Hopkins-Jones fight about legacies, not revenge, rivals say

NEW YORK - As always, other voices advised Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins as to what he should and should not do in charting his next career move. Among those cautioning the 45-year-old ring legend from North Philadelphia to pass on a long-discussed rematch with Roy Jones Jr. was Hopkins' trainer, Brother Naazim Richardson.

"You got a lot more to lose at this stage than Jones does," Richardson told Hopkins after Jones shockingly was stopped in one round in his most recent ring appearance, against Australia's Danny Green on Dec. 2. "There's fights out there for you that make more sense. Let it go, champ. You don't need Jones."

What Richardson said was sensible and prudent. Hopkins does have more to lose now than Jones, 41, who outpointed him for the vacant IBF middleweight championship on May 22, 1993. But how do you use logic to sway a man who has risen to where he is today in large part by always following his own counsel and instincts? What role should common sense play in the discussion when someone is on a mission that can't and won't be put off any longer?

Destiny delayed is better than destiny denied, Hopkins decided. A bit of unfinished business had to be settled once and for all before he could ease into retirement with peace of mind.

And so it came to be that light-heavyweights Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs) and Jones (54-6, 40 KOs) were here at the Hard Rock Cafe yesterday, each future Hall of Famer dedicated to the proposition that his legacy needs to be placed above the other's in the annals of boxing history. Their scheduled 12-round pay-per-view bout on April 3 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay is happening for a lot of reasons, but the most significant is dueling egos. Both aging fighters have justifiably inflated opinions of themselves, and the idea that the other might somehow be recognized as the best of his generation is abhorrent to whoever is relegated to the second slot.

"One of James Brown's great songs was 'The Big Payback,' " Hopkins said at the unusual news conference, which was conducted like a formal debate, with New York State Athletic Commission executive director Melvina Lathan serving as the very proper moderator. "Everybody wants to get back at somebody. This fight, to me, is redemption in a lot of ways. It's personal. Me and him have 17 years of history - when are we gonna fight, why don't we fight, money, this, that. I want to show the world that when our legacies are put together and analyzed, that I had the better one."

Jones acknowledged that Hopkins' motivation for mixing it up again might be more intense, but it won't reverse the outcome of their 1993 showdown.

"The fight's not so important to me," Jones said. "It's important to 'Big Head' [his new nickname for Hopkins]. 'Big Head' wants to try to avenge a loss. That's good enough for me.

"The fans can expect to see what they saw the last time, only a lot better. I had only one hand the last time. [Jones claimed to have beaten Hopkins in 1993 despite an injured right hand.] I got two hands now. With two hands, I'm going to beat the hell out of this old man."

For boxing purists - a hardy and diminishing breed - Hopkins might have been better served by pitting his considerable savvy against, say, undefeated, 27-year-old "Bad" Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KOs), the heir apparent to the 175-pound throne dominated in recent years by the graybeards. After Jones' quick stoppage by Green, his third defeat inside the distance in his last 10 outings, even his most ardent fans probably were ready for the Pensacola, Fla., fighter to hang up the gloves.

Hopkins, though, acknowledged feeling regret that, in his first truly major fight, he showed too much respect to Jones, a celebrated former Olympian who had been earmarked for superstardom since he turned pro in 1989.

"It ate at me for a long time," Hopkins, who holds the middleweight record of 20 successful title defenses, said of his lack of aggressiveness that long-ago night in Washington's RFK Stadium. "But I'm good at managing things that would have derailed most people. [Losing to Jones] has been my biggest motivation for becoming who I am today."

It can be argued that the best of Jones - he was voted Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America - is better than the best of Hopkins. It also can be said that Jones' lofty peaks have been offset to some degree by his valleys, which include knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, two fighters Hopkins handled easily, while B-Hop has maintained a level of consistency that is remarkable for someone his age. Hopkins has never been knocked out, and a panel of boxing experts voted him as the fourth-best pound-for-pound fighter of 2009.

There is a 10 percent bonus to the winner if he scores a knockout. That could spur Hopkins, who has fought to decisions in eight straight bouts and hasn't KO'd anyone since Oscar De La Hoya on Sept. 18, 2004, to go for broke.

"Yes, I can lose more than Roy if I don't win, and win by knockout," Hopkins said. "I know the pressure's on me. So what else is new? The only way to get ahead is to take risks." *