Ain't gonna be no rematch. (Or is there?)

Pretty much everybody already knew what happened in Australia earlier today, but if you somehow missed it all, Roy Jones Jr. was knocked out in the first round by heavy-handed Aussie Danny Green, who scored what may have been the most thrilling and maybe globally important victory in Australian boxing history.

With Jones (54-6, 40 KO) trying to use his speed and feel out Green early, Roy found himself trapped in the corner. It was then that Green (28-3, 25 KO) unleashed a big right hand, which thudded off of Jones' temple and put him on the mat. He was clearly on bad legs when he got up, but the fight continued. Jones covered himself up as Green pounced for the finish, and eventually, referee Howard John Foster had no choice but to stop the fight. Jones was hurt, not fighting back, and was finished.

So before Bernard Hopkins ever climbed into the ring in Philadelphia tonight, the 2010 rematch between the two living legends was off.

But Hopkins showed no signs of being let down, as he came out and routed Enrique Ornelas live on Versus from a frankly dead Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. Hopkins won on scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110. Bad Left Hook scored it 119-109. It was a typical Hopkins performance, and dominant as expected.

After the fight, Hopkins shared his thoughts on the Jones loss in Australia, remarking, "You know what happens when you go over to Europe, that's why I would never go there." He argued that the fight was stopped too early, but Roy Jones himself had no problems with it. All Jones said after his fight was that he had no excuses. He lost. And that's the prevailing feeling. He lost. A 40-year old fighter of Jones' stature knows you can't just cover up like that and have referees let the fight go too long.

There was another interesting non-fight happening tonight, as Hopkins received the most overblown, ridiculous introduction in the history of boxing. That's neither here nor there, really, but it was truly absurd and must be heard.

So is the rematch off for sure?

Actually, it sounded to me like Hopkins was doing his best to hype Roy Jones Jr. as a still legitimate opponent, and like he still wants that fight to happen. Hopkins was attempting to "excuse" Roy's loss as something shady that happened in "Europe."

If they go ahead with Hopkins-Jones II as a pay-per-view event at this point, they're going to both be embarrassed by the buys the fight receives. Neither of them have drawn at all in recent years, and the last time both had major PPV fights, they went back-to-back with rotten buyrate performances, Hopkins against Kelly Pavlik in October 2008, and Jones against Joe Calzaghe the next month. I get the feeling that this rematch -- especially now -- is only for the biggest fans of both men, and I don't think there's a ton of those folks left. Hopkins has never really been any sort of major star, as great as he is, and Jones' most popular days are well in the past.

Either way, all congratulations to Danny Green for a win that probably won't get enough attention as a win for him. God knows I just spent the whole time talking mostly about Jones losing more than Green winning, and about a rematch that may or may not even happen now. And hats off to Bernard Hopkins for another dominant performance, a month and a half shy of his 45th birthday.

We'll have more on Roy Jones Jr. especially shortly.

On the Philly undercard:

• Junior welterweight prospect Danny Garcia shellacked veteran Enrique Colin, knocking him out in the second round. Garcia improved to 15-0 with his 10th stoppage.
• Featherweight prospect Derrick Wilson was upset in a four-rounder by professional opponent Guadalupe de Leon. Pretty decent little fight, but Wilson, 20, was less than impressive for certain. But with his youth, he has plenty of time to improve and bounce back.

If you want to talk spoilers for the Green-Jones fight, go here. WARNING: If you DON'T want spoilers, DO NOT click on that link.

BERNARD HOPKINS		ENRIQUE ORNELAS
	Co-Main Event

DANNY GREEN		ROY JONES JR.
	Co-Main Event

Tonight in Philadelphia, live on Versus at 8pm ET, living legend and Hall of Famer-in-waiting Bernard Hopkins returns from a 14-month layoff to take on Enrique Ornelas.

This won't be a long fight preview, because it's really pretty simple. If Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KO) hasn't "gotten old" since laying waste to Kelly Pavlik last October, he should win without breaking much of a sweat. While Hopkins is not really a light heavyweight, Ornelas isn't either, and Hopkins has been fighting at or just under this weight now since 2006.

Chances are that Ornelas (a natural middleweight by trade, like Hopkins) will be a bit sluggish and heavy at the 175-pound limit. He's never fought this heavy, dabbling a bit at 168 pounds, where his brother Librado Andrade fights. He indicated before this fight came up that he'd be going to 168 and staying there, but jumping all the way up to light heavy to fight Bernard Hopkins was just too good a chance to pass up.

