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Bernard Hopkins began his career 28 years ago after a 4?-year stint in prison for armed robbery and eventually rose to the top. He stayed out of trouble and became a legend and one of the most respected fighters in boxing history.Now, at age 51, Hopkins will close out his career with a farewell fight against light heavyweight contender Joe Smith on Dec. 17 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN on Monday.Hopkins, the former undisputed middleweight and light heavyweight world champion, will turn 52 on Jan. 15 and is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he wanted one more fight before calling it a career. He will face Smith in a scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout that will headline an HBO-televised card.Originally, the card was going to be topped by an expected slugfest between all-action former junior lightweight world titleholders Orlando Salido (43-13-4, 30 KOs), of Mexico, and Japans Takashi Miura (30-3-2, 23 KOs). When Hopkins farewell fight began being discussed for the card, Salido-Miura was going to be switched to the co-feature. However, now that fight is off because Salido injured his back last week, De La Hoya said. There will still be at least one other televised bout, according to De La Hoya and the network, but it has not been determined yet.Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs), the Philadelphia great, turned pro in 1988 but has not fought since getting knocked down in the first round and losing a shutout decision to Sergey Kovalev in a light heavyweight title unification fight in November 2014 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.Hopkins will head to the other side of the country to finish his career at The Forum, a building filled with boxing history, including being the site where De La Hoya, Hopkins close friend and business partner, made his professional debut in 1992.We want to make this Bernard Hopkins retirement party, De La Hoya said. It will be a whole week of festivities and celebration of his great career. Were going to put something together that will complement his farewell fight.Bernard has had many of his biggest fights on the East Coast, but The Forum is a great venue and the fact that its where I started and where my partner is finishing makes it a great story.Hopkins said he has retired his self-given nickname of The Alien -- because to fight so well at his age is not human -- and is returning to his original nickname of The Executioner for his career finale.While The Alien may be retired, The Executioner has one fight left, and Joe Smith Jr., is going to find out the hard way how well prepared I am for my final fight, Hopkins said. A lot of people will focus on my age, the history of my run in the sport, the titles, etc., but Im focused on one thing -- knocking Joe Smith out.Although Hopkins would have liked to fight for a world title, at light heavyweight or super middleweight, those opponents were not available, so he opted to face Smith (22-1, 18 KOs), 27, from New Yorks Long Island. A construction worker by trade, Smith was a virtual unknown when he met contender Andrzej Fonfara on June 18 on NBC in prime time and scored a massive upset, knocking him out in the first round. The victory put him on the map and piqued Hopkins interest.Joe Smith is a big knockout puncher, and he is coming off a great win over Fonfara, who had knocked out [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr., De La Hoya said. He will bring the fight to Hopkins. He is aggressive. Its a legitimate fight.Said Smith, who was born the year after Hopkins turned pro, Im very excited about fighting on HBO. I know now all my hard work and dedication has paid off. I am looking forward to retiring a boxing legend.Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia, who promotes Smith, said he and Golden Boy made the deal quickly. They began discussing it only about a week ago.Weve worked together in the past with Golden Boy and HBO, and we were able to put this together nice and smoothly, DeGuardia said. Its a great opportunity for Joe to follow up his win against Fonfara by fighting a legend like Bernard Hopkins. Maybe hell be able to do what nobody else has ever done to Bernard -- knock him out. With a puncher like Joe, you never know.I have the quintessential working man, a working-class guy, fighting the ultimate workhorse in Hopkins, who has been plying his craft for decades. But at 51, he can complete at the top level because hes been so disciplined.De La Hoya, a Hall of Famer who retired at age 35 in 2008, said he had no concerns about Hopkins fighting just a month before he turns 52. He is in better shape than a lot of 20-year-old kids fighting today, De La Hoya said. But Bernard wants to end his career before he turned 52. I really believe Hopkins will leave the sport after this fight and he will leave the way he chose to leave. Joe Smith will be a tough test, but I think Bernard Hopkins will put on a masterful performance for everyone to witness. The fact that its his last fight, he knows in his heart and his head that he has to go out on top, and Hopkins is the best at doing that.Bernard takes care of himself. Hopkins is the best example of a fighter who has taken care of himself. He eats, sleeps and breathes boxing. The way he takes care of himself, watches what he puts in his body, he is the perfect example of what every fighter should be. Every fighter should look up to him if they want to have a long, prosperous career.Hopkins has a résumé filled with big wins, including multiple upsets. After losing a four-round decision to Clinton Mitchell in his professional debut, losing a unanimous decision to a young Roy Jones Jr. in his first world title fight in 1993 and drawing with Segundo Mercado in his second world title fight in 1994, Hopkins knocked out Mercado in the seventh round of their 1995 rematch to win a vacant world title.Hopkins would reign for a decade, making a division-record 20 consecutive defenses and unifying the titles along the way as he won a four-man unification tournament in 2001. He easily outpointed Keith Holmes to unify two belts in the semifinals, then met Felix Trinidad in the final on Sept. 29, 2001, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was originally scheduled for Sept. 15 but was postponed because of 9/11 and became the citys first major sporting event