Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins Appreciation Thread

Looks like there's just a few of us Hopkins fans interested in posting.:huh

Oh well.

Old man Hopkins can still throwdown, despite those who criticize him.

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Im a fan

 

Ive followed Bernard Hopkins career since before he fought Roy Jones. I became a true fan of his probably during the second Mercado fight. He was improving alot through that time period.

I`ll always remember the Robert Allen fights. Allen talked alot of **** before and between those fights. He was actually convinced Hopkins was scared of him. The rematch was fun to watch Hopkins put him away so convincingly.

Ofcourse the Echols fights were also great exhibitions of Hopkins boxing skills and also his heart. Fighting with one arm during the second fight. He made it look easy.

It was always interesting to watch the way he would figure a guy out during the early rounds and apply what he had learned at the midrounds came along.

He was the definitioin of a smart boxer.

 

I picked against him one time and that was the Pavlik fight. I blame Freddie Roach for that one..:tong he had me convinced the old man was shot.

 

What do you think about the Cloud fight?
Think the ''old man'' can still do it one more time?

 

Also my favorite still somewhat active fighter. They don't make them like this anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akkc7KSGBto

 

I wanna say yes though he`s getting awfully old. As long as he can still pull the trigger. At this point he could fall off the cliff at any time.

Im not going to count him out though.

 

****ing love Hopkins

 

100% Kudo's to BHop in this victory over Pavlik, though apart from this performance I think Hopkins is the most overated fighter in Boxing today.

Equal credit due to the man too for his fitness & endurance at his age to still be fighting. But I am not convinced of the man's elite greatness, his era was far below the greatest era's and remember back then he would've had to be a top L-HW cum HW to shine the same and I think we would have seen him out of the mix from the start!

 

Being the only man to shut out and stop Glen Johnson, picking apart and knocking out Tito Trinidad, having 20 successful title defenses, being the undisputed middleweight King for a stretch not seen since Hagler, beating the hell out of Antonio Tarver when moving up in weight and 41 years old, mopping the floor with Kelly Pavlik, and handing Jean Pascal (bogus 1st fight decision aside) 2 boxing lessons and becoming the oldest fighter to win a championship (2 weight classes above his prime no less), and now once again fighting for the lightheavy championship at age 48 and being given a decent chance at winning the fight is not enough to convince you of his greatness?

He suffered his first non-disputed defeat for the first time in April, 2012 since his fight with Roy Jones Jr in 1993. Both Jermain Taylor fights and the fight with Joe Calzaghe can be argued in favor of Bernard (I personally feel he should be 2-0-1 out of those 3 fights) and his loss to Dawson last April was more that Hopkins didn't do enough than Dawson actually beating him.

Out of all of the things to question Bernard on, greatness is not one of them.

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Nard by schooling:deal

 

well putting it that way it's hard to argue against, however I'll try.

noteable disclaimer BHop IS an EXCELLENT fighter...

Tito was a past it & naturally smaller fighter.

Pavlik was never that special, nor Tarver for that matter.

Taylor came with questions that proved to be true of him.

Pascal was a good victory, because he is a tough hard fighter, but no master is he, neither was Glen Johnson, though better and more durable but also old.

JC (whom I used to believe in) was also past best and this fight should've happened 6 yrs sooner.

RJJ was better 'prime for prime and proved it.

and many of the rest were very good fighters not greats.

again note disclaimer all of these guys were/are EXCELLENT fighters just not great...

and MORE IMPORTANTLY - ALL of these guys when compared to their Past Era Greats, have to be thought of where they would have fought and for most mentioned here that places them at L-HW plus. So that speaks of a whole new set of "how would they have faired?" Moore, Charles, JHL, Loughran, Marshall, Mills, Maxim. Lesnevich and so on.

again they would have been Very good fighters just not Greats.

 

Why not the other way round? Placing the older fighters into current weight classes I mean.