Roy Jones Jr. talks about fighting Bernard Hopkins in February
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 4:00 AM EDT
in News Analysis
19 comments
Speaking with Ben Thompson of FightHype, Roy Jones Jr. revealed that Bernard Hopkins has agreed to a 50-50 split for a potential February rematch between the two living legends...with a wrinkle. If the fight ends in a knockout, the winner receives 60%, with the loser getting 40%.
When asked why Roy thinks Bernard supposedly changed his mind about a 50-50 split, he had this to say:
"I guess the power of the people. When people read that interview you did, I think they probably realized that it wasn't Roy holding up the fight, you know what I mean? Before they were saying Roy this and Roy that, but it ain't Roy. Roy ready to do whatever the people want to see Roy do. Roy ain't got no reason to fight Bernard. Roy ain't chasing Bernard for no reason. Somewhere he had in his head that I'm chasing him. I'm not chasing him."
Jones said a few weeks ago that he believes the public isn't interested in Hopkins fighting Tomasz Adamek or Chad Dawson, and I thought that might be interesting to look at, so we did a small poll and it turns out Roy might just be right. 344 people answered in that poll, and 216 said they'd prefer Hopkins fight Jones in a rematch for his next bout. 72 picked Dawson, 45 picked Adamek, and 11 picked the ever-dangerous Other.
And then the more I thought about it, the more I liked the fight, for both of them. Hopkins going up and winning the legit championship at cruiserweight from Adamek would be quite meaningful and yet another feather in his cap, but it's no gimme fight whatsoever, and I really do believe that poll might be the real deal. The public would rather see Jones-Hopkins II. It's two legendary names going at it in a rematch that is long overdue. There's no question Roy won the first fight, but there's also no question Hopkins got a lot better after that.
I also still believe that a fast-handed fighter that can outwork Hopkins is a guy that can beat Hopkins. Jones hasn't beaten an opponent on that level in years now, but B-Hop might still be tailor made for him, even considering that Hopkins is still universally considered a pound-for-pound top ten fighter and Jones is considered shot by most.
Jones also said he's even received a contract:
"[Golden Boy] sent a bad contract, but of course, my lawyer John Wirt is on top of that. We won't be signing that one, but we'll figure it out."
And he added that he believes the fight is being talked about for February, but that he'd fight in January. He also has no plans to scrap his December 2 fight in Australia with Danny Green.
Some people might see it as a Seniors Tour event, but I say bring on Jones-Hopkins II. There's legit dislike between them, they're talking about a very interesting way of doing the split, and I think they're two guys that genuinely want to shut the other one up after all these years.
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This is one of those Jones-Trinidad type events that no self-respecting boxing fan wants to see but the casual fan and mainstream media will eat this up…only thing is Hopkins is still relevant in the sport, he has nothing to gain by fighting Jones right now, i say go for it only after you’ve been in with a Dawson or an Adamek…if it goes down i hope Bernard beats Jones, wins his next fight for a title and retires on top Michael Carbajal-style
by JohnUtah on Sep 23, 2009 7:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I do wonder what the best money Bernard can make is, because these three guys (Jones, Adamek, Dawson) seem to be the likely only opponents. Adamek draws like crazy in Newark and could probably bring that crowd to NYC or Philly, and Hopkins could hopefully pull in fans in Philly, too. But will the TV money be there? Or would the TV money be there for Jones, which could draw a live crowd in the northeast or in Florida, but might struggle in Vegas?
The worst live draw — by far — is Dawson, who can only draw in Connecticut, and I doubt Hopkins wants to fight on Chad’s turf. But the TV money for Dawson-Hopkins might be the best he can get, since HBO is really high on Dawson (at least for now, Chad has to get by Johnson in November, of course).
And I know what you mean by Hopkins having nothing to gain fighting Roy, but I think the whole thing bugs him. If he’s really as into the idea as Roy says he is (grain of salt), then it’s probably going to happen.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 7:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hopkins being bugged by Roy is almost like Pac holding a grudge against Rustico Torrecampo, it doesn’t make sense after all he’s accomplished…i remember when Roy was at the top of sport, the legend of how he beat Hopkins with one hand would always come up in conversation, never mind that the person usually telling the story had never seen the fight, and to be honest, i hadn’t either until recently and i found it pretty dull
by JohnUtah on Sep 23, 2009 8:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It’s no classic. It’s more important for what they went on to become, but that’s also why it’s not quite a Pacquiao-Torrecampo thing. As great as Hopkins was, he never really got out of Roy’s shadow, and they’ve been jawing at each other forever.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 8:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Money
I think this is the biggest money fight out there for both guys, and that’s partly why the 50-50 split makes sense. Which is to say: Hopkins will get more money out of a 50-50 split here than he would if he had a 65-35 split with Adamek. Same is true for Jones vs anyone, unless he were to miraculously move up to heavyweight again.
I wasn’t so sure about Adamek-Hopkins to begin with. I think the same Hopkins that fought Pavlik, Wright and Tarver would box circles around Adamek. We already know that Adamek has trouble with slick boxers, and we also know that it’s not in Hopkins’ nature to engage him.
