By Jeff Aranow: Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) says his goal for tonight’s fight is to pressure the 51-year-old Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) from the outset and look to make him look like an old man when he gets inside the ring with him in their fight at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
Smith Jr. wants to fight the winner of the Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward rematch. The best way to make that happen is to beat Hopkins and beat him in style by knocking him out. Smith Jr. wants to send Hopkins into retirement off of a knockout loss.