By Eric Baldwin: Bernard Hopkins’s fight against light heavyweight contender Joe Smith Jr. (21-1, 18 KOs) is now officially set for December 17 on HBO World Championship Boxing at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) says his goal is to knockout the 27-year-old Smith Jr., who is 24 years younger than the 51-year-old.
That’s got to be one of the biggest age differences in recent times between two fighters in fighting at the upper levels of the sport. The good news for Hopkins is that Smith Jr. has been knocked out in the past six years ago by little known Eddie Caminero (7-9, 7 KOs) by a 4th round knockout in 2010.