Is Bernard Hopkins the greatest boxer of the last 20 years (1990-2009)?

i was thinking about pernell but another poster made that point earlier and i agree. sweet pea's true prime came about in the mid to late 80s and though he was still brilliant, doesn't take hopkins in the last 20 years. his fights from 90 on weren't at the same level as the previous decade

 

No. He deserves credit for such a long title reign and unifying the division towards the end of it but most of his middleweight title defences were against really underwhelming competition. His later career has seen him lose as many as he's won, but he does warrant credit for good wins over Tarver and Pavlik despite being 40 +.

 

Still at it I see? Everyone you like is criminally UNDERRATED, everyone you don't like is horribly OVERRATED.

 

They weren't "good wins" they were "great wins". Hopkins lost a few questionable decisions against Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe, but when he faces p4p rated opposition, he doesn't just beat them usually, he wins every round. Pavlik, Trinidad, and Tarver were all supposed to smash him to bits. In hindsight, all I keep hearing is, "Tito was a welterweight, Pavlik was a Middleweight, etc." Trinidad decimated Joppy at 160lbs, he lost to Hopkins because he wasn't as good technically. Great victories on the part of Hopkins, who isn't the best of the last 20 years, but he certainly separated himself from the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

 

No! He may (or may not) have been the greatest middleweight, but as a light-heavy, he has clearly avoided the top fighters in the division. At his age it is understandable, nevertheless, the term "greatest" does not apply .

 

Quartey at 147lbs, Vargas at 154lbs, Mayorga at 154lbs and Whitaker at 147lbs were all top 10 fighters in those weightclasses and proven.

Trinidad was proven at middle - Just. Tarver was. Pavlik and Winky clearly weren't.

As for the line about welters, I don't care. The welters historys great middleweights fought, were better and proved themselves.

 

Where would you put him on the overall list of best in the last 25 or so yrs ?

Id say he should be at LEAST top 3, possibly no1 depending on how these wins came about.

What ye think ? :think

 

Oscar: Quartey (disputed), Vargas, Mayorga, Whitaker (past prime), Sturm, Gatti, Chavez, Genaro Hernandez.

Hopkins: Trinidad (shutout), Pavlik (shutout), Tarver (past it/weight drained), Wright(past past past it specially at 175), Glen Johnson, Hoya...Robert Allen*3

Hopkins biggest win, Tito, Oscar already embarrassed at his prime weight but got robbed. Thats why I mentioned Sturm above, as we're not mentioning Tito as a win for Oscar...

 

Glad someone else noticed, cheers Popkins :good

Ps. I quite like B-Hop actually.

 

What the **** makes Pavlik a "great win"? For one, he's terribly overrated and as one dimensional as elite boxers come but the real point, is that he never proved himself above 160lbs. Fought two good fighters there and looked awful twice.

Great win? No chance.

 

your going to call the quartey fight disputed (even though it was damn close fight) and ignore the robberies to tito and mosely

 

What makes wins over Quartey and Vargas any better? Take into consideration Bernard Hopkins age, and the manner in which he won the fight and then you'll have a clear understanding.

 

I listed the fights he won. I didn't list Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe for Hopkins either, even tough a good amount of people had the fights scored for Bernard. I was being fair.

 

Age is just a number. Is it impressive considering his age? Yes, because it's unusual, but it doesn't make it any better. Hopkins just peaked late. He doesn't deserve any more props just like Benitez doesn't.

Quartey and Vargas were much better fighters at their weight. Pound for pound, they had more skills than Pavlik but they had proved their worth in the division. Pavlik fought above 160 and looked awful each time.

 

You should be banned from posting on the subject of Hopkins, because you speak the most ******ed shite about him I've ever read.