Dein erstes Forum » l. There were no injuries.

Last month, when I traveled to London to cover the Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook middleweight world title fight, I stayed at the hotel next to the O2 Arena, the same place where the HBO crew working on the American broadcast was staying.On the morning of the fight, I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. As I was walking out, Bernard Hopkins, who was working on the telecast as HBOs analyst, was walking in. We had seen each other a few times during fight week but hadnt had much of a chance to talk. He invited me to sit with him. Weve known each other since 2000, and I have covered around two dozen of his fights. I would say I know Hopkins as well as any fighter I have covered in my career. Weve met each others families and when we chat, it is often not even about boxing at this point.But when we sat down on this morning, we talked about Hopkins career. At 51, did he still want to fight again after a two-year layoff and a one-sided loss to Sergey Kovalev, and if so, when and who would he want to fight?So we sat and talked it out for more than an hour while overlooking the River Thames on a lovely London morning. This was not an interview, rather just a deep conversation about what Hopkins wanted to do.The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion made it clear he wanted a farewell fight and that he wanted it this year, before he turns 52 in January. He saw the hoopla surrounding the recent retirement of Kobe Bryant and wanted the chance to leave boxing on his own terms with a similar farewell fit for a king. For some of the fights in the later years of his career, he has come into the ring to the classic Frank Sinatra song My Way, and hed be damned if he wasnt going to go out on his terms.Hopkins made one point very clear, over and over: He did not want to fight a walkover opponent. Sure, he wanted somebody he would be favored to beat but a real opponent with a good record. He used the word respectful and credible. He wanted somebody whom nobody could say was a soft touch or an unworthy foe. Somebody the fans and media would see as a legitimate fighter.But he is 51 and doesnt move like he once did. So one concession was that he wanted to make sure whoever he faced was not somebody that was too slick and moved a lot. He didnt want to have to chase a guy for 12 rounds. He wanted a guy to come to fight and be in front of him.Then Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) asked my opinion on who he should fight. He would have preferred to fight for a world title at either light heavyweight or super middleweight but none of those titleholders were available. I put my thinking cap on and came up with two names I thought fit his requirements well.Both were from Long Island, New York, with good records, straight-ahead styles and fan bases. Each was certainly a respectful and credible opponent. They were also fights I believed could be made without any political issues, and both were opponents I felt HBO would approve.One was Seanie Monaghan (27-0, 17 KOs). The other was Joe Smith (22-1, 18 KOs). Hopkins asked me for my view of both fighters and his eyes grew wide. He liked what he was hearing. He punched their names into his phone and began to look them up. He said he would do his homework and also take the names to Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya and president Eric Gomez to see what they thought.I said to Hopkins, Wouldnt it be funny if you wound up fighting one of those guys and we could joke about it for years to come that the fight was hatched over a cup of tea in London at a restaurant overlooking the River Thames.Hopkins laughed and agreed. A month later it has come to pass.Hopkins will in fact face Smith in his last fight -- The Final One as it has been dubbed -- on Dec. 17 on HBO from The Forum in Inglewood, California.I was at a fight and you was there also and we were looking at the river in London that morning, Hopkins recounted to me after the fight was set on Monday. I had just done a light run and walked in for breakfast and we got to talking. A name was kicked around and you said, I know a guy respectful and credible and he has a following, and you said Joe Smith.Hopkins was enamored by the fact that Smith was coming off a very big win, an upset first-round knockout of contender Andrzej Fonfara on June 18 on NBC in prime time.I didnt know Joe Smith until you mentioned his name, Hopkins said. I went and did my research. Hes promoted by Joe DeGuardia and we have a good relationship. I knew that Joe respects me and that wed be fair in any deal, and here we are.I was doing my research on him like I do on all of my opponents. I said this is a guy I want. We are fighting for legacy. Hes fighting for his legacy and Im fighting to keep mine intact and make sure I go out with no negatives. But when I looked at the tape I said to myself, Why did Dan tell me to look at this guy, another puncher in front of you who is coming to rip your head off like Sergey Kovalev?But then I thought what do I want? Do I want a guy who is a C-level? Thats not Bernard Hopkins. I have to be honest about doing this final fight.Hopkins has not scored a knockout since he stopped De La Hoya with a body shot in the ninth round in 2004. I bust his chops about that sometimes.He said he wants to finish his Hall of Fame career with a KO, so he is doing some work with weights, which he has not done in years, not since he worked with fitness guru Mackie Shilstone to bulk him up to light heavyweight in the first place for his 2006 upset of Antonio Tarver to win the title.I want to go out with a knockout, Hopkins said. I didnt have one in 12 years since I beat Oscar, my partner. Not just the win -- I want the knockout. This is not just promotional talk. That will be the bow on a long career.When told he would