Anyway, I don’t mind the Hopkins-Jones match-up at all. I think it might be a good technical fight. And if it happens, I’m sure it’ll land on HBO PPV and do pretty well—especially when you consider that Jones-Trinidad did over 500k buys.
by kgon47 on Sep 23, 2009 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Jones-Tito was helped a lot by it being Tito’s return and his massive Puerto Rican fanbase. Last time Jones did HBO PPV, it flopped hard (Calzaghe). And when Calzaghe fought Hopkins on regular HBO, the ratings stunk. Plus Hopkins-Pavlik was another PPV stinkbomb. But then again both those PPV fights took place right when everyone was really STARTING to freak out about the economy. Economy still sucks, but I think people have settled into a more comfortable groove with it, so to speak.
I think they could do about 300-400K, which wouldn’t be a bad showing at all, especially if you put a good undercard with it. NO BJ FLORES, ROY!
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it would surprise people
And you’d get a lot more buys than that. Put two big name guys fighting each other, and the buys increase exponentially.
Flores or Litzau somewhere on the undercard is probably a given, unfortunately. But if it’s co-promoted by GBP (which it would be), then you’d at least get one or two fights with their decent fighters. In a fight between two African-American fighters, promoting logic would dictate that the undercard should be loaded with Latinos. Wouldn’t be a bad time to get Saul Alvarez on an English-language telecast.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 23, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Litzau I can deal with. He’s perfectly fun. I’d prefer BJ stick to the commentary booth.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think they might even be able to reach 500k, depending on how they promote it. A 24/7 might be interesting with these dudes.
Part of the reason why Jones-Trinidad did so well, I think, is because they’re both names that resonated to casual fans. If memory serves me, that fight did significantly better than Trinidad-Mayorga (when Tito came out of his first retirment and was still, you could argue, in his prime years), and I’d attribute that to Jones’ name. Calzaghe never had a big name Stateside (his own fault, perhaps) and while Pavlik has a big following in the MidAtlantic, he never became a mainstream guy. Roy still has a pretty loyal following out there, and these are both big names.
Abner Mares on the undercard, anyone? Victor Ortiz’s big comeback? It’d be a good showcase for Jorge Linares, actually. Hell, as long as they don’t put Hopkins’ fool nephew on the card, I’m happy.
by kgon47 on Sep 23, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A 24/7 might be interesting with these dudes.
Ooh, that’s true. These guys can talk up a storm.
Hell, as long as they don’t put Hopkins’ fool nephew on the card, I’m happy.
Never fear, D-Hop is “fighting for” Top Rank these days.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Problem is that Jones's last 24/7 was INCREDIBLY dull
And now that he’s a promoter, Hopkins always seems to have his good boy hat on.
They’ll probably get a 24/7 out of the deal as a condition to doing the fight, but I’m not all that interested in seeing it.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 23, 2009 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think they both know they’d need to liven it up, and again, they legitimately don’t like each other. Hopkins was promoting for the Calzaghe fight and had some blow-ups in there, and he ruffled some feathers shoving Winky at the presser before their fight, more for how yawn-inducing and obvious it was than any actual controversy. I think these two can carry a “24/7” with the right motivation from the producers and Oscar. “Punch the bag! Then say, ’It’s personal this time!’”
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The 2009 BHop murders the 2009 RJJ
This is in no way a competitive fight.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Sep 23, 2009 11:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Same for 2010/2010
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Sep 23, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it would interesting to see these guys go at it after all these years. Of course I’d rather see Hopkins- Dawson. The thing about Hopkins legacy being overshadowed by Jones’ is ridiculous. He made his own name a long time ago. I just think Roy Jones was more dynamic in his prime and that tends to stay with casual boxing fans a little bit longer. I think Hopkins’ legacy is just as good as Roy’s .Twenty straight title defenses. Nuff said. Yeah,they really don’t like each other.But the best are supposed to clash right?? .I’m great fans of both, but I would take Hopkins to win it.
by killah27 on Sep 23, 2009 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Roy Jones has always been far, far more popular than B-Hop, and Roy Jones has a win over him. Those that know their boxing will know the real scoop, that Hopkins did more than enough to establish himself as a legend and a surefire Hall of Famer, but that’s not the whole story for anyone. Jones made more money and will be remembered far longer by the casual boxing fans of the era. He was unique and just did more in the public eye.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 23, 2009 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah I know the grudge, but he kinda has no reason to hold it. The loss was back in ‘93. 16 years ago!! I think that’s how Bernard is though!! A guy who was ducked for so long, until the Trinidad fight.That’s his grudge !! That he had to work so hard to finally get his due.Bernard fights for himself and only himself! And I think his public image would be better if he wasn’t such an asshole with the media. It’s really just two massive egos clashing though!! Make it happen.I’d love to see it!!
by killah27 on Sep 23, 2009 7:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Hopkins will dominate 2009 Jones in a clinch-filled stinker. Bring on the Adamek fight.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
by Matt Miller on Sep 23, 2009 8:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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