Hopkins Not Done Yet; He Will Fight Jones in a Rematch
By Don Steinberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Dec. 24–Bernard Hopkins’ on-again-off-again semiretirement is off again. It appears the former middleweight champion from Philadelphia is headed for a farewell bout: a rematch against Roy Jones Jr. on March 11.
"Both fighters have agreed, but nothing has been signed," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, the boxing promotions company of which Hopkins is a partner.
Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis and Washington have expressed interest in the bout, which will be shown on HBO pay-per-view, Schaefer said.
Jones and Hopkins will compete as light heavyweights, a weight Hopkins hasn’t fought at since his professional debut, a loss to Clinton Mitchell in 1988.
Hopkins was on a plane from Los Angeles to Philadelphia yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
The match is expected to be the final fight for both Hopkins, who turns 41 in January, and Jones, who turns 37 in January.
They fought once, in 1993, in Hopkins’ first fight for a world title. He was 22-1 at the time and Jones, the Olympian, was 21-0. All three judges scored the uneventful bout in Washington 116-112 in Jones’ favor. Hopkins still calls it the only fight he ever decisively lost.
Hopkins (46-4-1) lost his last two fights — and his middleweight championship — this year to Jermain Taylor in close decisions.
Jones (49-4) moved out of the middleweight division in 1994 and won the light-heavyweight and heavyweight titles. But he has lost his last three fights, two by knockouts at the hands of Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver in 2004, and one by decision to Tarver in October.
Hopkins expressed interest in fighting Tarver for his finale, but "Tarver is filming the Rocky movie [Tarver will play a boxer who fights Rocky Balboa] and is over 200 pounds, and Bernard really doesn’t want to wait around," Schaefer said.
Contact staff writer Don Steinberg at 215-854-4981 or dsteinberg@phillynews.com.
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