Saturday, December 24, 2005, 07:57 AM EST
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Boxing]
It says something for the current state of boxing when the most anticipated bout in recent memory features two men who have gone a combined 3-5 in the past two years. Sure, the third chapter in the Diego Corrales - Jose Luis Castillo series is going to put people into the seats. And the upcoming Fernando Vargas - Shane Mosely brawl in Las Vegas is going to put millions into the HBO pay-per-view coffers. But the fight that will get the most attention from both boxing fans and casual observers alike will be the long awaited rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr. on March 11.
On May 22, 1993, Hopkins and Jones battled in D.C.'s RFK Stadium for the vacant IBF middleweight title. Jones won a unanimous decision that night and began an incredible tear through the middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions. He would go on to collect titles in four different weight classes and define his place in history as one of the greatest of all time.
Enter Antonio Tarver.
After scoring a decision over Tarver in their first fight in November of 2003, Jones may have been a bit over-confident heading into the May 2004 rematch. Tarver - never one to lack confidence himself - leaned into the microphone after receiving the pre-fight instructions and asked: "You got any excuses tonight, Roy?" He then proceeded to take apart the man who had been universally recognized as the best "pound-for-pound" fighter in the world. Jones was dropped to the canvas with a crushing left hook in the second round, and has yet to recover from that blow. Four months later, Glencoffe Johnson knocked Jones out in the ninth round of their fight for the IBF light heavyweight title, the second straight defeat for a man who was once considered untouchable.
The loss to Johnson prompted Jones to take a year-long sabbatical before entering the ring a third time with Tarver in October of this year. Tarver was once again victorious, outpointing Jones on all three scorecards. But even with three consecutive losses under his belt, Roy Jones Jr. remains an intriguing figure, but perhaps not quite as intriguing as Bernard Hopkins.
Following the loss to Jones, Bernard Hopkins' career took a different, but similarly successful path. After Jones moved up in weight, Hopkins began his outright domination of the middleweight division. He captured the vacant IBF middleweight title in 1995 and didn't relinquish it until his loss to Jermain Taylor in July of this year, an amazing 10-year run in which he successfully defended his crown on 20 separate occasions.
The fact that Bernard Hopkins has even made it to this point in life is remarkable in and of itself. Hopkins grew up in North Philadelphia as a self-described "thug" who would eventually be convicted of armed robbery at the age of 17. For the next 56 months, Graterford State Penitentiary was the only place he would call home. He earned his GED and learned the finer points of "the sweet science" during his stay in prison. After dropping his debut fight following his parole in 1988, Hopkins went on to win his next 22 fights before meeting Jones on that fateful day in 1993.
Here we are twelve years later, yet this time no titles are on the line. Both men will be celebrating birthdays next month (Jones will turn 37, Hopkins will be 41), and both have lots of highway miles (read: rounds) on them coming into what may be the final bout for each of them. They no longer dominate the boxing landscape as they did in the not-so-distant past, but they are still two of the most recognized boxers in the game not named Tyson. And that, coupled with their compelling stories, will be more than enough for people to stand up and take notice.
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