By Rick Reeno
Later tonight, the place where Bernard Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KOs) made his debut in 1988, Atlantic City, New Jersey, is now the same place he stages the the final bout of his career. Hopkins, spending almost 20 years in the sport of boxing, is stepping up two weight classes to challenge the recognized light heavyweight champion of the world, Antonio Tarver (24-3, 18 KOs).
The competitive juices are flowing, Tarver - the self proclaimed "legend killer" is looking to add the Hopkins to his resume of victories. Hopkins, a career middleweight, is looking to accomplish what his hero, Sugar Ray Robinson, tried and failed to do - by moving up from middleweight and winning the light heavyweight title.
They share two common opponents, Roy Jones Jr. and Glen Johnson. Hopkins lost to Jones by unanimous decision, while Tarver has knocked Jones out in two rounds and cruised to an easy twelve round decision against Jones in his last outing. Tarver lost his first of three bouts to Jones by decision, but some feel he should have been awarded the fight. Tarver holds the upper hand on Hopkins with Jones, but Hopkins holds the upper hand with Glen Johnson. Tarver split two decisions with Glen Johnson, while Hopkins dominated Johnson at middleweight on route to being the only fighter to stop him.
Win, lose or draw, this is the final time we see Hopkins in the ring as a fighter, a going away party that Tarver wants to spoil by being the first man to stop him.
Round by Round Coverage begins at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time . Round by Round Coverage is for Registered Users only. Registration is 100% FREE . To register, please CLICK HERE.
Registered users can CLICK HERE to join the live Round by Round Coverage.