Thanks to NFL Football, I’m only coming in on this one for the main event. Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) is probably wrapping up his career tonight when he faces Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) for a WBA International Light Heavyweight title that no one on earth cares about. HBO has your action coming in live from the forum in Inglewood, Calif.
As always, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from HBO.
The plot of the sixth installment in the “Rocky” series seemed far-fetched, with the ex-champ in his mid-50s insisting on one last fight. But fellow Philadelphia native Bernard Hopkins is doing his part to make the movie appear plausible. Just a month shy of his 52nd birthday – a full decade removed from the night he upset the man who played Balboa’s foe, Mason “The Line” Dixon, in real life – Hopkins is taking one last fight.
At least that’s what he says. And this time, he seems to mean it.
“I was called old at 36,” Hopkins told HBO.com over the summer. “And now to go from 36 all the way to 51, be 52 in January, I ain’t gonna lie: I don’t have two fights in me. But I do have one.”
So on Dec. 17, at the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Hopkins will squeeze that one last fight out of his freakishly fit body. And in typical Hopkins style, he has insisted on challenging himself, taking on some risk. He could have picked an opponent who was over the hill. He could have picked a light-hitting opponent. Instead he picked Joe Smith Jr., a 27-year-old banger fresh off a career-best win, a stunning first-round knockout of then-top-five light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara in June. For a bit of perspective, Hopkins turned pro on Oct. 11, 1988; Smith was born on Sept. 20, 1989.
“Joe Smith is a hard puncher, he won’t run, is a union guy, he won’t lay back, and he won’t try not to execute me,” Hopkins said on a December media call. “However, Joe Smith has to be trained to pass four, five, six different styles that I will utilize in the ring, and he is going to have to be smart.”
Some are speculating that Smith’s style will be made to order for Hopkins, and if we’re talking about various past iterations of “B-Hop,” there’s little doubt those analyses are correct. From the 36-year-old Hopkins who proved his greatness by dismantling Hall of Famer Felix Trinidad, to the 43-year-old Hopkins who ruined rising star Kelly Pavlik, we’ve seen how a relatively one-dimensional, offense-minded fighter brings out the best in the former middleweight and light heavyweight champ. But at age 49, Hopkins’ luck against undefeated knockout artists ran out when Sergey Kovalev dropped him in the first round and dominated the next 11. Was that because Kovalev was just that good? Or was it because Hopkins had lost a few steps? Twenty-five months of inactivity later, it’s unlikely that Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) has gained back any steps. A prime Hopkins probably toys with Smith (22-1, 18 KOs). But this isn’t a prime Hopkins.
The fight is on HBO and should be picked up around 11:50 p.m. I’ll be with you until the end, no matter how long (or short) it takes. Watch it with me.
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