Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Almost Like Old Times: Hopkins To Battle Jones, Steve Carp, Review-Journal

[Glax0r]

Almost like old times: Hopkins to battle Jones

40-somethings to fight in April at Mandalay Bay

By STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

On April 3, Hopkins will get his chance for revenge when he and Jones meet again, this time as light heavyweights, at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"For me, it's personal," Hopkins said Monday from his home in Delaware. "I know it's just our second time (fighting), but I look at this as a rivalry with a lot of in-between. He's been running his big mouth for years.

"In all my years of boxing, I've never had a grudge like I have with Roy Jones. We can be 90 years old in a nursing home, and if I saw him, I'd take my walker and crack him upside the head."

In a statement released by his publicist, Jones (54-6, 40 KOs), 41, said he plans to show that nothing has changed since he beat Hopkins 17 years ago.

"We're giving the fans what they want to see," Jones said of the fight, which will be televised on pay per view. "They deserve this fight, and why not supply the fans with what they demand?

"Now I can finally terminate the Executioner once and for all. My new nickname for this fight will be 'The Terminator.' "

Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins, said the bad blood between the fighters is legitimate.

"They truly dislike each other," Schaefer said. "You'll see that when you hear them talk at the news conferences next week" in New York and Los Angeles.

Schaefer said Las Vegas is the right place for the veterans to clash again.

"Some people think it's an East Coast fight," Schaefer said, noting Jones is from Pensacola, Fla., and Hopkins is a Philadelphia native. "But these are two of the biggest names in boxing over the last 20 years, and they are bigger than the East Coast and the West Coast.

"They're entertainers, and they should meet in the entertainment and boxing capital of the world."

Both fighters most recently competed on Dec. 2. Jones is coming off a first-round technical knockout at the hands of Danny Green in Australia in which he was knocked down during the round. Hopkins fared far better, dominating Enrique Ornelas and earning a 12-round unanimous decision in Philadelphia.

"There's 80-plus years experience between us," Hopkins said. "I'm 45, but I'm at the top of my game. If I'm Roy, I'm going to come with my A-game because he's going to face the best Bernard Hopkins has ever been."

Tickets, priced at $100 to $750, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office and through Ticketmaster.

[Kayoss]

Amazing how both seem to think people still care about this match. And having it on PPV is like adding more water to a glass of soda -- one where all the ice has melted away with condensation all over the outside, oozing all it's flavor out long, long ago. PPV numbers will be HORRIBLE.

I would say 'hopefully they'll learn their lesson' (ala promoters learning not to put shit fights on PPV), but alas, they never do.

[shove-aloe]

Are walkers, canes and wheelchairs banned or allowed in this bout ?

[johndavi]

"We're giving the fans what they want to see," Jones said of the fight

Yes, many boxing fans would like to see a bout between the geezers, but not on PPV for a $50 dollar bill. If they truly cared for the fans who have provided them with their career wealth they'd insist it be broadcast on regular cable as a thank you to the folks, especially during the worst recession since the great depression with 8.5 million outa work. Neither fighter ever produced a fight of the year or ko of the year as young men, why would I expect to get my moneys worth in a bout between em as geriatrics ?

[turbotime]

"We're giving the fans what they want to see," Jones said of the fight, which will be televised on pay per view. "They deserve this fight, and why not supply the fans with what they demand?

Who? Willikin...Miagi?....and.....ummm........errrr...

[slickvik69]

Is James Toney next for Roy?