175 is Saad's territory. Bernard was older and whilst still savy and tough he fought only in spurts at 175. Saad's long constant jab and right hand will make Bernard very cautious. Bernard will try to box and move, he cant stay in front of Saad too long. Saad fought all styles and he did very well against a smooth operator like John Conteh. At 175 Hopkins doesn't have those types of legs nor the movement of Conteh who exerted a lot of energy, he's sound defensively and that chin, no one stops Bhop early. To be fair, at 175 Bhop clinched so much, he really took liberal advantage of the rules and could have be penalised many times. Bhops victories over Pascal were great from an achievement perspective but in this matchup Saad had constant pressure unlike Pascal who relies on 2-3 wild flurries a round to do damage. Saad UD, he loses early rounds but on his strength and pressure he pulls away. Probably an ugly fight, with Saad pressuring but not really landing clean but is in control.
Saad by clear decision, or possibly late stoppage. Saad won't fall for any of Bernard's bull****. And, he will hurt Bernard a lot more than Chad Dawson did.
Hopkins will win some rounds and have some cute moments, but a prime Saad was anything but cute, and I can't see Hopkins hurting Matthew . Bernard would have a difficult time surviving to hear the judges give Saad a UD.
Remember Matthew Saad Muhammad took some heavy artillery from Marvin Johnson to win the title, meaning that was a very big obstacle to overcome. Bernard Hopkins is a very quick, well schooled fighter. I see an early lead by Hopkins, good counterpunching, but as we all know in Saad's past he withstood adversity. Way different fight from the Johnson affair. Saad's aggressiveness and perseverance spells victory for him, Saad wears down Bernard to cause a stoppage in round 12 of a very interesting bout.
You mean the same Bernard Hopkins who made a career out of one on one combat at the highest level? I get you’re doing the Morlocks crap but that was pretty weak.