29-year old Ornelas (29-5-1, 19 KO) has been in with solid fighters like Bronco McKart, Sam Soliman, Marco Antonio Rubio, the always-underrated Darnell Boone, and others. But Hopkins is simply a different class of fighter than he's ever faced.

Though he's 44, Hopkins has yet to give an indication that he's gotten old. But -- and this is a big but, no matter how good he's been and how many times he's proven that his age is nothing but a number -- he is 44 years old. More amazing things have happened than a great 44-year old fighter losing to a guy he'd have smoked earlier in his career.

Ornelas is rugged, tough and has been a pretty decent puncher at 160. His power might come up with him, or it might not. There are a good few question marks with this fight given how lopsided it likely promises to be. If Ornelas is to have any chance, he'll need to be a bit lucky, need Hopkins to feel a little bit old, and probably need to fight the best he's ever fought in his entire career, all at the same time.

Give me Hopkins by UD, maybe a late stoppage if he decides to pour it on.

Bernard Hopkins weighed in at the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds and Enrique Ornelas was under at 173 1/2 for tomorrow night's fight in Philadelphia, live on Versus at 8pm ET.

Hopkins, 44, is making his first in-ring appearance since dismantling middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik last October. It's a tune-up fight for "The Executioner," who looks to rematch Roy Jones Jr. in spring 2010 should both win their Wednesday fights.

The 29-year old Ornelas last fought in July, knocking out Roberto Baro at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Before that, he was last seen losing a tight, spirited decision against Marco Antonio Rubio on the Pavlik-Hopkins undercard. Like his brother Librado Andrade, Ornelas is double tough, a solid puncher, and will probably bring the fight forward to Hopkins, but should in the end wind up outclassed. But crazier things have happened than 44-year olds getting old in a fight.

We'll have a full preview of Hopkins-Ornelas either late tonight or early tomorrow.

Reminder: The Green-Jones fight will be live in Australia at about 3am ET Wednesday morning, so if you want to avoid spoilers, probably avoid the major boxing news sites, as they generally just run the headlines without any spoiler warnings on tape delayed fights such as this one. Bad Left Hook will be spoiler-free as we await the U.S. telecast on Versus tomorrow evening. Anyone posting spoilers of the Green-Jones fight will be banned.

Bernard Hopkins will turn 45 on January 15. One day later, his old rival Roy Jones Jr. turns 41.

And if they have their way, the two of them will meet sometime in the months after, in a rematch that has been brewing for almost 17 years.

Both have obstacles to get past on December 2. Hopkins will look to shake off some rust against tough Mexican Enrique Ornelas in Philadelphia, Hopkins' hometown where he's never lost (10-0 career). Jones will be in Australia to take on minor cruiserweight titlist Danny Green. Should both win, the papers are already signed and drawn up. They'll meet again in 2010. They fought way back in 1993, with Jones winning a decision that Hopkins considers the only legitimate loss of his career.

They are probably the two best of boxing's 40-plus contingent, but it's a demographic that is changing, and changing the way we think about athletic primes. In other sports, a lot of these late-career surges have come from the use of performance-enhancing substances. Neither Hopkins nor Jones has ever failed a post-fight drug test. The same can't be said of 41-year old James Toney, who has done so twice, but Toney, too, continues on in search of glory.

Really, we're seeing what happens with the continued evolution of training, nutrition, and strength and conditioning coaches that have made age if not nothing more than a number, then at least closer to that old cliche becoming a genuine reality.

Evander Holyfield, 47, keeps looking for another heavyweight title fight. He does so foolishly, but the Holyfield types are becoming more the exception than the rule. Even Jones, once thought to be washed up after back-to-back knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson a few years back, has rebounded to spring back into legit contention at 175 pounds yet again. Fellow former heavyweight titleholder Oliver McCall, 44, continues to fight as well.

Current WBC cruiserweight titlist Giaccobe Fragomeni of Italy turned 40 in August. Light heavyweight has been chided as a Senior's Tour in boxing the last couple of years, but Glen Johnson (40) and Antonio Tarver (40) are still in the division's top ten for legitimate reasons. Tarver has given no indication that he plans to keep his career going following his second loss to Chad Dawson in May, so he might or might not be out of the conversation soon. Junior middleweight contender Verno Phillips turns 40 in just a couple of weeks.

It's a select few, and Hopkins is certainly one of a kind in boxing. He has never truly slowed down from his prime; he's not the same "Executioner" that made mincemeat of the middleweight division for 10 years, no, but he's a top pound-for-pound fighter even still.

