BERNARD HOPKINS VS. JOE SMITH JR. PREVIEW

By: Victor O. Garcia RCM Head Video Boxing Reporter

 Inglewood, Ca (December 16, 2016)— The Fabulous Forum has hosted many unforgettable events since it first open back in 1967. On the night of December 17th, 2016 the living legend Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) will step into the ring for the last time against the young power-puncher Joe Smith Jr (22-0-1, 18KOs) for the WBC International Light Heavyweight Title. The fight will be televised Live on HBO.

 

After a 2 year lay-off, the former undisputed middleweight champion and former light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, decides to have one final bout before he retires. His last fight was against the former light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev,  back in November 2014 and the fight was not pretty for the living legend. Although Kovalev did not finish off Hopkins, Bernard was no match for the younger and stronger fighter. At the age of 51 years, Bernard still feels he has enough left in the tank for a final bout. Hopkins —who is older than the arena he will be fighting in— is taking on John Smith Jr who just knocked out Andrzej Fonfara, who is one of the top-10 light heavyweight fighters of today.

 

“I will be the matrix. I will be the executioner. I will be everything that I need to be to win,” Hopkins said. “The sweet science is something that I’ve always been addicted to.

“My fight will be like watching the last game of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.”

 

Bernard had a tremendous career and was a monster in his prime. After he became the undisputed middleweight champion, Hopkins defended his titles for over a decade, until he lost to Jermain Taylor back in 2005. That was 11 years ago and Bernard Hopkins was 40 years old. For him to fight a young strong fighter like John Smith Jr is a very gutsy move.

 

“Bernard is not fighting someone who is a walk in the park,” said Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya. “Joe Smith has every opportunity to take control of the fight and win. Hopkins is the type of man to challenge himself and fight the very best. This fight with Joe Smith is a very difficult fight. That is why Bernard Hopkins is a living legend, because he is willing to take on the best.”

 

Joining Hopkins in his corner for this fight is trainer John David Jackson.

 

“Even though I defeated John David Jackson, he is the very best out there and we wanted him in my corner,” Hopkins said. “JDJ is much overlooked, but he is one of the top three or four trainers. He has known me since I was a younger fighter trying to make it into boxing. If you look at the craftsmanship of JDJ — when you see that a guy not only has the tools, the way to use them in the ring, and you as a fighter have the confidence and trust in your teacher — you’re in great hands.”

 

In the co-main event, 2012 Olympic fighter Joseph “Jojo” Diaz Jr (22-0, 13 KOs) will take on Horacio “Violento” Garcia (30-1-1, 22 KOs) to defend his NABF featherweight title.

 

Jojo Diaz is coming off a TKO victory over Andrew Cancio. The fight was on the undercard of Canelo vs Smith this past September.

 

“This is a dream come true and it’s truly an honor to be part of this big event,” Diaz said. “Not only is it Bernard Hopkins’ last fight, he’s a Hall of Famer, he’s a future legend. But it’s just the beginning of my career and I want to showcase to everybody that I could become the next big superstar in boxing.”

 

Diaz is a talented fighter from South El Monte, Ca who represented the US in the 2012 London Games. When asked about his opponent Horacio Garcia, Jojo said,

 

“He’s a very strong fighter,” he said of Garcia. “I watched tape of him. He’s never been stopped before, he’s actually pretty big for his weight. His last fight he fought at 122 (super bantamweight), but you could tell that he was a little dehydrated and he didn’t have that pop that he really wanted. But I feel at 126 (pounds), he’s going to have all the strength and he’s going to put up a great fight.”

 

 

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