NEW YORK -- Felix Trinidad made a judgment of Bernard Hopkins in the first round, and it was wrong. Really wrong.

	Place ad here: Bernard Hopkins sold an ad for a Web site on his back for $100,000, and used the money to place a bet in himself.

"He's nothing, I got him," Trinidad told his father-trainer at the end of the opening round.

But 11 rounds later, Trinidad was a beaten fighter for the first time in his career, and the 36-year-old Hopkins was the undisputed middleweight champion.

Hopkins knocked down Trinidad and stopped him at 1:22 of the final round early Sunday before a screaming but shocked crowd of 19,075 in Madison Square Garden.

"I wanted to show my greatness, and I think I did -- halfway," Hopkins said. "I'm not great yet, but I will be. Nobody can stand up to me."

If Hopkins doesn't consider himself a great fighter, anybody who watched him against Trinidad would have to judge this a great performance.

He dominated the second half of the fight, rocking Trinidad several times and then knocking him down with a crunching right. Trinidad struggled up at 9 and as referee Steve Smoger looked at him, the fighter's father climbed into the ring to stop it.

It was Trinidad's first loss in 41 professional fights and the first defeat in 21 championship fights for the 28-year-old Puerto Rican, who is a former welterweight and super welterweight champion.

Trinidad went into the ring in search of not only the title, but of a knockout victory over an opponent who had twice thrown down the Puerto Rican flag in pre-fight news conferences. He didn't come close to his 34th knockout.

Hopkins, a champion since 1995, went into the ring with the WBC and IBF middleweight titles and added the WBA championship. He also fought his way out from under the shadows of Trinidad and fighters such as Oscar de la Hoya and Roy Jones. Jr.

Before the fight, a member of Hopkins' camp claimed Trinidad's right hand was wrapped illegally. Trinidad complained, but did have the hand rewrapped.

Trinidad entered the ring pumped up, while Hopkins, a Philadelphian who bills himself as "The Executioner", wore a red-hooded mask and remained calm. Hopkins also had stenciled on his back "Golden Palace.com" for a Costa Rica casino which paid him $100,000, which he bet on himself as the underdog.

"He's a great fighter," Trinidad said. "I thought the fight was even until the end."

One judge had Hopkins ahead 109-100 after 11 rounds, and the other two each had it 107-102.

The AP card favored Hopkins 108-101.

A CompuBox punch analysis credited Hopkins with landing 260 of 653 punches and Trinidad 129 of 329.

After he realized he won, Hopkins jumped up on the ropes in a neutral corner and chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A. He then embraced Trinidad and said, "I want to tell you and your Puerto Rican fans that there was nothing personal about the flag."

Hopkins (40-2-1, 29 knockouts) also said he would go to Puerto Rico and talk to the people. He also talked about giving Trinidad a rematch.

Hopkins fought a brilliant fight. He gave Trinidad lots of movement, stiff jabs and, when Trinidad tried to attack, Hopkins simply outgunned him with both hands to the body and head.

While Hopkins' victory might have been unexpected, it was also one-sided. He dominated the last six rounds and had Trinidad in all kinds of trouble.

In the sixth round, Trinidad landed several shots in what was the best round of the fight. The two men went toe-to-toe on several occasions, with Trinidad having the best of it most often.

He ended the round with three or four shots to the head.

It was Trinidad's last hurrah.

Hopkins' strength began to come to the fore in the second half of the fight. He landed several good head shots in the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds, and had Trinidad wobbly on occasion.

Then in the 10th, Hopkins drove Trinidad around the ring, and just before the bell he landed a tremendous right to the head that had Trinidad tottering. At the bell, Trinidad wobbled back to his corner.

Hopkins, who weighed 157 pounds to 158{ for Trinidad, continued to dish out punishment in the 11th round and then finished it at 1:22 of the 12th.

The victory gave Hopkins a 14-1-1 record with 10 knockouts in championship matches. Trinidad's loss snapped a streak of 20 victories, 17 by knockout, in championship bouts.

Hopkins earned $2.5 million with a victory that will earn him much more, while Trinidad earned $9 million.

The fight originally was scheduled for Sept. 15, but was postponed for two weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.