Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins (a real legend in an age when the word is over used) will look to exit the sport he helped make great, on December 17th, and, in typical Hopkins style, B-Hop will not face a soft or easy opponent in his swansong. According to the always reliable Michael Woods of NYFights.com, the amazing 51-year-old (Hopkins will turn 52 in January) will face dangerous puncher Joe Smith Jnr just over a week before Christmas Day.
Smith, 22-1(18) made a huge name for himself when he blitzed the usually tough and durable Andrzej Fonfara to an upset 1st-round stoppage win in his last fight, back in June in Chicago. That performance, along with Smith’s age – just 27, almost half the age of “The Executioner” – shows how dangerous a choice of final opponent Hopkins, 55-7-2(32) has made. Still, having always kept himself in shape and being one of the smartest, most incredible fighters in history, Hopkins will be expected by most peple to pick up his 56th win in December.
Hopkins last boxed in November of 2014, when he faced one of the most feared punchers on the planet in Sergey Kovalev. Hopkins was knocked down early on, and badly hurt in the final round, but his toughness, his guile and his heart got him through to the final bell. Can Hopkins take Smith’s best shots if he has to? Will Smith, in the biggest fight of his life, be overwhelmed himself?
Hopkins will have seen things in Smith he likes, yet at the same time, he wants a challenge, a risk, in his last fight so as to get “up” for the bout. Hopkins always said he wanted a credible foe for his final ring appearance and he seems to have found one in Smith.
Look for the smartest fighter of his generation to pick up a clear points win in December, and then await his induction into the Hall of Fame, where his name will live forever alongside middleweight greats like Marvin Hagler and light-heavyweight legends such as Archie Moore.
