Bernard Hopkins to face ‘The Irish Bomber’ in his final fight

Bernard Hopkins [55(32)-7(0)-2] is set to have his farewell bout this December, one month before he turns 52 – and will face Irish-American opposition.

The legendary two-weight champion, who has defied logic in recent years with some major wins despite his advanced age, will reportedly box for the final time on December 17th.

According to the reputable Michael Woods on NYFights.com, Hopkins will take on WBC #2-ranked light heavy ‘The Irish Bomber’ Joe Smith Jr [22(18)-1(1)] in his swansong.

Long Islander Smith Jr burst onto the World level scene during the Summer when he defied huge odds to score a first round stoppage of World title-hopeful Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago. The heavy-hitting New Yorker is nearly a quarter of a century Hopkins’s junior at 27 years old.

Hopkins has not fought since his points defeat to Sergey Kovalev in November 2014, and the choice of Smith as a final opponent looks to be a risky final bout. Nevertheless, Hopkins would enter the clash as favourite.

For labourer Smith, the fight would offer him another chance to upset the odds in a major fight and continue his modern-day Cinderella Man story.