Im shocked with this thread people are giving a ageing old man to much credit he has had his day. OMG Cleverly would out work and win on points, it would be a messy fight as Hopkins would be looking to grab and hold sticking in the ocassional head butt.. There is no way Hopkins would out work Cleverly there is more deluded posteres on here than ever before..
Even the faded Hopkins of the Dawson fight should have far too much for Clev who is just a pretty basic come forward fighter with nice handspeed and a good engine. Hopkins will counter him easily all night and mess him around. The work rate and aggression of Cleverly will work against him here as he'll be so easy to hit. The only chance of a Cleverly win is if Hopkins gets seriously old over night. Can't see it happening myself.
Hopkins is old, he wouldn't live with Clevs volume & work rate.. It's not a case of skills, the battle of the cardio, Clev scores a clear points decision.
There's always a chance father time finally catches up with Hopkins, in which case Clev would be in with a squeak as his main attribute is his engine, however, I think at this stage Hopkins would completely school Cleverly.
I find it mind boggling that fish eyes is so desperate to make this fight... Yes Hopkins is a name but its lose/lose for Clev, if he wins? So what he beat an old man, if he loses? Its back to fighting bums. Also Hopkins is hardly a fight you enter in to impress the audience, he's a known spoiler and it will likely be a snooze fest.
it depends if Cleverly can land clean, and not let Hopkins mug him off basically. Hopkins aint a fighters anymore, he just holds and jumps in with his head. Hes a joke in boxing at the minute, Cleverly should stay away from him if he knows whats good for him.. Fight Chad Dawson or Andre Ward, y fight an old man like B-Hop? fight jean Pascal or Froch... Cleverly's not really a hard fighter, he'd get drowned if it weren't for Frankey He should take some advice of Amir Khan and try and get n with Golden boy, then we'll c what hes made of
I agree completely. But it seems as though having a high workrate is THE most important thing in a fighter according to this thread. That's why Marcos Maidana is an ATG don't you know?
Cleverly on points, in an ugly fight, probably a close or controversial decision, with politics playing a part. Is Hopkins continuing to fight-spoil really that good for boxing?
Surely Nathan would get in, throw his flurries and use his footwork to get out and spin away. Just being able to get in and out and move about the ring enough would be enough to beat Hopkins surely? The fact that he still has his legs should be enough, but we all know how Hopkins can drag people down into an unnecessary scrap. The only thing that would beat Clev here is a lack of brains.
He doesn't have to outwork him and I'm fairly certain that's not his intention. Just counter him and mess him around. Cleverlys poor defence and aggression will give him plenty of opportunities. Also Hopkins defence will help to lessen Cleverlys punch output by quite a bit.