after the terrorist attack.Hopkins dominated heavily favored Trinidad, knocking him out in the 12th round to become the divisions first undisputed champion since Marvin Hagler in the 1980s. After losing the title by close decision to Jermain Taylor and another tight decision in a rematch, Hopkins moved up two divisions to light heavyweight and outpointed Antonio Tarver in another major upset to win the lineal title. After losing it to Joe Calzaghe by split decision in 2008, Hopkins faced then-middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in a nontitle, catch-weight fight at 170 pounds. Again a big underdog, Hopkins put on a masterful performance. He dished out a one-sided beating to Pavlik in a blowout decision.Hopkins avenged the loss to a faded Jones in 2010, and -- in a 2011 rematch of a draw with light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal -- Hopkins scored another upset. He outpointed Pascal on his home turf in Montreal to claim the title and become, at age 46, the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title.He later lost it to Chad Dawson, but, when he easily outpointed Tavoris Cloud to win another light heavyweight title in 2013, he broke his own record at age 48. A defense against Karo Murat (2013) and a unification win against Beibut Shumenov (2014) added to his long list of age-related records. Air Jordan Discount .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Jordan China . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. https://www.jordanchina.us/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Air Jordan China . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Air Jordan Free Shipping . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. CHICAGO -- There are plenty of nice pieces, beginning with NHL MVP Patrick Kane, star center Jonathan Toews and Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin.How they fit together is the big question for Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.The Blackhawks traded Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen and lost Andrew Ladd in free agency over the summer, leaving three big holes. Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann also left in free agency, and Marian Hossa, long one of Chicagos most consistent forwards, is coming off a down year.The result is an unsettled situation for the Blackhawks four lines that Quenneville might need some time to sort out.That unpredictability sometimes can be healthy in a lot of ways, knowing that guys are pushing and decisions -- when we have tough decisions -- we feel were a better team and a better organization when it comes down to that type of situation, Quenneville said Tuesday.Kane, Panarin and center Artem Anisimov combined for one of the NHLs most productive lines last season. Kane was the leagues top scorer with 106 points, and Panarin had 30 goals and 47 assists in an impressive rookie season. Anisimov finished with 20 goals and 22 assists in his first year in Chicago.But Kane and Panarin are the Blackhawks best playmakers, and Quenneville could break up their second line to create more balance. Hossa, who turns 38 in January, could play on any one of Chicagos top three lines depending on how it shakes out.Regardless of who Im playing with, its up to me to make sure that Im trying to enable those other two guys to be the best they can be as well, Toews said.The play of Chicagos top forward prospects also will affect the look of the Blackhawks lines. Tyler Motte, a former University of Michigan star, and speedy Vincent Hinostroza, a Chicago-area native who played college hockey at Notre Dame, each looked great in camp. Nick Schmaltz, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft, also is in the mix.The Blackhawks look pretty settled on defense. Brian Campbell, who led NHL defensemen with a plus-31 plus-minus rating last season with Florida, signed a one-year deal in July, returning to Chicago after helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010.The addition of Campbell gives the Blackhawks one of the best defensive lineups in the league, topped by two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Michaal Kempny, who signed with Chicago on May 24 and played for Czech Republic in the World Cup, also is an intriguing prospect for the third pairing.ddddddddddddThis is probably the deepest d-corps group weve had since Ive been in this organization, said Hjalmarsson, who made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in 2008.Here are a couple more things to watch as Chicago tries for its fourth Stanley Cup title since 2010:SWEET, SWEET RESTThe Blackhawks lost to St. Louis in seven games in the first round of the playoffs in April. It was their shortest stay in the postseason since they lost to the Coyotes in the first round in 2012.The amount of top-level games, including the Olympics, had stacked up for some of Chicagos biggest stars, and the longer-than-usual offseason might help this year.Sometimes when you go far and deep in the playoffs youre still mentally tired and not as excited to tie the skates on every morning, Hjalmarsson said. But thats not an issue at all now. So I think everybody is just excited to get the regular season going.CO-REY! CO-REY!Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is coming off one of his best seasons in the NHL. He set career highs with 35 wins, 58 starts and NHL-best seven shutouts.Crawford tuned up for this year by helping Canada win the World Cup. With an improved defense in front of him, the 31-year-old Crawford could contend for the Vezina Trophy awarded to the NHLs top goaltender after finishing fifth in the voting last season.CONSIDERING KRUGERCenter Marcus Kruger agreed to a $9.25 million, three-year contract extension in March, locking up the versatile penalty killer through the 2018-19 season. But Kruger had no goals and four assists in 41 games last season, and the Blackhawks need more production from the Swede with their losses at forward, especially if he plays on the third line.REPLACING SHAWShaw was a valuable net-front presence for Chicago, finishing with 14 goals and 20 assists. He also is one of the leagues top agitators, excelling at getting under an opponents skin. Brandon Mashinter, who had a career-best four goals in 41 games last season, Jordin Tootoo and Ryan Hartman could get a chance to fill Shaws shoes.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '