Bernard Hopkins warns Joe Smith Jnr ahead of curtain-closing bout: 'He's coming to a gunfight where I have an Uzi and he has one bullet'

Bernard Hopkins predicts Joe Smith Jnr will cause him no problems when he takes to the ring for the final time this weekend by insisting: 'He's coming to a gun fight, and I got an Uzi, and he's got one bullet.'

Hopkins, a former undisputed middleweight champion and two-time unified light-heavyweight title holder, has promised the showdown in California will be the 67th and final fight of his illustrious career. 

The crowd at the Los Angeles Forum will watch the legendary American boxer dispute the WBC international light-heavyweight title with Smith Jnr, whose 22 victories include 18 KOs and who has lost just one fight.

Bernard Hopkins says Joe Smith Jnr will cause him no problems when they meet this Saturday

Hopkins has promised the showdown in California will be the final fight of his illustrious career

And Hopkins has fired a warning to the 27-year-old New York native, who appeared nervous in Wednesday's pre-fight press conference.   

'Are we just talking about power here? Or are we talking about Matrix? Are we talking about reducing that?, Hopkins said.

Once that's gone, and once that's not working, I heard no one say over the weekends, "What else he got?" So you coming to a gun fight, and I got an Uzi, and you got a .22, with one bullet.'

'So guess what? Listen, you can have those odds, Joe. If you want those odds, give me the uzi. I want a hundred shots at you. I want 20,000 things to do, against that one thing that you're looking for – the George Foreman punch.' 

Hopkins fired a warning to the 27-year-old New York native, who has lost just one fight

Smith Jnr was softly-spoken during the press conference but is confident of a victory

'I'm not gonna predict that I will end his career mentally, emotionally, physically - I'm not gonna wish the Kelly Pavlik on him - but what I'm gonna do is spank him, teach him his ABC's, and then send him back to Long Island up the road from Philadelphia! 

'And then if he recovers mentally, then he might have something to savage to go forward. 

'See that's what I'm about. I'm a career-stopper to most of my opponents that talk like him.'

Hopkins is bringing the curtain down on his career with a final fight on Saturday

He brings his career to an end after winning 55 fights and world titles in two weight classes

Smith Jnr, the second-ranked World Boxing Council contender, was softly-spoken during the press conference but is confident of a victory.

'I can't even describe how excited I am to say it's finally fight week. I'm ready for this Saturday and am very excited,' he said. 

'I know I'm going to be there with a legend but I've worked very hard in the gym and made many sacrifices to get to where I am today. 

'He is a legend, but Saturday night he's just another opponent. I'm looking to stop him, be the first person to stop him in his entire career.' 

Hopkins, with the IBF, WBA and IBA light heavyweight belts he won against Beibut Shumenov

The veteran celebrates with the IBF Light Heavyweight belt after beating Tavaris Cloud in 2013