Boxing fans who want to watch the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. boxing match live online will get a chance to see streaming video of the final match of the legendary career of the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion.
Hopkins has announced his retirement from boxing, but not before one final bout against the 27-year-old Smith, the on-the-rise fighter who was hand-picked as the final opponent for the 51-year-old Hopkins. Smith was known for his surprising defeat of Polish light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara, and now has a chance for a much bigger victory.
Hopkins and Smith will meet for a 12-round bout on Saturday from The Forum in Inglewood, California. The match will be broadcast on HBO at 10 p.m. ET/PT but will also be available live online for those looking to watch the match on streaming video.
It will be the end of a storied career for Hopkins, who once notched 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses and became the the oldest fighter to win a world title — which he did twice, once at 46 and again at 48.
Both sides noted that the fight came together easily, and Hopkins had nothing but praise for the fighter born the year after Hopkins started his professional career.
“Joe Smith, Jr., dares to be great. But this is something that’s important to me, to end it my way and go up against not a cream puff,” Hopkins said (via ESPN ). “I could have picked anybody to have went in there, and it would have been a joke, but I’m not going to do that to my legacy. I have too much pride as a man, and that’s why I chose the most dangerous opponent out there that really nobody wants to jump over and fight. I love the challenge, and I’m taking the challenge head-on.”
Fans who watch the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. match live online will also see a critical bout for Smith. A win would likely be a career-maker for him and cement his status as a title contender, and even a loss would build his profile, ESPN noted.
“It’s a privilege to be on this card,” Smith said. “To take on a legend like Bernard is an opportunity I would have never expected. That said, come fight night, that won’t matter because it’ll just be me and him in the ring. My team and I have been training to take on any of the styles Bernard may bring. I’m excited for the night to come, and I’m ready to put on a great show.”
For Hopkins, it will be his first time in the ring in more than two years since his 12-round loss to Sergey Kovalev in 2014. But the Philadelphia native said he is ready to go out with a bang, and compared his exit to some greats on the hardwood.
“I will be the matrix. I will be the executioner. I will be everything that I need to be to win,” Hopkins said (via CBS Sports ). “The sweet science is something that I’ve always been addicted to.
“My fight will be like watching the last game of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.”
Those who watch the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. boxing match live online will see some other great action, including a cruiserweight title bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Thabiso Mchunu and a 10-rounder featherweight fight between Joseph Diaz Jr. and Horacio Garcia.
Those who want to watch the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. boxing match live online can click here for instructions on how to get streaming video from HBO. Viewers in the U.K. can watch the match live on Box Nation .
[Featured Image by Matt Rourke/AP Images]
