was hopkins closer to his prime then calzaghe in their fight? i think so...

if you start a poll and asked esb who won the exchange, i gurantee you JC will lead on the notion that

JC was initiating action
JC was the agressor
Hopkins only threw 2 punches compared to JC's 7
and that the one punch that landed didnt hurt JC it constitutes just as much effectivness as the air JC hit

 

Yes, Hopkins was 100% prime for this. Calzaghe was absolutely shot to ****. He also beat a 100% prime Roy Jones.

 

Yes Calzaghe was not prime I thought he showed signes of decline as far back as the second fight against Mario Veit, though he did look prime against Lacy, which I regarded as his best performance.

His hands also caused him to alter his style slightly and use his workrate more but if anything is alteration in style would have been more of a benefit against the older slicker Hopkins. Had Calzaghe been less of a swarmer and looked for bigger shots he would have found it even harder to hit BHop. Mayweather has busted hands but nobody suggests he is any less effective.

But to suggest Hopkins was closer to his prime is ignorant to an extreme. The man was in his early forties for **** sake. atsch No matter how skilled you are it cannot make up for the gifts of youth, such as speed and stamina when you reach this kind of age. Was Foreman at 45 better than the one that KO'ed Frazier because he was better defensively?

He never struggles against Allen. The first fight ended when Mills lane pushed him down on the break and twisted Hopkins ankle, the rematch was very one sided. Against Echols he fought a brawler at his own game and still won. You can pick on any fight to discredit a fighter or try to back up an opinion but you cannot ignore the fact that it's plain to see Hopkins is showing the signs of age.

 

dont be silly johnson beat a 100% jones. roy was slapped senseless by a 75% calzaghe. that gif is about as original roys rapping.

 

I Have followed calzaghe his whole career. I would say Hopkins was at 80 percent of his best. But what people do not realise is the same is for sure with Calzaghe

Joe was the slowest I have ever seen him against Hopkins and Jones, his power was finished due to his hand injuries. His body and Foot movement were terrible compared to his prime

 

Against Mercado he was still to peak and he also took the fight at 2 weeks notice and it was at high altitude and even then he did well enough fighting in another fighters back yard to earn enough to force a rematch. Would Calzaghe ever had the nerve to take a fight under such circumstance? Had the Hopkins that fought Calzaghe taken a fight on 2 weeks notice and had not had time to adapt to the altitiude I think he would have not even gotten a draw, he would have lost. Having poor stamina at sea level is one thing at high altitude it's almost a guaranteed loss.

Hopkins definately peaked later than most fighters and when old age began to take away certain attributes he was smart enough to adapt and maybe even got better at first.

Hopkins definately wasn't anywhere near his peak when he fought Calzaghe and while he did well to beat Tarver and Wright he did so despite his old age. I think the last time he looked good and in his prime was probabaly against Joppy.

 

You think very, very wrong.

Hopkins's peak performance was 2001. Calzaghe's was 2006.

Add to that Hopkins was much older, and you can see how horribly wrong you are.

 

Hopkin's stamina is simply not what it used to be and neither is his power.

 

Hopkins dominated Holmes, winning nearly every round. He didn't "struggle" with him at all.

 

It's definetly you. Hopkins was obviously past prime when he started losing fights to lesser fighters like Taylor and Calzaghe - who were still fresh enough just to outwork him.

B-Hops prime was clearly around the time he beat Tito and became undisputed.

Calzaghe's prime was Lacy/Kessler. They are certainly his best performances. Unless you think going 12 rounds with Rick Thornberry counts as part of Calzaghe's "prime".

So 2001 for B-Hops prime. And 2007ish time for Calzaghe's.

 

No because Hopkins got robbed against Mercado

 

Good post. I would go as far as to say Hopkins of 2008 was a smarter, craftier fighter than the younger version, but at 43 years old he was no where near his fighting prime.

 

Thank you for giving me an excuse to compulsively post this again.

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all am reading is a load of bull**** excuses! neither fighter was the fighter they were at 30 but what they lost in certain areas they gained in others! both matured well and both were still elite fighters. move on u troglodites.