I'm so sick of Hopkins. He is an egomaniac who will not go away. The guy keeps fighting because he has a built in excuse for losing and quite frankly got more positive press from losing to Kovalev than all his recent wins combined. GGG would provide that emphatic stoppage loss that Hopkins and his fans somehow find him immune.
I think there is a good chance Hopkins would school him. GGG'S defense and stamina is not great. He does not have Kovalev/Hopkins level ring IQ. The only thing that loses the fight for Hopkins is his continuing aging.
i'm actually with you on this. i think bhop has more of a chance than most ggg lovers are willing to admit. with that said, i think ggg wins.
froch was more likely to fight degale because that is more british money than he would have ever gotten fighting golovkin. I'm not gonna blame carl for that one and i'm not gonna get on gennady. same with canelo cotto. that is the money fight. it should happen. golovkin should wait. that leaves bernard. he wants a big fight. who else has he got? In an odd way hopkins and golovkin are sellable partners to each other at this point. there could be a storyline here as well. the only thing is, lets say ggg beats hopkins....lemuix may be less interesting. also should lemuiex get first shot before ggg goes bigger? at the end of the day, ggg is desparate for a fight. with nothing on the horizon, he's gotta grab whatever is presented.
certainly for the first half of the fight, but it will be a game of two halves since old Hopkins cant last 12 rounds high pace.
It's been thatsay for a long time now. You win and you beat up an old man you should be winning against. You lose and you lost to that old man.
Hopkins can't handle physical fighters. We saw it against Jones who was just too fast, stamina too good. Hopkins as great as he is prefers to fighter other technicians.
GGGs stamina and ring IQ are far higher than Kovalevs. Hopkins aging is offset by his Non Disclosure Agreements which are signed by every fighter he's fought since Oscar Dela Hoya. Each opponent lets him have his TRT b/c he's not a puncher anyway, so they figure their natural power is more than his because theyre younger, stronger, and faster. Hopkins wins because he's tricky, in great shape, and has fought every style their is in boxing a few times over. There's not much a fighter can do that BHop hasnt seen. It would take someone like prime Manny Pacqioua to show him something he hasnt seen. If GGG goes forward with this fight....and I don't doubt BHop wouldnt take it, he'll have to pressure BHop downstairs and keep the fight inside at all times or he'll be eating counter R hands and getting his head snapped back then his body wrapped and his arms ensnared. This is actually a good fight for GGG but like most say, BHop has the built in excuse. Which nobody seems to hold against Kovalev. BHops TRT means his levels are higher now than they were when he was 30. Not saying he's some roided beast, b/c he's obviously not so high as to be stopping guys like Murat and Dawson. But high enough that his strength is just enough to keep people like Shumenov on the back foot when countered. Hopefully if GGG takes this fight, he'll not bulk up for it like Drunk @SS KP did. He should just come in at a natural 167-168 lbs. And not tip the fightnight scales higher than 172-175. It'd be a good stay busy fight for GGG. Decent enough on Kovalevs resume, so it'd be decent enough on GGGs as well. Maybe Ward will grow a set and be BHops last fight. Of course, the 52 y/o Hopkins will get his final win vs Ward.
Pavlik was a much larger and far less agile fighter than GGG. Also, the guys Pavlik was beating at MW were less than great. His only solid wins were against Taylor who has proven to be chinny against even mediocre punchers. Hell, Jesse Nicklow almost took Taylor out. While I liked Pavlik as a fan b/c he's working class, and dug deep and made good fights, he's was more of a MW Gatti than a MW Mathysee. And as Ive previously said.....the NDAs on on file. BHops testosterone levels are higher now than they were in the 90s. His opponents accept it b/c he pays pretty well. And win or lose, it's a good experience for an elite level fighter. Good, that is, if your'e not drinking whiskey the night of the weigh in.atschatschatsch