Almost like old times: Hopkins to battle Jones

As Bernard Hopkins winds down what will be a Hall of Fame boxing career, the 45-year-old still has unfinished business.

In 1993 when he was a middleweight, Hopkins lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Roy Jones Jr. at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. That loss is one of five blemishes on Hopkins' ledger, which stands at 50-5-1 with 32 knockouts.

On April 3, Hopkins will get his chance for revenge when he and Jones meet again, this time as light heavyweights, at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"For me, it's personal," Hopkins said Monday from his home in Delaware. "I know it's just our second time (fighting), but I look at this as a rivalry with a lot of in-between. He's been running his big mouth for years.

"In all my years of boxing, I've never had a grudge like I have with Roy Jones. We can be 90 years old in a nursing home, and if I saw him, I'd take my walker and crack him upside the head."

In a statement released by his publicist, Jones (54-6, 40 KOs), 41, said he plans to show that nothing has changed since he beat Hopkins 17 years ago.

"We're giving the fans what they want to see," Jones said of the fight, which will be televised on pay per view. "They deserve this fight, and why not supply the fans with what they demand?

"Now I can finally terminate the Executioner once and for all. My new nickname for this fight will be 'The Terminator.' "

Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins, said the bad blood between the fighters is legitimate.

"They truly dislike each other," Schaefer said. "You'll see that when you hear them talk at the news conferences next week" in New York and Los Angeles.

Schaefer said Las Vegas is the right place for the veterans to clash again.

"Some people think it's an East Coast fight," Schaefer said, noting Jones is from Pensacola, Fla., and Hopkins is a Philadelphia native. "But these are two of the biggest names in boxing over the last 20 years, and they are bigger than the East Coast and the West Coast.

"They're entertainers, and they should meet in the entertainment and boxing capital of the world."

Both fighters most recently competed on Dec. 2. Jones is coming off a first-round technical knockout at the hands of Danny Green in Australia in which he was knocked down during the round. Hopkins fared far better, dominating Enrique Ornelas and earning a 12-round unanimous decision in Philadelphia.

"There's 80-plus years experience between us," Hopkins said. "I'm 45, but I'm at the top of my game. If I'm Roy, I'm going to come with my A-game because he's going to face the best Bernard Hopkins has ever been."

Tickets, priced at $100 to $750, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office and through Ticketmaster.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.