The upcoming rematch between Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins (50-5, 32 KOs) and Roy Jones, Jr. (54-6, 40 KOs) is being dubbed "The Rivals." Golden Boy 
Promotions and company have it all wrong. This is a rematch that no one really wanted to see when it was originally announced several months ago.
And after Roy Jones took a nap "down under," the demand for this "non-PPV-worthy" fight plummeted even further. I even know someone who worked at Enron that shouted "damn, talk about someone’s stock falling" when they watched a clip of Danny Green vs Roy Jones.
A more appropriate name for this fight is "Cruel & Unusual Punishment: Jones vs Hopkins II." Cruel, because of Hopkins’s masochistic intentions. Even after seeing the "already shot" Jones separated from his senses by the able, yet limited, Danny Green, Hopkins continued to clamor for this fight.
Why? Greed and revenge are the motivating factors, and it’s cruel to the paying boxing public as well as to Jones and his fast-vanishing chin.
No matter what I say, the two will get it on in two weeks. They both have the right to fight and earn a pretty penny. And their fans have the right to watch it and fork over their pennies in the process. Will I be one of them? Absolutely not. Although I’m a penny-pincher, I leave you with .02 cents below.
Although Bernard Hopkins desperately wants to knock out his long-time nemesis, I do not think that Hopkins will KO Jones. In fact, if he fights with a KO in mind, he will make this fight more difficult than it has to be against the counter-punching Jones.
However, no matter what fight unfolds, I expect "The Executioner" to emerge victorious (UD12) in a sequel that took place way too late. Think awful Bad Boys II, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Nonetheless, the fight will make both men their fare share of money as well as give their die-hard fans another memory.
It is what it is.
I do think Roy Jones, Jr. is past his prime. But yet I keep having these thoughts of him pulling off an upset. Maybe wishful thinking on my part but I hope he beats Hopkins. And I also think that Hopkins could have fought other fighters like Chad Dawson but chose to fight Jones because he is somewhat washed-up. That tom me is a coward a_s way to fight a man that is just a shell of himself, besides Bernard is a crude man and greedy man that will sell anyone out for a payday. This is a man that could not keep a promise to his mother on her death bed when he promised her he will stop fighting at 41 years of age and could not keep his promise to her to stop fighting. Even when he did not have to fight anymore because he was with Golden Boy Promotions. So what kind of person would you say he is? A rich, greedy, lowdown, scum that will get his in the end!
marvin,
you make some real strong points.
you don’t like b-hop, heh? =)
you can’t question his accomplishments to-date, but i do agree, that you can question many of his motives inside/outside the ring. in short, this fight is a small step above a farce if you ask me.
Take the under and win EASILY.
The fight will end after round 8. Jones will not be able to get off his stool because the doctor will call the ref to stop the fight.
Why will they stop it??? Jones will be bleeding profusely from a combo of punches and a clash of heads. Jones has the worst skin in the game now and will be fighting with his cutman more then Hopkins.
Take a look at how every other so called Boxing website is calling for a decision. Ahahahahahhaahahahaaa. I have hundreds on a sportsbook to prove them all wrong. When I win this I will be giving out info for a fee so collect your easy money now. UNDER 11 easyyyyyyyyyy
PJ, you could be right — I guess most assume a KO would be of the ten-count or TKO variety, and tend to overlook the stoppage on the stool route that you allude to here. I could totally see that — but am still sticking with my prediction. What if it’s by an accidental/not-so-accidental (given than Hopkins in involved) butt? 🙂
This is going to a long boring fight between two over the hill fighters not willing to take any risks. That goes for both of them. B Hop will keep his distance trying to find an opening which will never come. Jones will move around landing nothing of any signficance throught this fight. There will no knockout. Not even close. Either fighter gets hurt in this one. B Hop Wins 116-112. Boring
I tend to agree with you, and why I will not be paying to watch it, unless you have $50 to spare.
Underwhelming Journeyman Danny Green is a bit harsh. Whilst not a A Rated fighter he has held an Interim WBC Title at Super Middleweight and a WBA Title at Light Heavy with a few notable wins. I know we are in a world of splintered and almost meaningless tiltles but does a ‘underwhelming Journeyman’ win two and can he sell out a stadium?
Anyway, sorry back to the fight…Umm who cares?
@darren:You are right – I stand corrected. But I have felt in recent years that he was always overrated, blown up in the States, ironically enough by one Roy Jones, who always used to rave about how good of a fighter that he was. Then I saw his one-sided (against him) gym war with a still skillful, yet pudgy, James Toney in Cali…and I was like what’s the rave about this guy besides being tough and strong?
yeah, but Toney outweighed him by 60 Pounds (approx)..Sure Green’s skillset is not great but he’s accomplished more than most and of course Roy was shot but it’s still a good name on his resume. But he is a walk up fighter and only really effective against guys that stand in front of him. Excellent power though.
