Hopkins got worse as the Calzaghe fight went on.

For all the Calzahge haters - which ever way you cut it , Hopkins tired big time against a so called slappy bum and resorted to trying to feign fouls to buy time and get points took off Joe - hardly the actions of a fighter who is comfortably winning as he would have us believe post fight
he was.

It was only Joes workrate and athletic ability that prevented Hopkins turning the fight into an absolute stinker ( see Bhop v RJJ 2 )

 

Vargas was a huge light middle and Tito hammered him.

Alright, Joppy wasn't a great fighter..... but he was well and truly chewed up and spat out, like a 3rd rate sparring partner.

 

Just because of Hopkins age doesnt mean he wasnt prime, people age differently. Hopkins was current Ring LHW champ and P4P #3. You could argue Calzaghe wasnt prime when he beat Hopkins and Calzaghe was closer to the end of his career than Hopkins was. You could argue that Hopkins didnt either. Trinidad was prime at WW and if he was a natural MW would have done a bit more at the weight. Sure Trinidad might have KOd Joppy but there was a glove wrapping query and has everyone forgotten how many times Trinidad was put down (7 that I know of) before facing Hopkins and how lucky Trinidad looked even at WW against Oscar

 

not at 160 tho. you can't say that a fight at 154 proves that tito is prime at 160.

so? rjj beat john ruiz easiliy at heavyweight. does that mean he was prime at heavyweight? if lennox lewis had beat him in his next fight at heavyweight would lewis have beat "prime" rjj?

i ****ing hate the term "prime" but if you're gonna use it...use it ****ing right.

 

Solid post

 

I don't particularly like the word either..... some fighters achieve their best wins (or some of) when past their best - Tommy Hearns/Virgil Hill is an example, or in other sports Steffi Graf beating Hingis at the '99 French.

The problem with it is that too many people don't understand it.... according to many people Roberto Duran had several primes and several periods of being shot or past it...... when in truth it's often just runs of good and bad form.

Using Lewis as an example, he was in his prime probably in 1992/3..... but became a more rounded fighter as years progressed and performed best around the time of the Morrison fight..... but achieved yet bigger and better things in later years.

 

Vargas at 154 (not welterweight, as you said he was only prime at welterweight)

& Joppy...which was one of the best performances of his career, wasn't it?

horrible, humiliating fail you biased ******ed ****flap.

 

The fact that he was well past his prime means he was past-prime though. :nut

 

No-one is saying that though you dumb *****.

You said "Tito was prime at welterweight",

but the Vargas fight wasn't at welterweight and it was one of (if not) the best night of Trinidad's career.

Therefore, you have failed yet again on this thread. :nut

Try using your brain to think before making dumb mistakes next time!

 

A 43 year old man tired badly against a guy with a high workrate and great stamina.

Welcome to the wonderful world of....

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atsch

 

How is it that Hopkins was so past his prime? He was having his best wins when Calzaghe beat him. Hopkins beat the fighter that beat him, so how past his prime do you think he was then?

 

Odd then that Hopkins didnt get as tired in his 2 previous fights against Wright and Tarver or in his fight after against Pavlik or even against the much younger Pascal a few years later

 

well...you used it as evidence that tito was "prime" when he faced b-hop at 160, right? or why bring it up at all? is it cos you're a bit confused?

you said tito was "prime" at middleweight. which is more true?

one of, if not the best fight of b-hop's career was his dismantlintg of tarver. so you think b-hop was "prime" that night, do you?

yeah. :thumbsup

 

While fighters peak at different ages Hopkins was 43 when he lost to Calzaghe to even suggest he was near his prime is ludicrous. Hopkins decreasing workrate is a clear sign of a fighter in decline and that has been the case for several years now.

Your twisting of the context that Calzaghe retired the year he beat Hopkins and Hopkins has continued to fight somehow means that Calzaghe was almost as past his prime if not more so than Hopkins is just plain ******ed.

Yet another classless attempt to diminish Hopkins victory over Tito by questioning the validity of his opponent. Yes Trinidad has been down several times yet has only ever been stopped once by Hopkins himself. And Tito was a top 3 P4P fighter when he faced Hopkins, just like when Hopkins faced Calzaghe.

 

I will never understand how crazed Calzaghe fans themselves do not give the man himself credit the way he can set and maintain a high tempo throughout a fight. It is one of the things he does best, and it is certainly something he does much more often and much better than Wright, Tarver, Pavlik and Pascal.

atsch