Bernard Hopkins to face Joe Smith Jr. in farewell bout

Bernard Hopkins will fight explosive contender Joe Smith Jr. on December 17 at the Forum in Inglewood, California, in the final bout of the legendary, multi-weight champion’s career. In typical Hopkins fashion, “The Executioner” is bidding the sport farewell by facing a dangerous foe.

Few fighters have accomplished as much as Bernard Hopkins, and even fewer have done so with such fierce independence and defiance of boxing’s traditional power structures. And now, as Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) closes in on the final fight of his career at age 51, an appropriate celebration is being planned for a fighter who has consistently defied logic and odds.

Bernard Hopkins could have opted for a straightforward victory lap against a woefully overmatched opponent, and no one would have minded. But given how well Hopkins has fought at his advanced (comically advanced by sporting standards) age, the sense was that he’d seek out a legitimate challenge.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael is reporting that Hopkins will face Joe Smith Jr., who is coming off a shocking and explosive first round knockout of Andrzej Fonfara. Smith (22-1, 18 KOs) is closing in on a light heavyweight title shot, and the opportunity to face Hopkins now is something that could propel his career to previously unforeseen heights.

As Rafael notes, Hopkins headlining on December 17 is important for Golden Boy Promotions after the tantalizing fight between Orlando Salido and Takashi Miura fell apart due to a Salido injury. Now, with Hopkins being featured, that December fight week will serve as a celebration of Hopkins’ career, serving, according to Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya, as a fitting sendoff (per Rafael, who interestingly was the one who suggested Smith as an opponent to Hopkins over breakfast prior to Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook in London, England):

"“We want to make this Bernard Hopkins’ retirement party,” De La Hoya said. “It will be a whole week of festivities and celebration of his great career. We’re going to put something together that will complement his farewell fight.“Bernard has had many of his biggest fights on the East Coast, but The Forum is a great venue and the fact that it’s where I started and where my partner is finishing makes it a great story.”"

There will be plenty of pieces celebrating Bernard Hopkins’ unparalleled career — the 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses, his signature stoppage of Felix Trinidad shortly after 9/11, his dethroning of Jean Pascal to become light heavyweight champion at age 46 — after the Smith fight, and rightfully so. He is, after all, that rare blend of great fighter and compelling personality who somehow manages to stand out from the slew of characters that populate boxing’s storied history.

Hopkins will be favored to beat Smith, but he will have to be wary of the upstart contender’s power. Also, Hopkins, perhaps the sport’s most cerebral fighter, could be ideally positioned to provide more excitement than in recent contests. Smith will surely try to apply pressure and force sustained action, which will allow Hopkins to display the breadth of his counter-punch abilities and defensive acumen.

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Boxing isn’t the kind of the sport that enables those looking to reap the benefits of a leisurely swan song. Bernard Hopkins, of course, is the best example of this. Fans and pundits have been mulling Hopkins’ retirement for a decade, but instead of cashing out, Hopkins continued to make history, which has now set up the kind of farewell befitting of such a unique fighter.