Boxing Preview: Roy Jones Jr vs. Bernard Hopkins 2

Tonight at Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, NV, Roy Jones Jr faces Bernard Hopkins at light heavyweight in a rematch that comes 17 years after their clash for the vacant IBF middleweight title.

This bout comes at least seven years too late as Jones’ incredible reflexes left him following his WBA heavyweight title winning effort against John Ruiz in 2003.

Now 41 years of age, Jones has gone 6-5 since the Ruiz bout and most recently was stopped in the first round by Danny Green for the IBO cruiserweight crown.

Prior to the Ruiz clash, Jones had gone 47-1 and the Florida native has been a very different and very hittable fighter ever since winning the heavyweight title.

Hopkins is even older at 45 but has been remarkably able to keep his reflexes, a decade or more after most fighters have lost theirs.

The very picture of the traditional Philadelphia fighter, since the Jones clash in 1993, Hopkins has only lost a very close contest to Joe Calzaghe in 2008 along with two controversial losses to Jermain Taylor in 2005, which effectively ended Hopkins’ long middleweight title reign.

Most recently, Hopkins outpointed fringe super middle contender Enrique Ornelas at light heavy after taking WBC/WBO middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik to school in 2008 at super middle.

Hopkins has long campaigned for a rematch with Jones and it’s a shame this didn’t come years earlier as unless age has finally caught up with Hopkins, it’s difficult to see how Jones, who was unable to avoid the punches of Green this past December, can win this fight.

However, this is boxing and anything can happen.

That “anything” will likely have to reach miraculous proportions for Jones to come out on top.