It is sad. 10 years ago Roy Jones was the most feared avoided pound for pound best fighter in the sport. Now to see go out this way is very sad. I think another likely ending is him quitting on his stool unable to capture any rounds. B Hop wants this fight bad. Its going to be a sad ending for Roy
Yes indeed…never thought I’d see Jones continue to fight as if he needed the needed the money, but that’s exactly what he’s doing now. Jeff, maybe only the great Brits get it (Lennox Lewis and Joe Calzaghe have stayed retired so far, and went out on top).
darren, you are truly a fan…you sure it was 60 pounds though? methinks it was more like 40-50; toney wasn’t THAT fat yet! lol that stated, green is indeed a top-10 level guy, with a couple of alphabelts, but in this day and age, i think even journeyman or fringe contenders can have belts. but i’ll relent, that he’s better than the david diaz or baldomir level – maybe…but what’s the biggest win on his resume?
hi, biggest win..He blew away Eric Lucas quite a few years ago when Lucas still had something and was a former WBC Titlelist himself.Cheers Darren
Ja, Did you predict Roy Jones to beat Felix Trinidad a few years ago?
If I recall Trinidad was a heavy favorite going into that fight? and Jones pretty much dominated him. Is it possible Roy can pull something like that off again. We can’t forget he already did beat Hopkins a lifetime ago.
Here’s my Jones-Trinidad pick from two years ago.
He could but he likely won’t — Hopkins is a way smarter fighter than Tito is/was. I think he’ll be to savvy to just walk into Jones’s traps.
We’ll see though….my biggest concern for Jones in this fight is more his legs (or lack thereof) than his chin (lack thereof).
Wow, You were right again. I don’t think its fair that Roy is a 5:1 underdog though in this fight against a guy he has already beaten? I have not been impressed with Hopkins lately. He carried some tin can for 12 rounds in his last fight, whole Roy could not even last 1 round against that Aussie. I think this fight is personal though. Maybe will see both of them at their best, if that is possible at their age. I still think its a snoozefest with either fighter getting hurt.
Yes, I’ve gotten half-decent at these predictions over the years. ha, ha.
I think these odds are reasonable; maybe 3:1. The reality is that Hopkins has never appeared seriously hurt in the ring, still appears to have very decent reflexes, while Roy has been seemingly buzzed or KTFO’d in nearly half of his last ten fights.
That’s why the odds or so.
For the record, even closer to his prime, because of the way that he fights, Hopkins his still often not looked that impressive. lol
Marvin, please write in lower case; it seems like you are shouting when it’s ALL CAPS. 🙂
I am going with Roy to pull off the upset by points. I just think that Jones can beat B-Hop just because of the way that he fights. His style is made for Roy. And to me it does not matter if they had fought 10, 8, 5, 3 years ago, Roy would beat him everytime. But still what it’s worth if you do not expect too much of the fight, than one just might enjoy it some.
Then again. After seeing what Hopkins did to Kelly Pavlik last year should be enough information for all of us. Am I the only one who is concerned about the hint of Grey in Hopkins beard at the weigh in?
Jeff, I think Hayemaker is very legit. Is he a legit enough of a threat to defeat one of the Klitschkos?I don’t know. My initial thoughts are that he’s not big enough and doesn’t have the chin to hold up over 12 against either of them. But I’ll say this, he’s the ONLY man I want to see either face anytime soon. I’d like him to fight Wladimir first — that fight could possibly be more exciting because both have had chin issues in the past.
Hopkins should retire, he fought longer than he said he would (against his late mother’s wishes), he beat Jones in a meaningless rematch, and he appears to still have his faculties and money to boot. Great career Hopkins, but please stop it now.
Never thought I’d say this, but Bernard really has impressed me with how he’s managed his career the last 10 years. I always hated him b/c I thought he was just scared to get in the ring with the old RJJ and used the 60/40 thing as an excuse. And for a moment I thought he was faking those head injuries last night. But after listening to his post-fight comments, he didn’t really knock Roy at all. Total professional. He gutted it out last night, while Roy just comes off looking like a fool. And maybe close to being an invalid fool. All this clown can say in his post-fight is “P-COLA IN THE HOUSE!!” and then he whined about the head butts from Hopkins and how he abandon a smart strategy b/c he wanted to knock Hopkins out so he could get the 60/40 split. He just comes off like a poor, delusional loser.
This guy will probably be broke and destitute in 5 years. The people at HBO all hate him. His father and Merkerson both seem to be enablers in his downward spiral of a life. Merk should walk away and vow never to train Roy again. And we know what a shady character Roy Sr is.
Just think…had he retired immediately AFTER Ruiz, this guy goes down as – arguably – one of the great fighters at least of his era & weight class(es). But now he’s nothing. History won’t even remember him. Sad.
B, you make a lot of sound and strong points. And I can’t really argue with most of them. However, I’d caution you about giving Hopkins TOO much credit. Sure, he’s turned his life around and has seemingly matured leaps and bounds from his strong-arm robbing past. However, he’s had his share of past/recent transgressions against his (former) loyal trainer (Bouie Fisher), his (former) loyal promoter (Lou DiBella), and all of us boxing fans (i.e. going on with this charade of a fight against a broken man in Jones, Jr.).
Yes, well, Roy is just being Roy. He was never a gracious winner, so why expect him to change when he loses, especially against hated rivals like Tarver and Hopkins. But I agree, it’s sad to watch. I think Roy will be fine monetarily, but will he be able to count it and remember his glory days? That’s my concern right now. I pray that he retires now.
And yes, post-Ruiz, he woulda been on another stratosphere, perception-wise. He’ll still be a first ballot Hall of Famer, and history will remember him well. No need to worry there. But I do agree that these recent foibles will stain his legacy somewhat. But that’s boxing man.