Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.
Fight facts
The principals: Bernard Hopkins (46-3-1, 32 KOs) vs. Jermain Taylor (24-0, 17 KOs)
At stake: Taylor's world middleweight championship
Date/Time: Saturday; first undercard bout 4 p.m., pay per view begins 6 p.m.
Site: Mandalay Bay Events Center
Tickets: $200 to $800, call 632-7580
TV: HBO Pay Per View, $49.95
Featured undercard bout: Oscar Larios (56-3-1, 36 KOs) vs. Israel Vazquez (38-3, 27 KOs), world super bantamweight championship
Betting line: Taylor minus-120; Hopkins even money. Will go 12 full rounds, minus-190; will not go 12 full rounds, plus-165.
1. Repo man
Before his first fight against Jermain Taylor in July, Bernard Hopkins gleefully embraced the role of the "bad guy" in the promotion. Hopkins played up his image as the rough-hewn dude from North Philly who spent five years in the state pen, a foil to Taylor, the handsome, polite, soft-spoken Southerner. Hopkins is up to his old tricks leading to Saturday's rematch. "I'm coming to get your car, coming to repossess your car," Hopkins addressed Taylor, who won Hopkins' world middleweight championship in a close fight in their first encounter. "Time is up."
2. Life of a champ
Taylor, 27, won a 12-round split decision to halt Hopkins' middleweight record streak of 20 consecutive successful title defenses. It was a life-changing victory for the champ, who was greeted by adulation and even a parade in his hometown of Little Rock, Ark. "Wherever I go, I don't have to pay for my meals anymore," Taylor said. "I guess they don't think I got money. ... Everything has been perfect. I am not ready to give my championship up. I want to hold on to it for a long time."
3. Slow starter
Hopkins hotly disputed the decision in favor of Taylor, and both fighters have vowed to take it out of the hands of the judges Saturday. For Hopkins, who usually employs a deliberate style of fighting, choosing his spots carefully, that means making an effort to be busier in the early rounds. Taylor gives himself the edge in strength and speed, and said he's not impressed by Hopkins' tactics, which his supporters call cagey but others call dirty. "He's a dirty fighter, and that's all Bernard has going for him," Taylor said.
4. New trainer
Hopkins will enter the ring at Mandalay Bay under the guidance of new trainer Naazim Richardson, a longtime assistant who took over the lead role when Hopkins split with veteran trainer Bouie Fisher. Fisher told the Philadelphia Daily News he left in a dispute over money, but Hopkins said only that it was a personal decision that would play no role in the fight's outcome. "I have no ill will with Bouie," he said. "Bouie's a millionaire because of me, a multimillionaire because of me."
5. Final curtain?
At age 40, Hopkins has suggested he'll fight Taylor and then perhaps a ceremonial farewell bout early next year before retiring. So win or lose, this will probably be the final fight between the two, Hopkins said. "Jermain Taylor is going to beg for a rematch and he won't get one," Hopkins said. "That's what's going to be the deal because I'm undefeated on rematches. They know my history. I destroy guys the second time around. What makes Jermain Taylor different?"
Jeff Haney can be reached at 259-4041 or at [email protected].
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