Philly native to return to ring

By Joseph Birmingham
for PhillySportsBlogs.com

Published: November 1, 2009

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Bernard Hopkins announced this week that he will be returning to Philadelphia to fight for the first time in nearly six years and has scheduled his first fight of any kind in nearly a year. He announced he will be meeting Enrique Ornelas nearly a year after defeating Kelly Pavlik in a 12-round unanimous decision. The fight will occur December 2nd, taking place at the Liacouras Center at Temple University. Plans are to have it air live on VERSUS at 8 p.m. EST.Hopkins’ match will also be for charity, as he has committed to donating one dollar from each ticket sold to three select charities. including the Make A Wish foundation, The Hero Thrill Show, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to once again bring a fight to the city of Philadelphia,” said Hopkins, the former middleweight champion who owns a perfect 10-0 record in Philly. “A lot has changed in my career since I fought here six years ago and I want to give my fans the chance to see me fight again at home. To top it off, a portion of the proceeds from this fight will go to three charities that are extremely important to me. December 2 is going to be a great night for boxing and a great night for Philadelphia.

“Fighting Bernard Hopkins is an honor and I thank him for the opportunity,” added Ornelas. “But once the bell rings, I’m going to do everything in my power to beat him and show the world what I can do when the spotlight is shining brightest.”

The year of the 40+ year old athlete continues, as 43 year old Jamie Moyer of the Phillies, 40 year old Mariano Riveria of the Yankees, 40 year old Brett Favre of the Vikings all set records at their respective positions this year. Now this 44 year old boxer is planning a return to the ring and not against a pushover boxer but against a legitimate middle heavyweight contender.

Enrique Ornelas (29-5, 19 KOs) has an aggressive style and fight-ending power. Ornelas is 29 years old from Los Angeles and eager to see how he fares against the veteran Philadelphian.

41 year old Roy Jones has a fight scheduled against Australian Danny Green for the same day. If both big men win their December 2009 fights, a rematch is scheduled to be shown on HBO PPV sometime in early 2010. Jones would be 55-5 and Hopkins 50-5-1 overall at the time of their meeting.

The two boxers first meeting was on May 22, 1993, when they fought for a vacant middleweight title and Jones won a clear unanimous decision. Jones would go on to dominate the sport as the pound-for-pound king for about a decade and win titles in four divisions. Hopkins would later claim the middleweight title after Jones left the division and go on to make a division-record 20 defenses before moving up and claiming the light heavyweight championship.

Both men have anticipated this rematch for years, and I for one hope to see them both be victorious on 12/2/09 so the planned 2010 fight is a go. Either way, the Hopkins, Ornelas bout is a good thing for Philadelphia and phillysportsblogs will provide more coverage both before and after the fight for those boxing fans out there that have been starved for a local boxing event.

Hopkins still resides in Hockessin DE and is frequently seen training and promoting local events, and still has a huge following in the Philadelphia area. Tickets for his 12/2 fight start at $25 and go up from there.

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