Joe Smith Jr. Q&A: Talks about December battle with Bernard Hopkins

By Boxing News - 11/15/2016 - Comments

1-Andrzej Fonfara vs. Joe Smith Jr._Fight_Nabeel Ahmad _ Premier Boxing Champions7

By Ian Aldous: On December 17th from the Forum in California and live on HBO, Joe Smith Jr. (22-1) will become a part of boxing history when he faces the legendary Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2) in what will be the future Hall-of-Famer’s final ever fight inside a boxing ring. Last week, Joe took some time to talk with me over the phone ahead of the potentially career-defining bout.

IA: When I spoke to you prior to your fight with Andrezj Fonfara (1st round TKO win), you told me he wouldn’t be able to stand and trade with you. I guess your prediction was right, but were you surprised at how quickly and emphatically you dealt with him?

JSJ: Yeah, definitely. I expected him to take a little bit more punishment. I thought he would have lasted a few rounds at least.

IA: So, afterwards was there any talk of a rematch? They were planning big things for Fonfara, they obviously didn’t expect you to go in there and do what you did. Was there much talk of a rematch?

JSJ: There wasn’t really any talk, but Fonfara and his team mentioned it. They asked for one and maybe down the road they’ll get one, but I wanna keep moving forward to get to that title shot. Hopefully I get that possibly after this fight. Maybe I’ll get it.

IA: You’ve got the chance of a lifetime on December 17th, Bernard Hopkins in his final ever fight. How proud were you when you found out that he’d chosen you for his final fight?

JSJ: It was great news. I was very happy to hear that. It’s great being in there and having the opportunity to fight against a legend like Bernard Hopkins.

IA: At the press conference for the fight, how did you find being around Bernard? Did you have much interaction with him?

JSJ: We had the face-off and some photos. We exchanged a few words, you know. Seeing him face-to-face got me pumped up and now I’m just focusing on the training.

IA: The fight is being billed as the ‘Final 1′. Do you truly believe that this is going to be his last ever fight inside a boxing ring?

JSJ: Yeah, I believe so. You know, once I get in there with him and I plan on making it for sure that way. I’m gonna make sure he’s not gonna wanna get back in the ring again (laughs).

IA: After the Fonfara win it seemed a possibility that you might be getting a world title fight, because there was talk of him getting one against WBC light-heavyweight champion, Adonis Stevenson. But, to you, is this fight bigger than fighting for a world championship?

JSJ: I mean, I guess in a sense it is because I’m gonna get more recognition out of this fight as everyone knows Bernard Hopkins and is gonna tune in to watch his last fight. It’s gonna get my name out there a lot more than it would against Stevenson.

IA: Do you think it’s possible you can come out of this fight with credit even if you lose, say if it’s a real close fight and you put in a great performance? Do you think it’s possible that you can come out with credit if that happens?

JSJ: Yeah, I believe I’ll come out with credit either way. I’m pretty much 100% confident that I’m gonna win this fight. So I figure (I’ll get) lots of credit (laughs).

IA: You mentioned confidence there. I knew it had been a while since Hopkins had knocked anyone out, but I didn’t realize it’d been twelve years. That must give you incredible confidence to think it’s going to be almost impossible for him to knock you out. Does not having to worry about getting knocked out become a huge positive for you?

JSJ: He may have not had a knockout in a long time, but anything’s possible. I know he’s a great fighter and I’m just gonna be 100% prepared for however he comes. If he comes out like a twenty year-old Bernard Hopkins or a fifty year-old Bernard Hopkins it doesn’t really matter.

IA: Between now and December 17th we’ve got a long time, are you going to be watching a lot of tape of Hopkins’ fights or are you going to leave that to your team?

JSJ: My trainer Jerry Capobianco, he picks out certain things for me to watch and he tells me what to look for and I try to learn a little something from it.

IA: On November 19th, we’ve got the huge light-heavyweight fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, who wins that fight?

JSJ: I don’t know. It’s going to be a great fight but I’m maybe leaning towards Kovalev.

IA: Maybe the winner of that fight can fight you in 2017. How does that sound?

JSJ: That’d be great (laughs).

Hopkins vs. Smith is a 12-round light heavyweight battle presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, BORN BOLD and Casa Mexico Tequila. The event will be televised live on HBO’s flagship series beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets for Hopkins vs. Smith are priced at $25, $50, $75, $105 and $205, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person, go on sale Monday, October 24, 2016 at 10:00 am PST. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday11:00am PST to 7:00pm PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets will also be available for purchase atwww.fabulousforum.comor www.ticketmaster.com.