Jones vs. Hopkins: The Rematch

CANTONMENT, Fla. (WALA) - Pensacola's Roy Jones Jr. returns to the ring April 3 against one of the best boxers in history.

It's a rematch that took nearly two decades to make. Roy Jones Jr., 41, faces Bernard Hopkins, 45, Saturday, April 3.

For Roy Jones Jr, the training never stops. The Pensacola native is one of the most decorated boxers in the history of the sport, but he's still trying to prove himself.

"For me, it's redemption time," said Jones (54-6 with 40 knockouts). "I get a chance to bounce back, probably my last chance to do this, to prove that once and for all, that never count nobody out until God says it's over."

THE RIVALS

Jones is training for a rematch with Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins (50-5 with 36 knockouts), one of the greatest middleweights of all-time. Hopkins spent ten years as the middleweight champ, defending his title a record 20 times. Meanwhile, Jones, an eight time world champion in four different weight classes, won his first championship by beating Hopkins in a 12-round unanimous decision in 1993.

"He was scared of me then, he's scared of me now. He's trying to talk himself out of it, but he's still terrified of Roy Jones Jr," Jones said

PERFECTING THE LOOK

Jones certainly can be intimidating, part of that comes with his ice cold stare down, a move he perfected in grade school against girls.

"They taught me how to control myself during a stare down, because I can't hit no girl! So I had to take, take whatever they say to me, not laugh, and still lookout. So they used to punish me with it, but it taught me," Jones said.

Sometimes those staring competitions would lead into class time.

"We had five minutes to get to class, so we'd meet in a minute, then stare for the rest of the four minutes. Then, we got to go, and usually I got in trouble because I was late for class but I refused to be the first to turn away," laughed Jones as he reflected.

AN EDUCATION

While he's been top of the class for more than two decades, Jones looks forward to teaching Hopkins some lessons in showmanship.

"Every other fight he had was boring - the (Antonio) Tarver fight, the (Glen) Johnson fight. The only fight I'd watch him fight was when I whupped his behind in 1993. Every other fight was garbage to me! I would not watch a Bernard Hopkins fight if I had to. I hate that I look at him for 12 rounds! That's why I'm trying to get him out of there," he added.

While Jones finds Hopkins unentertaining, he's certainly not going to take the 45-year-old lightly.

"He's dangerous, he's deadly, he's dirty. He's got three D's - so he's failing my class," Jones explained.

Saturday, April 3, school's back in session. We'll have to see who's the teacher.

TICKET INFO

Hopkins vs. Jones II, promoted as "The Rivals", is at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view broadcast starts at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are $750, $500, $300, $200, and $100, and are available at www.mandalaybay.com and www.ticketmaster.com