By Mark Vester
Bernard Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs) never hides his feelings about Roy Jones Jr. (54-5, 40 KOs). He respects him as a fighter and dislikes him as a person. The two have never gotten along. That's why it took 16-years for the two sides to reach an agreement for a rematch of their 1993 encounter, which Jones won by decision. On Friday, an agreement was reached, and signed by both, to fight in the first quarter of 2010.
For the fight to happen, Jones has to beat IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green on December 2 in Australia. Hopkins has been inactive since last October's win over Kelly Pavlik. He plans to take a tuneup in the first week of December. He said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is working to finalize a tuneup fight. That means Hopkins would have to win his fight - and win without injury.
The two have tried to make a rematch in the past, several times, but they always got stuck on the split. Jones would demand 60-40. Hopkins would demand at least 50-50. Finally they agreed to 50-50 with a special twist. If either of them is able to win the fight by knockout, the split would get adjusted. The winner would get 60% and loser would only have 40%. The fight will be carried by HBO pay-per-view.
Hopkins has held a lot of bad feelings inside for a long time. He can't wait to unleash those feelings on Jones. One thing Hopkins wants to do is grab that 60% by knocking Jones out. The knockout will mean a lot to Hopkins. Hopkins still considers Jones as the only fighter to every beat him clean.
"Roy's been so loud about wanting 60 percent for all these years, let's see how bad he really wants it. I'm not a knockout artist but 60 percent is something to fight for. It's definitely extra motivation for me," Hopkins told Doug Fischer of The Ring Online. "In many ways it's a grudge match for me. I respect Roy as a fighter and what he's accomplished in the ring, but I don't like him as a person.
"He jerked me around for many years and used me, with the lure of making a rematch, just to get leverage in his negotiations for other fights. I once flew to Florida to try to get a deal done, man to man, but he didn't treat me like a man. Instead, he threw a lot of dirt in my face, and I haven't forgotten about it. That's going to get me through many long days of training with Naazim Richardson for this fight."
"And if I can knock him out, and believe me I will go for it if it presents itself, that would one-up his decision over me. Getting 60 percent would be icing on the cake."
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