Bernard Hopkins vs. Antonio Tarver II

It may sound like I'm picking Tarver here; I'm not. I simply don't think it would be a mismatch at this stage and it seems like some devil's advocacy is needed here with many pegging it as one.

 

Well let me ask you this: would current Tarver do the same, worse, or better against Cloud?

 

You picked Hopkins by stoppage, I see. :think

You've got a bit more explaining to do. :yep

Both of them have iron chins, and neither is going to be opening up on the other with some madcap extended flurry on the ropes to force a TKO or anything. Are you predicting a cut? :blood

 

Yeah, yeah, styles make 'em - I know. Point being, there are only so many quality light heavies out there nowadays.

Hopkins and Tarver have both missed the boat on ever getting the better of Dawson. Neither is ever getting a third chance, nor would it do them much good.

So that leaves h2h comparison against the rest of the division. It ceases to be mere ineffectual ABC logic when you apply it to multiple subjects in place of "C".

If we are to presume Tarver would handle Cloud, Pascal, Cleverly, etc with as much or more ease than Hopkins, then going back to my original conclusion (which you put in bold and quoted to refute, while completely declining to address the entirety of the observations leading up to that conclusion...which is why you got a overly reductive and simplistic reply yourself :tong) we can't really say that current Tarver isn't at least equal with current Hopkins overall after plotting out their respective peaks & valleys. :good

 

This would be funny and/or sad to watch, depending on where your sympathies lie.

Hopkins would clown Toney, badly. He would basically stand in the pocket and go full-on James Toney against him with sinuous movements and stinging him with annoying little nettle counters, essentially ripping off his own arm only to bludgeon him to death with it.


Toney has such a massive synaptic disconnect these days; it takes a full ten seconds for a message from his brain to reach any other part of his generous anatomy. In the form he showed against Greer, Reed, Lebedev, or Gunn he would be completely shellacked by Hopkins, who is miles ahead of all four white boys in quickness, smarts, and skill. That is if he could even muster said form - he is probably incapable of doing less than quite a bit worse, given that each of those performances out-stunk the last.

 

I certainly hope we can agree that Antonio is a) more deserving and b) more credible a future opponent for Bernard than James...