Yet you can't help but wonder if this is going to keep becoming more and more the norm. Shane Mosley is 38 and as a welterweight, has shown no actual signs of getting slower, weaker or older. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is only 32, but has fought in such a way and is so much more than reflexes that if he wanted to, he seems like the kind of guy that could go on forever as a top boxer.

In MMA, some similar things have happened. Surely everyone has heard of Randy Couture by now, the 46-year-old UFC superstar whose career has been amazing to watch. Couture was pulling "Hopkins over Pavlik"-style beatdowns before before Bernard really knew who Pavlik was. Couture has slowed, yes, but still holds his own to say the least.

And Couture is rumored to be facing Mark Coleman at UFC 109 in February. Coleman turns 45 in December. Couture-Coleman nearly happened 11 years old, but was scrapped when Couture was injured. In some ways, Couture-Coleman and Jones-Hopkins II could mirror one another. They're both fights past their due dates, but with some intrigue in both cases, and there will be a fair number of fans looking to turn back the clock with the fighters for both of those bouts.

Fighting is still a young man's game. Scan the top fighters, and generally we're talking about guys who are 26 to 32 years of age. But the dinosaurs are getting harder and harder to kill off, and no matter how many times the younger generation of fighters keeps saying they'll retire before 35, I keep wondering whose fights we'll still be talking about coming next week in 2020.

Boxing fans in the United States (who don't have DirecTV) will be treated to a special two-fight night of the sweet science on the Versus Network on December 2, as the network has picked up a same-day tape delay airing of Roy Jones Jr.'s fight in Australia with Danny Green to go along with their airing of Bernard Hopkins' return to the ring. Hopkins faces Enrique Ornelas in Philadelphia.

The fights, of course, are being set up to get both Jones and Hopkins ready for a 2010 rematch.

I'm glad Versus will be picking up the Jones fight so that we aren't forced to pay PPV prices to see Jones and Green, although Danny Green is Roy's best opponent since Joe Calzaghe took him to the woodshed in 2008. But as much as I thought early on that I was all on board with Jones-Hopkins II, I think I'm starting to change my mind on that one. It seemed neat in theory, but here we are inching toward the reality of the 45-year old Hopkins and the 41-year old Jones (who both celebrate birthdays on back-to-back days in January), and it's starting to really hit home.

Like, seriously? A rematch of a 17-year old bout that wasn't even a good fight?

My mind might wind up changing again, but I also know I'm entirely not too keen on paying the $45 HBO PPV pricetag that Jones-Hopkins II will carry. It's just not a relevant enough fight, especially when I know for damn sure the undercard will stink and that frankly the fight itself will probably be a bore, too. Both of them can talk a big game about going for the KO to get 60% of the purse, but I don't think Jones has enough pop to stop Bernard, and Hopkins has never really fought for knockouts. Do 45-year old dogs learn new tricks? And even if you consider both top five at light heavyweight, which is easy to do, what's next for either after that? Overdue retirement?

I do still find it to be an intriguing style matchup, given that Bernard has struggled with quicker guys that make him work hard in recent years, but is it really that interesting? I don't know. We'll see. After all, I've already changed my mind once.

Also, the Green-Jones fight, for those wondering, is for Green's paper trinket at cruiserweight, and from what I understand they'll be fighting with a 185-pound limit.

Despite rumors that the Versus Network was pulling back from any involvement with boxing, it looks like Golden Boy Promotions has gotten them pulled back in. In a press release filled with quotes from Bernard Hopkins, Enrique Ornelas and others, it has been made official that Versus will carry the December 2 bout between Hopkins and Ornelas live from Philadelphia.

Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KO) hasn't fought since a dominant decision win in October 2008 over middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik. Hopkins will be rooting for old rival Roy Jones Jr. to win on the same day, as Jones faces Danny Green in Sydney, Australia. Should both come out of December 2 victorious, they've agreed and signed off on a rematch in the first quarter of 2010. Jones beat Hopkins via unanimous decision way back in 1993.

Hopkins:

"At the end of the day this fight is not about me. It's not about me because I wanted to do something good and bring something good to Philadelphia. I have to win this fight for the big picture. If I come out of this fight with zero balance in my pocket I am good. I am not looking to get Vegas money or Atlantic City money. We got Versus involved. They are expanding into all different cities. They are putting Philly on the map. We are bringing boxing back to Philly. We are giving back to the community."

