By Keith Idec

Joe Smith Jr. respects Bernard Hopkins and everything the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion has accomplished during his Hall-of-Fame career.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to fight somebody well-known, like Bernard Hopkins, especially [in] his last fight,” Smith said during a conference call Wednesday. “I plan on putting a great show on and making sure it’s his last fight. I’m gonna make him go out my way, not his way.”

The 27-year-old Smith was referring to comments the 51-year-old Hopkins made earlier on the call, when he was asked about earning the respect of fans and critics alike.

“I believe I got the respect really a long time ago,” Hopkins said. “I think people secretly and openly respect me. I just think they had to get used to me. When people don’t understand you, you can be a little agitating to them, you can be a little – eyed different.

“But I think I grew on a lot of people by [doing things] my way, and my way only. And I think even your worst critic will respect that a man didn’t waver, that a man didn’t bend, that a man like Bernard Hopkins didn’t fold. Even if you didn’t agree … at the end of the day I think really true men respect that.”

The 12-round bout between Philadelphia’s Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs, 2 NC), which Hopkins reiterated Wednesday will be the last of his 28-year pro career, and Long Island’s Smith (22-1, 18 KOs) will headline an HBO “World Championship Boxing” tripleheader.

The telecast also will include a 12-rounder that’ll pit WBO world cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk (10-0, 9 KOs), of Kiev, Ukraine, against South Africa’s Thabiso Mchunu (17-2, 11 KOs) and a 10-rounder that’ll match featherweight contender Joseph Diaz Jr. (22-0, 13 KOs), of Downey, California, against Mexico’s Horacio Garcia (30-1-1, 22 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.