The ceremonial faceoff saw former world boxing champions Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute approach center ice from opposite directions.
Hopkins dethroned George Foreman as the oldest boxer to win a world title when he beat Jean Pascal in 2011.
The 48-year-old Hopkins broke the record he set by beating Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title on May 21, 2011.
The recognised world titles at the weight are held by Jean Pascal (WBC), Tavoris Cloud (IBF), Gabriel Campillo (WBA) and Juergen Braehmer (WBO).
BBC: Nathan Cleverly helped to title by leaving Calzaghe gym
Froch, who was making the first defence of the title he won against Canada's Jean Pascal last December, is now unbeaten in 25 fights.
Froch defeated Canadian Jean Pascal on points in a bruising and thrilling encounter at Nottingham's Trent FM Arena in what was considered at the time a British boxing classic.
Hopkins became the oldest boxer to win a major title, extending the record he set by beating Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title on May 21, 2011.
His bouts have been decided by decision since, except for a draw in the first Jean Pascal fight in 2010 and an ugly no-contest in the first Dawson fight.
"Any battleground is an extremely toxic environment, " said Jean Pascal Zanders, a senior research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, who specializes in chemical and biological armament.
Froch, who won the title in December having beaten Canadian Jean Pascal on points after a thrilling encounter in Nottingham, fights in the United States for the second time in his 24-fight career.
Jean Pascal is WBC champion and Beibut Shumenov the WBA title holder, while if Braehmer fails in his appeal against a 16-month prison sentence for assault and insulting behaviour the winner of Cleverly and Murat will replace him as WBO king.
And only days away from the first defence of the WBC title he won by beating Canadian Jean Pascal in a bruising and thrilling encounter in December, he has proof that, at the age of 31, he is only just hitting his peak.
Jean Pascal Zanders, a chemical weapons expert and a senior research fellow for the European Union Institute for Security Studies, cast doubt on the use of chlorine, saying in an e-mail that one small rocket couldn't deliver the quantity needed to kill 25 people.
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