Ornelas:

"I am looking forward to the fight. I want everyone to know I am going to train my hardest and it is going to be a great night. Thank you to those who spread the word and make sure you let people know that December 2 is going to be a night fight fans won't want to miss. This is the opportunity of a life time and I am going to step it up and go toe-to-toe with Bernard Hopkins."

Hopkins is also donating a lot of money to charity with this card, and Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy will match his contributions, too. Bernard needed a tune-up fight, and he's using that tune-up fight not just to get himself sharpened up for Jones, but to give back to Philly. You can't argue with that.

T.K. Stewart reports that brothers Librado Andrade and Enrique Ornelas will train together in preparation for big fights in November and December, hoping to prepare one another for what would be the biggest wins of their careers.

Andrade (28-2, 21 KO) gets a second crack at IBF super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute (24-0, 19 KO) in Quebec on November 28. HBO will televise on Boxing After Dark. Ornelas (29-5, 19 KO) has been chosen as the tune-up opponent for Bernard Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KO) on December 2 in Philadelphia. Hopkins is taking the fight to shake off the rust as he looks forward to an agreed-upon but not finalized 2010 rematch with Roy Jones Jr., who fights Danny Green in Australia on December 2.

Andrade over Bute would be a pretty big upset, but we've seen Andrade come close to knocking Bute out before. Ornelas beating Hopkins would be absolutely massive, and would ruin a lot of big-money plans, a shot that Danny Green also has that same day. Ornelas is a natural middleweight, but really so is Hopkins, and the size difference is mostly in Bernard's three-inch reach advantage.

Ornelas is also probably a bit better than his record, which isn't a bad record at all. Four of his five losses have been majority or split decisions, and I felt he deserved a close win over Marco Antonio Rubio on the Pavlik-Hopkins undercard, but it was certainly a debatable fight and not really a controversy by any stretch.

I know I should forget about it, too, but fact is Bernard turns 45 in January and hasn't fought since last October. Ornelas will likely look to make it a dogfight, and it's not impossible to imagine him just outworking a guy who's approaching AARP membership. Hopkins is a major favorite and deserves to be, and chances are he just outboxes Ornelas and wins a wide 10-round decision, but crazier things have happened than an old fighter looking really old against a guy he'd manhandle were he in his prime. It's a suitably dangerous fight for Hopkins, one he should win, but not a totally foregone conclusion.

Bute-Andrade II probably excites a lot of people more than it does me, but honestly the more I think about it, I just see Bute outclassing him the way he did for 11 rounds last time. Past Andrade's courageous, awesome 12th round charge, that fight was not close, but then again all you need is that one moment sometimes, and he's proven he can hurt Bute. I figure the closer it gets, the more excited I'll wind up being to see them lock horns again.

According to the Los Angeles Times,  Golden Boy Promotions and Lou DiBella have reached a deal for Shane Mosley to square off against Andre Berto on January 30 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This will end nearly a year of inactivity for Mosley, and the winner of this fight will make a strong case to be in the upper echelons of the pound for pound list.  Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer stated that he expects contracts to be signed later in the week.

This should be an important and interesting fight for a number of reasons.  First, it's a unification bout, and while the top guys have been facing each other for a while now, there actually hasn't been unification of the welterweight belts since Floyd Mayweather dropped a number of his belts after defeating Carlos Baldomir and Zab Judah.  Second, this could be a classic crossroads matchup, with the much older Shane Mosley facing the up and coming Berto.  At times, Mosley has looked as good as he ever has, while at other times it seems like the years have caught up with him.  If the good Mosley shows up, he could really teach Berto a thing or two.  Berto, on the other hand, has been criticized for being hyped up without stepping up.  This certainly is a big step up for Berto, and one he very well may fall off of.  Finally, it actually could be an exciting fight.  Mosley almost always likes to press the action, and while Berto's last fight was a snoozefest, I think Mosley is versatile enough to keep him on his toes and actually fight like he did against Luis Collazo.

Also mentioned in the article, Bernard Hopkins will be taking his tune-up fight on December 2 in Philadelphia against middleweight fringe contender Enrique Ornelas.  Ornelas, Librado Andrade's brother, was last seen losing a competitive fight to Marco Antonio Rubio in an eliminator to face Kelly Pavlik.  While Ornelas is a lot smaller than Hopkins, about 10 skill levels down from Hopkins and absolutely no threat to actually beat Hopkins, it still could be a fun fight to watch, as Ornelas likes to apply pressure, and Hopkins often opens up his arsenal when he knows he has his opponent outclassed.  This is, after all, just a tune-up, but Ornelas seems like an ideal opponent to help drum up interest for a Hopkins-Roy Jones rematch.