be facing an opponent who was not even born when Hopkins turned pro in 1988 (the year I graduated high school), Hopkins paused.Its not only crazy, its insane, Hopkins finally said. Im an old m-----f-----.Then Hopkins began figuring out how many presidential administrations his career has lasted. He turned pro during Ronald Reagans second term and boxed through George H.W. Bushs term, two Bill Clinton terms, two George W. Bush terms and two Barack Obama terms.I dont want to still be boxing when Hillary Clinton is sworn in, he said, offering his prediction for the outcome of next months election.Im done. This is the final one, and what a good way to end it, he said. Joe Smith is all action, hes credible, hes hungry, he throws a lot of punches, only one loss. A young guy. And he come off a big, confident win. So he has momentum to know that he belongs. Thats the kind of opponent I need. I want to put on a fantastic show. I want to be able to enjoy this.Hopkins said -- and Gomez backed it up -- that his contract has language legally stipulating that this is his last fight, as opposed to when he retired the first time after beating Tarver a decade ago and was bored to death a few months later.He said it will be different this time. He is 10 years older and knows it is time.I signed off on this in writing that I am done, he said. It says this is my final fight and I will not return as a fighter ever again. This aint bulls---. Im done, win, lose or controversy. But I came back for this fight because I wanted to go out on my terms.People might think thats cocky, but if they know my career I did just about everything my way. But if I was coming into the restaurant that morning in London two seconds later we wouldnt have seen each other and had that conversation about Joe Smith.Its a conversation we will no doubt discuss for years to come. Cheap MLB Jerseys . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Cheap Edgar Martinez Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. 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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz were embarrassed in a 14-point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, but exacted a little revenge Wednesday with the return of their starting point guard.George Hill scored 22 points in his return from an eight-game absence and the Jazz snapped a four-game losing streak with their 108-83 victory.Hill had tape and a protective pad covering the strained thumb on his shooting hand and the nine-year veteran showed no signs of rust.Felt pretty good, Hill said. Any time you can get back there and help the guys try to win a game is fine.My team did a great job of helping me get some easy ones where Im just catching and shooting and playing my game.Rudy Gobert posted his eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Gordon Hayward added 22 points and seven assists.Rookie Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 23 points off the bench. Kenneth Faried finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.Obviously having George back makes a difference, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Its hard not to improve on the effort we had the other night. (The Nuggets) got free throws, offensive rebounds and points in the paint, numbers that would have led the league in all categories.We were better. Weve got a long way to go. You can see that with the inconsistency we had in the first half.The Jazz put away the game with a 17-3 run to start the third quarter to take a 70-50 lead, punctuated by Hills 3-pointer from the right corner. Utah shot 49.4 percent and the Nuggets struggled to just 31.5 percent.Utah led just 53-47 at halftime after jumping out to a 19-3 lead to open the game. The Jazz started 6 of 8 on 3-pointers but then missed their next 10.The Nuggets, a night after beating Chicago at home, climbed back into the game with a heavy dose of Faried and a 16-2 stretch to tie the game at 45.Most young teams forget why you have success, Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. They get bored with success. We were winning basketball games because of how we played. Tonight, even though we are banged up, three gammes in four nights -- all excuses.dddddddddddd We just didnt bring it.TIP-INSNuggets: Danilo Gallinari missed his first game of the season with right knee soreness. ... Mike Miller missed his fourth consecutive game due to personal reasons.Jazz: Joe Johnson played despite dealing with an illness. ... Boris Diaw had his best game as a Jazz player with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.BACK ON THE COURTHill averaged 20.4 points and 4.9 assists in the first seven games of the season and fit in with the Jazz immediately. The team is 3-5 without him.He and I know and knew each other pretty well, Snyder said. So some of the conversation that we had, Id like to think framed what the fit would be and I think thats something he was truly excited about. When you have that fit, it generally has a way of accelerating a players comfort level.CUT ITMalone explained how his offense emphasizes back-cuts, especially against teams like the Jazz.We have guys that are willing and capable playmakers, Malone said. ... Its something we really emphasize, whether its practice, shootaround, film sessions. The Utah Jazz shrink the floor. They collapse. When they do, sometimes they get caught ball-watching.So any time your man turns the head, you should be cutting to the basket. And if you dont get it, youre probably generating a wide open shot for a teammate behind you.QUOTABLEIt was huge, a lot of guys were tired and banged up from all those games, Faried said. Banged up from last nights game, it was a grind-it-out game. We were able to pull through, but a lot of knick-knack injuries that carried over to today and guys werent able to hit the shots that they usually are.UP NE