LOS ANGELES – For months after the fact, boxing fans and the worldwide media had only one topic on their minds – the July 16 middleweight championship bout between Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins. Who won? Who lost? Who deserved to win? Who deserved to lose? But whether you sided with the new champion - Taylor - believing that he ushered in a new era of middleweight boxing on that summer night, or stuck to your guns and insisted that the former champion – Hopkins - had done more than his share to earn the victory and keep his crown, one pressing question kept rising to the forefront.
When will they do it again?
Well, undisputed world middleweight champion Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor (24-0, 17 KOs) and former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins (46-3-1, 32 KOs) have agreed to do it again. The rematch—Taylor vs. Hopkins II, “No Respect”— will take place Saturday, Dec. 3 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The championship card will be presented by DiBella Entertainment and Golden Boy Promotions and will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.
"Jermain is the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, and will prove again on Dec. 3 that he reigns in his division," said Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella, the president of DiBella Entertainment. "We respect Bernard Hopkins in the ring as a great champion, and the deserves the rematch. December 3 will be a great night for boxing and for Team Taylor."
"2005 has seen some great fights, and I can't think of a better way to cap off the year than to have the two premier middleweights in the world squaring off again. Hopkins and Taylor both have a lot on the line on December 3rd, and a fighter is never better than when the stakes are at their highest." Said Hopkins’ promoter Oscar de la Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions.
"Hopkins and Taylor established a great middleweight rivalry with their first fight", said HBOPPV's Mark Taffet. "Their rematch will be a highly-anticipated and exciting night for boxing fans."
Taylor-Hopkins I captivated the sports world, with its drama and stirring outcome making it one of the most spectacular bouts in recent history. They met July 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in front of a sell-out crowd which set a record for the largest walk-up crowd ever recorded in the Casino’s history for a special event (CHECK WITH GHERTNER.) For Taylor, it is an opportunity to prove that his split decision win over the long-reigning champion July 16 was no fluke. For Hopkins, it is time to set the record straight with his spirited rival.
"Every boxer that puts on the gloves dreams of someday hearing the words 'and new champion...'”said Taylor. “I fulfilled that dream on July 16, and Bernard would have to be crazy to think I'm going to give these belts back to him. One dream is done, and now it's on to my second dream, to defend my championship for years to come."
“Jermain knows what happened in the first fight and I think everyone else does too,” said Hopkins. “There will be no respect for him this time and come December 3, I will set the record straight.”
In July, Hopkins, the long reigning middleweight champion, agreed to face the young, but hungry, Taylor for the undisputed crown. With both fighters in tremendous shape, Taylor used his conditioning and an aggressive jab attack early to build a comfortable lead against the wily veteran. Yet all the while, Hopkins stayed cool, using the savvy learned from over a decade at the top to feel the more inexperienced Taylor out.
Action in the middle rounds was a give and take with the ringside judges splitting their scoring between the two fighters. Then, late in the fight, Hopkins went on the offensive, scoring decisively over Taylor to capture the final rounds on all but one of the judges’ scorecards. This one dissenting judge scored the 12th round for Taylor and a slight controversy was created immediately following the announced outcome of the fight, as few felt Hopkins lost the round. In the end it was too little, too late for Hopkins, as Taylor won a split decision victory and became the new middleweight world champion.
QUOTE FROM TAYLOR ABOUT WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO BECOME CHAMPION – A DREAM COME TRUE.
The new champion is a 2000 US Olympic Bronze Medalist who has carried that success with him into the professional ranks. A versatile boxer with a stiff jab and thudding power, the 26-year-old resident of Little Rock, Arkansas worked tirelessly to get into the position to challenge Hopkins for the title. He gained his standing with defeats over former world champions Raul Marquez and William Joppy, and his spectacular victory over previously unbeaten Daniel Edouard at the Staples Center in February of this year sealed the deal. In July, Taylor made the most out of the opportunity, as he took on the challenge to face Hopkins and seized the title.
In what could possibly be his last fight as a professional, Bernard Hopkins—who is already assured a place in the Boxing Hall of Fame thanks to his over ten-year reign atop the middleweight division—is an old-school warrior who has accepted all challenges from all opponents throughout his career. He is 3-0 in rematches with his opponents. Hopkins has fought harder and smarter in all of these fights with his record reflecting the results—all knockout victories.
“I will do the same to Jermain Taylor that I did to each one of my other rematch opponents—I will knock him out,” said Hopkins.
Tickets priced at $800, $600, $400, $200 and $100 go on sale Thursday, Sept. 22 at Noon at the Mandalay Bay Theatre box office. Tickets also will be sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The Taylor vs. Hopkins II pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST Oct. 1, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 50 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily Taylor vs. Hopkins II fight week updates, log onto www.HBOPPV.com.
For more information about Taylor vs. Hopkins II, “No Respect” please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com or www.dbe1.com
