xinhua.

"The 40 and up club still rules. I got a history. I got a history of destroying young champions and you never seen them again," Hopkins said.

Twenty five years after his first professional fight, Hopkins made history again in his 31st championship bout.

Hopkins was 46 in 2011 when he beat Canada's Jean Pascal to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight crown to mark the previous oldest, beating legendary heavyweight George Foreman's mark of 45.

Hopkins won on all three judges scorecards 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 against the previously unbeaten Cloud. He connected 41 percent of his overall punches and landed 110 out of 227 power punches.

Hopkins landed one of his best punches in the sixth round which opened a cut over the left eye of Cloud, who was making his fifth title defence.

His trainers worked to close the cut between rounds but each time they did it would start bleeding again in the middle of the later rounds.

Hopkins now improves to 53-6 with two drawn and 32 knockouts.