INQUIRER Sports

NEW YORK- Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins traded barbs Tuesday as they touted a rematch almost two decades in the making.

"Roy Jones ain't nothing to do with Bernard Hopkins' legacy and career, up to now, because there will be a final chapter, and that's important to me," said Hopkins, who was vanquished by Jones 17 years ago in a middleweight title fight.

"He didn't win the first time and he won't win this time," Jones retorted.

The 40-something fighters are to face each other on April 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the years since their first meeting, both have amassed impressive resumes.

Jones won eight titles in four divisions and became the first fighter in a century to rise from middleweight champion to heavyweight title holder.

Hopkins set a record with 20 straight defenses of the middleweight crown and went 12 years without a defeat.

"This fight is very important to me because it's personal," admitted Hopkins, who said he has watched his 1993 loss to Jones "about a million times."

"A lot of fighters don't have history," Hopkins said. "We've got 17-plus-year history."

A rematch between the two nearly happened after Hopkins knocked out Felix Trinidad to become undisputed middleweight champion in 2001, but the fight was never made.

"To me this is redemption in a lot of ways," Hopkins said. "I waited a lot of years, gone through a lot of matches to get this done."

Hopkins is still considered one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters, but his age and his defensive style have limited his opportunities of late.

Jones's last fight was a first-round knockout loss to Danny Green in Australia in December.

The two will split the purse 50-50 - except in the case of a knockout in which the winner will pocket 60 percent.