Bernard Hopkins vs Tavoris Cloud Who Wins & How?

As crafty and once in a generation kinda fighter Hopkins is, if Cloud loses especially by domination or if it even goes the distance he should retire. Dawson should've retired too. Of course I want Hopkins to pull it off but he's 50 and Pascal was hitting him with shots he wouldn't have gotten a few yrs ago. Cloud should knock him out even though he's limited and Hopkins has the style advantage he damn sure is old enough for that not to matter.

 

Hopkins W 12. I wish Bernard would just retire.

 

Hopkins is going to outbox Cloud for the most part..
Bernard by UD, too smart a boxer with a great inside game. NEVER put your money on a one dimensional fighter to beat Hopkins.

 

Never put your money on a damn near 50 year old man to beat a championship level, athletically gifted, rough, rugged fighter like Cloud.

 

Ok...so how many of Cloud's fights have you seen?

 

They have a search option readily available, my thoughts on Hopkins Dawson are easy to find.

 

As much as it pains me to type this, I think Bernard is finished. I'm expecting a Cloud victory.

 

I'm curious to see if Hopkins will force him backwards. Cloud doesn't seem to know what to do when pushed back.

 

Cloud's stamina is pretty average also. This could definitely be a good tactic to try, especially if Cloud is gassed at any point. If Hopkins has something left in the tank, I could see him sticking the jab coming forward the way he did with Pascal, blinding him with it for the straight right hand. Digging some rips downstairs to the ribcage would be a good idea also. I don't think Cloud has the same explosive speed and timing to consistently counter Hopkins' left hooks to the body with overhand rights the way Pascal did a few times.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Hopkins has left. If he hasn't lost much, I think he should win this on points about 8-4, but I've seen substantial decline from Pavlik, to Ornelas, to Pascal/Dawson. Another year lay-off pushing 50 worries me a lot. Very cool you get to see this one in person.

 

:nono

Dawson landed almost nothing flush on Hopkins despite him being the worst style matchup possible for him. Cloud is tailor made for Hopkins. Slow, crude and predictable. If he's anything close to his Dawson fight form, he should win. And i think that will be the case. I mean how much more shot can you be physically from 48 to 50?

 

Maybe in spurts to show variety in his attack but not consistently. It takes too much energy to do so. He'll probably do his routine of circling and then ambush with the lead right and hold and do a little work on the inside until the ref breaks the action. And just do this over again. He's not going to stand right in front of Cloud. He'll show angles and pivot away from danger.

 

True. Hopkins' offense is about 50% of what it used to be and looked very poor against Dawson, but Cloud will give him far more opportunities to connect. You're right about Hopkins not getting hit much against Dawson, but I just get a bad feeling after seeing how much he's declined over the past four or so years since around the time of the Pavlik fight.

With the nearly one year layoff since Dawson, I'm nervous that a young, aggressive, physically strong, and powerful fighter much just be too much for him to handle assuming his movement is slower now than it's ever been...and that Cloud will just use brute force and physicality to put Hopkins in very vulnerable positions on the inside and against the ropes/in corners.