Bernard Hopkins' swan song planned for 2017

Bernard Hopkins legendary career is expected to come to an end next year, promoter Oscar De La Hoya tells RingTV. Hopkins, who hasn't fought since dropping a unanimous decision to Sergey Kovalev in November 2014, will sit out the remainder of 2016 before taking one more fight in 2017, and then close the curtains.

"He's been occupied with commentating on HBO, and he obviously still keeps himself in great shape," De La Hoya told RingTV.com on Thursday following a press conference for Canelo Alvarez's title fight with Liam Smith on HBO PPV at AT&T Stadium. "He still wants to fight, so hopefully we can sit down after this fight and map out a plan for him, hopefully for next year. It will definitely be his farewell fight."

Hopkins currently maintains the middleweight record of 20 successful title defenses during his reign from 1994 and 2005, a record that is being threatened by Gennady Golovkin who now has 17. But the mere fact that a 51-year-old fighter can even still compete on a world level pretty much says all you need to know about Hopkins as a fighter and as a man. He's not like the rest of us. He's 'The Alien.'