We can only hope that there will not be a Hopkins-Jones 3 after the long overdue rematch between the ancient warriors turned into a foul fest that saw 45 year old Bernard Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs) win a unanimous decision against his long time rival 41 year old Roy Jones, Jr. (54-7-40 KOs) this past Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas. During his ring walk Hopkins was led to the ring by an aging lounge singer belting out Frank Sinatra's classic My Way. To some including former HBO announcer George Foreman, Bernard's way has been to get away with fouls during his bouts so Roy Jones decided to fight Bernard's way also and that is when the fight turned to the south end of weird street.
The first five rounds where uneventful rounds that were won by Hopkins. Both men where feeling each other out in the first couple of rounds but Hopkins established his ring generalship by the third round by simply outpunching Jones with body shots but nothing that looked dangerous. By the fifth round Jones was flinching at every Hopkins attempt and falling for every feint. Hopkins began to employ his foul tactics leading into the sixth round and that is when Jones decided to fire back. Early in the sixth round Hopkins got away with a low blow to Jones but Jones did not react to it. Later in the same round Jones would unleash a rabbit punch that caused Hopkins to drop as if he was shot by a gun. Hopkins was sprawled on the canvas and the fight was in peril of being stopped. Jones paced around in his corner with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face as Hopkins writhed in pain. The referee Tony Weeks deducted a point from Jones and after Hopkins was given some recovery time the action resumed. Hopkins tore into Jones with a fury and did not let up even after the bell had sounded to end the round. The fighters had to be separated by security as the crowd erupted. A fight had suddenly broken out between the two vets.
The boxers settled down and Hopkins restored his order to the fight outscoring Jones in the 7th round. But now Jones seemed to be reinvigorated by the sight of his opponent on the ground in the previous round, he intensified his efforts but did not produce the necessary punch out put needed to win rounds. In the eighth there was more rough stuff as Hopkins landed a rabbit punch but would be felled by the rabbit punch thrown by Jones in retaliation. Once again the fight looked to be in danger of being stopped as the ring doctor checked on Hopkins. The Philadelphia fighter would go down for a third time from a border line low blow. Jones was losing the fight but his spirits were no doubt buoyed by seeing his most hated rival go down three times.
In the 11th round the action was stopped by the ref so that the doctor could check on a cut suffered by Jones from a Hopkins headbutt that was ruled unintentional. The last round did not produce the fireworks that the fans wanted and the fight was closed out to a chorus of boos. Hopkins prevailed by scores of 117-110, 117-110, 118-109. In the end Hopkins got his vindication and Jones walks away with the moral victory in that he did not get knocked out and had the pleasure of watching his foe on the canvas three times. The lesson that should be learned from the Hopkins-Jones rivalry by those in control of boxing is that although revenge (rematches) are a dish best served cold, you shouldn't wait 17 years to serve it.
Observations
- After the fight Hopkins called for a fight against WBA Heavyweight champ David Haye. My reaction to this is to tell Hopkins to forget about it. Bernard its time to wrap it up champ. If you think Roy Jones' rabbit punches were hard wait till you taste Haye's best rabbit punch. In this weekend's fight against John Ruiz he was able to beat up Ruiz pretty good but among his clean shots where also some vicious rabbit punches one of which took Ruiz down in the first round. If Hopkins reacted the way he did to a light heavyweight foul imagine what can happen when a young, 225 pound heavyweight connects with his.
- A few articles ago I talked about some of my favorite renditions of the national anthem at big fights. I had a clear ranking of those moments but have not yet come to a precise list of my favorite ring walks yet but as of last night I have to say that Hopkins ring entrance has to rank high amongst my favorite ring walks. The decision to walk in with an aged lounge singer singing Sinatra's My Way while three aging Aretha Franklin impersonators provided back up singing in the ring was the stuff of high hilarity. Everyone around me cracked up and then joined in the sing along. It was awesome.
- I have been touting David Tua as a possible threat to the two headed Klitschko monster that rules the heavyweight division due to the fact that in Tua's last couple of fights he has come in weighing in between 235 and 238 pounds, has looked motivated and has retained all of his prodigious power but mainly its been because of the dearth of talent in this weight class. I did not believe in David Haye but after what he did to the always difficult John Ruiz I am a born again believer. Haye is also something that Tua is not, fresh and young. All the same I would like to see Tua get his shot, if not against the Klistchkos then against Haye. That would be something. Tua hasn't fought in the states in a number of years so in case anyone out there forgot what this man brings to the table I offer the following video as a reminder.
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