Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr have agreed to fight in a 12 round light-heavyweight bout on PPV. The fight is rumored to take place on April 17th. Hopkins (45) and Jones (41) will face each other in a rematch from the first bout 17 years ago. But, will this even be an exciting fight? Is this “Battle of 40 year olds” even worth having?
If you listen to Golden Boy Promotions, this is considered a huge fight and everyone is excited. “We’re ecstatic that the fight was made and we’re looking forward to a great event. There’s been a long-standing rivalry between two of the preeminent boxers of our generation. This fight will establish once and for all who is the better fighter between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. This is the fight Roy always wanted.”….. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, quote from ESPN
Does anyone still care who is better between the two? In my opinion, this fight is at least 5 years too late. Jones Jr is coming off an embarrassing 1st round KO to Danny Green. Jones who used to be one of the top fighters in the world, is now 54-6 and a shell of his former self. Hopkins also fought in December after a 14 month layoff. He won in a unanimous decision over Enrique Ornelas and improved his record to 50-5-1.
Golden Boy Promotions continue to spin the “hype machine” and try to stress the “grudge” between these two and the historical impact it will have. “This is an event they have been waiting for for 17 years. They would not let anything get in the way of getting this fight finally done. I believe very strongly that at this point in their careers, after everything they have accomplished, I think this is a well-deserved fight for these two guys to finally get it on April 17.” …….. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, quote from ESPN
The more I look at these quotes from Richard Schaefer, the more I think that this fight is only for Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins. Schaefer talks about how they have been waiting and this is a personal showdown. Both fighters have “had” fantastic careers but this fight feels like one last effort on all the parties involved to get “steal” money. I for one, would rather see a replay of their first fight, from May 1993, than see the current installment of these two.
What do you guys think of this fight?
