Whatever happened to having respect for your elders? Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr
. face each other tonight in Las Vegas in a rematch of a bout held 17 years ago. Jones won by decision and tonight Hopkins seeks revenge, though it's debatable whether anyone really cares. Hopkins is 45 years old; Jones is 41. And though both are future Hall of Famers, the match-up is generating plenty of negative feedback.
"I don't care who they are," said boxing promoter Lou DiBella. "Two 40-something-year old guys with a crappy undercard on pay-per-view is exactly why we have the problems we have right now in boxing. We need to start thinking outside the box, and a fight like Saturday night is putting us in the box."
Gary Shaw, another promoter, added: "This is our industry, and this is terrible for our sport. They've got to move aside for younger fighters."
Jones-Hopkins II never was universally embraced. HBO will distribute the fight through its pay-per-view channels, but did not buy rights to a replay and won't supply its announcers. The fight also is being overshadowed by the NCAA Final Four. Golden Boy Promotions of which Hopkins is a partner is providing most of the financial backing and the legwork.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer thinks the fight has plenty of merit.
"They're two legends. They're two of the most recognized fighters of the last 20 years," he said. "At this point to finally settle the score, I'm happy for them."
Jones (54-6, 40 KOs) was once the pound-for-pound king of boxing and became the first middleweight champion in 100 years to capture a heavyweight title by beating John Ruiz in 2003. But he is just 5-5 since 2004 and has been stopped three times, including a first-round TKO to Danny Green last December in Australia.
"The only reason [Hopkins] is fighting me now is because he feels like I'm done," Jones said. "He feels like I'm washed up. He feels like I'm old goods. He feels like there's no way I can survive 12 rounds with him now, but he's wrong. I was smarter and slicker than him 17 years ago, and I'm still smarter and slicker than him now. "
Hopkins, a long-time middleweight champion, remains among the top 10 on most pound-for-pound lists, but has fought just once in almost 18 months. His quest to avenge his loss to Jones is almost an obsession.
"To me, it's the big payback," Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs) said. "This to me is personal."
The two blame each other for the rematch taking so long. It would have been a huge bout six or seven years ago, but pride and greed kept them from coming to terms. Asked why fans should have any interest now, both say the careers they've forged are worthy of fans' interest and pay-per-view dollars.
"We've laid down our hard-earned lives to put on two stellar careers over that 17-year period," Jones said. "So why not lay down your hard-earned money to watch two guys who put their hard-earned lives on the line to entertain you people for 17, 18 years."
**
Ruiz fights for another heavyweight title today in Manchester, England, when he faces WBA champion David Haye of England. It will be Haye's first defense of a title he won by defeating Nikolay Valuev in November. Ruiz, a two-time holder of the WBA title, is 3-3 in his last six fights. He has a new trainer in veteran Miguel Diaz.
"You're seeing more of the Ruiz from the past -- boxing and punching, not holding," Ruiz said. "How many guys can say they've fought and won two world heavyweight championships?"
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
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