Bernard Hopkins – Roy Jones JR II: The Sham of 2010
By Geno McGahee
In 1993, a 21-0, young Roy Jones, JR., would step into the ring and vie for the IBF Middleweight Title against the then unknown Bernard Hopkins. The fight would be tactical with the activity of Jones, JR., being the difference, and he would walk away with the title and a unanimous decision. Hopkins went on to become one of the best middleweights of all time, winning the title and defending it twenty times, and Jones went on to dominate the light heavyweight division.
The two had considered a rematch for some time, and it made a lot of sense when Roy was pound for pound king and Hopkins emerged as the real deal when he stopped Felix Trinidad in 2001, but they couldn’t agree on the price. Both men wanted more money and the negotiations collapsed, but now, with neither having many options, they have found each other again, seventeen years after their first encounter, and boy have times changed.
This fight is being put forth in April on Pay Per View, and the pitch is that they are trying to settle some unfinished business. Roy holds the win and Hopkins wants desperately to avenge it. I hope you are wearing boots. It’s getting awfully high in here. The true motive behind this fight is to screw the public and make as much money as they can. Both men will try to win, but I don’t think that it’s a great motive for either.
And why is this a pay per view? Even before Roy got stopped in one round by Danny Green, it was ridiculous, but now, it makes even less sense. At one time, Roy was an absolutely fantastic fighter with lightning reflexes and great timing, but he has lost it. He is now better than other shot fighters like Omar Sheika and Jeff Lacy, two men he’s beaten in recent times, but he is not good enough to be in the top tier of the light heavyweight division or anywhere around there.
Danny Green is not a great fighter but he’s got a punch and he still has a lot left in the tank. He exposed Jones for the spent force that he is, pummeling him until the referee stopped it. Roy, at first, gave him total credit for the win, but we know Roy. Quickly after the fight, he began making accusations against Green, stating that he had loaded gloves and that the fight result should be changed to a DQ win for Jones, JR.
Jones, JR’s ego cannot handle losing via first round stoppage, so he has to make some excuse. The loaded gloves excuse not only helps him save face and may even convince some gullible people that he got jobbed, but it also saves this PPV. He can now dismiss that loss and forge on…
The hype leading up to this fight should not be viewed unless you want to lose your lunch. The two fighters throwing insults at each other, face to face, was as staged as can be, and I would not rule out an agreement to fight to a draw to get the public to buy a third encounter. If you remember when Hopkins fought Winky Wright on PPV and they had that obviously staged moment where Bernard shoved Winky’s face with the palm of his hand…well, here we go again.
Hopkins is not as shot as Jones. He’s crafty and has compensated his declining reflexes with ring smarts and some dirty tactics. He fought a close fight with Joe Calzaghe, losing a split decision, and dominated Kelly Pavlik, the Middleweight Champion. He defeated Antonio Tarver without much trouble, but his time is coming to an end. He’s still good enough to defeat 90% of the challengers put in front of him, but he is not a seat filler. His fights are ugly and predictable. We are going 12 rounds and it’s going to be a long and boring ride.
When he faced Pavlik, the promotion focused on whether or not Pavlik could stop Hopkins…anything to sell it. Will Kelly win by KO or will it be a horribly boring fight that goes to the cards? It was the latter.
Although Hopkins has more left, his current record in his last seven fights is 4 wins, 3 losses. Roy is 5 wins, 5 losses, in his last ten. So you combine the records here in recent outings, you have only a 52% winning percentage. They are both at the end of their roads, and this encounter is just a payday and a big one if you allow it to be.
Hopkins, 50-5-1, 32 KO’s, is the favorite, if that means anything. On paper, his current style will be affective against Roy, 54-6, 40 KO’s. If you are banking on a stoppage, don’t. You can go to your refrigerator on this one people. Go there and stay there for a few rounds. It might be more exciting then this fight that they are trying to sell us.
If you are a betting man or woman and want to turn over some money, a bet on a boring Hopkins 12 round decision is a safe bet. Roy has zero left. He was never the same since he moved up to heavyweight to beat John Ruiz in 2003, and then seemed to lose everything when he moved back down to light heavyweight. Through creative matchmaking, he has given the illusion to some that he may still be a big force, and some have even called for his inclusion in the Showtime Super Six, prior to his KO loss to Green, but the cat is out of the bag, and Roy is no longer an elite fighter…far from it.
Roy needs Hopkins more than the other way around, and Hopkins sees this as the easiest money. He thought about taking on Danny Green or Tomasz Adamek, but he would have most likely lost both fights. Against Roy, he will look like the Hopkins of old, and most likely win the majority of the rounds, and will then call out all of the biggest names in boxing, only to price himself out of the fights when the come on the table.
Roy Jones, JR., and Bernard Hopkins were all time greats, but the pay per view that they have put together is an insult to the public and presents nothing compelling or important to modern boxing. It is a sham. Don’t waste your money or time on it.