Bernard Hopkins is the Greatest Aged Boxer Ever

Nearly two decades after their first matchup, Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins easily avenged his loss to Roy Jones Jr. by a lopsided unanimous decision victory Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs), the oldest man ever to hold the middleweight championship in professional boxing, badly outclassed the famous graybeard formerly known as “Junior” (54-7, 40 KOs).

Despite Jones’ devious and purposely illegal tactics in the ring, Hopkins cruised to his fifth win in six fights since 2005 and he cemented his legacy as the greatest pugilist over 40 years of age in the history of the sport.

“It was definitely worth it, and it was sweet revenge,” said Hopkins, 45, an ex-con from Philadelphia. “It was really rough in there. He’s a good fighter, and he tried to rough me up. I tried to tough it out, but I was seeing spots from the sixth round on.”

Hopkins was “seeing spots from the sixth round on” because Jones twice hit “The Executioner” behind his head like a yellow weasel.

“He’s a defensive fighter, and he fought a smart fight,” said Jones, 41, who is protesting his loss last December to Danny Green (28-3, 25 KOs) like the clown pocket he has become because he contends the Australian used an excessive amount of gauze to wrap his hands. “I had to chase him the whole time. The referee didn’t warn him about head butts, but every time I did something I got a warning.”

Regardless of his relatively uninspired performance this past weekend, Hopkins is still a legitimate prizefighter.

On the contrary, Jones is spent and he is an active boxer simply because he needs loot.

“Jones is only in it for the money,” said Mike Cappiello, a native of Brockton who once fought for the IBO super featherweight title and retired with an impressive mark of 33-6. “He has nothing left to fall back on.”

Hopkins has aged gracefully.

Sadly, and somewhat pathetically, Jones has grayed like one of The Golden Girls.

In May 1993, Hopkins was defeated by Jones via unanimous decision for the vacant IBF middleweight belt.

1993 is in the very distant past.

In 2010, Roy Jones Jr. is a disgraced scrapper in the mold of Randy “The Ram” Robinson.

In 2010, Bernard Hopkins maintains his formidability and he somehow continues to defy father time.