Hopkins is overrated.

wow prime 4prime JC beats hopkins i've explained this so many times before so just look through my posts it's just a styles thing. any version of jc beats B-Hops.:hi:

 

by the way hopkins is not overrated

 

Dam. I'll freely admit to being a Hopkins fan. However, I give the edge to Calzaghe going into the fight.

I'm not sure Hopkins can keep Calzaghe off him enough over the course of the fight to win. As has been shown over his reign at super-middleweight, Calzaghe can adjust during a fight to make the task in front of him easier. Changing from a cautious boxer to an aggressive bull.

Hopkins' style won't allow for him to be dominated for as long as the fight lasts IMO. To compare Lacy and Kessler to Hopkins, well thats not accurate. Lacy was percieved as a threat, but had never been tested against an elite. The same can be said about Kessler, although his skills going into the fight measured up better than Lacy's. A bit of hindsight there it must be said.

Hopkins has one significant attribute both Lacy and Kessler never had, ring generalship. He uses the ring better than anyone Calzaghe has ever fought. And lets be honest, Calzaghe's undefeated, but to say he's as comfortable with a cautious opponent as he is with an aggressive one aint correct. He looks better against come forward opponents.

Hopkins' workrate isn't the best thing going for him in this fight. But let me say this, workrate is useless if you don't make it count; landing punches. People continually come to the conclusion Calzaghe will beat Hopkins based on being busier and more explosive. Yes, he might well get the nod from one of the judges based on his workrate alone when a round is close, but it's not something to bank on.

 

Fixed.

 

I have never been more sure about the winner of a "big fight" than in Hopkins-Calzaghe. A win for Calzaghe is about as guaranteed as guaranteed gets. It's free money. A TKO is not a guarantee, but I would be surprised if Hopkins doesn't get stopped or disqualified when he's tired/desperate.

Hopkins is way, way, way more shot than people think he is. He was nearly shot back in July when he won a close decision against a past-prime, blown-up Winky. Eight months later, he will only be more past-his prime and at age 43 even the best conditioned fighters get significantly worse after every fight. And when you consider he's going into the ring with a 100% motivated/focused fighter who's coming to look impressive against him and is the best fighter by far he's faced since the early 1990's.. it's nearly impossible for him to win in any non-crazy outcome type of way (injury, dq).

 

Hopkins is not overrated.

 

Honestly...should I even waste my time with a nonsense post like this one.

Am, you know I have all the respect in the world for ya bro...but its getting painfully obvious that you truely dont believe that Joe is gonna roll over Bernard. I believe the word you used was "unnerved".

Give me a break with this garbage.

 

just say no!!!u gotta be smoking crack 1st off calzaghe doesn't hit had enough nor is he accurate enough to even hurnt bhop 2nd off b hop would never quit youd have 2 kill him damn u calzaghe dick suckers are getting outrages when ya boy gets his face dismembered we'll see what u gotta sat boy!!!!

 

I am not going to dispute that. I don't know as much as many here; I was expressing an opinion.:good

:nono This is mean and unfair to me. :bart

 

The fight ain't as clear-cut as some think. Both fighters are on the slide, that's fairly obvious. BH more so than JC.

Come fight night BH will get his tactics right, for sure, but will his tactics nullify Calzaghe's workrate...I doubt it.



To answer the title of the thread.....I ain't a fan of BH at all. I really don't like his style at all but I respect it. I don't think he's overrated. He's had a great career and has used the tools he was blessed with extremely well. Boxing is all about winning and he ain't done too badly. I don't think losing to JC will affect his status too much.

 

OK, here's my take (again):

There are too many physical attributes weighing exclusively in Calzaghe's favour at this point in time. Joe's footwork, not handspeed, will be the key to be able to dominate the fight. As Amsterdam mentioned, the in-out movements are sharp (even at 36) and on a completely different level to Jermain Taylor who proved over 24 rounds a few years ago that he was at least as good as Hopkins. Joe throws more, has aggressive intent, is smart, has a great corner, has a jab and a great chin. Now Dorfmeister mentioned previously that Joe sometimes falls in and leaves himself open for a big right hand. This is also true and Joe will have to take some of these along the way. But the power in these right hands aren't what they used to be so if I were Calzaghe, I would never sacrifice my aggression just in case I miss. And that's certainly not what JC will do given he's been prepared to take risks his whole career.

At the end of the day, it's one of those semi-boring match ups for Joe where he has previously shown a tendancy to fall asleep for a couple of rounds. Hopkins lack of power and (come forward) aggression are not boxers Calzaghe looks his best against. I disagree with the posters who say Hopkins' style is "made" for Joe. But I also disagree with Dorfmeister again who dismisses Joe's power. Calzaghe has power if he wants to use it. If Joe is in trouble, his punches have far more intent on them. He deliberately holds back on the power to save his brittle hands. I get the impression that Joe's going to be able to punch with more authority at 175, I'm quite excited about the step up for him. I wouldn't rule out a stoppage but I see a fairly slow paced 117-111 decison for JC.

 

If Hopkins Is pushed to the ropes by Joe, he might as well quit. Tis where Joe usually stops his victims due to overwhelming them.

 

The nearly-shot big names ( Tarver and Wright?) that 40 plus year old Hopkins version beat are all better fighters than Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, David Starie, Charles Brewer, Jimenez, Rick Thornberry, Evans Ashira, Jeff Lacy, Kabary Salem, Sakio Bika with whom Calzaghe went full 12 rounds. This is the better match in Calzaghe's entire professional career along with Mikkel Kessler and which happened just now... I am absolutely sure that you don't expect Calzaghe to win more than 10 rounds or by TKO in 8 cause you should be more intelligent than that... Demanding Calzaghe to win that big is just a way you found to take some pressure off and it's laughable to read that you think that everyone but you and Calzaghe fanatics are deluded... No point in hurting you with personal stuff but I already have your number around here - make people think that Calzaghe's win is guaranteed by going to the extreme, that has already been tried by others in the board.

 

I don't think there are so many attributes weighing in Calzaghe's favour. Superior mobility ( not excellent footwork like Mayweather's or Ali's) and punch output are surely two of the main factors that weight heavily in Calzaghe's favour... Amsterdam made a wise reference to the in and out movement ( jab-move back, move in and score to the body with a left, move out again), but that should not be compared with Jermain Taylor's imposing physicality cause this was the factor that levelled his fight against Bernard - Calzaghe is not nearly as strong as Taylor to drive Bernard backwards, not even with a two fisted whirlwind attack. And I still say that that competitive fight with Kessler is still a little bit below the level of the Hopkins-Taylor fights. Joe is way much smarter than Taylor but surely not smarter than Hopkins so if he's aggressive but not stronger - what can we all expect? That Calzaghe will look to be at least as good as Hopkins... I have said that Calzaghe is sometimes open to right hands but that doesn't mean he won't get his left counter first on Hops like he did consistently against Sheika. I expect Calzaghe to run risks since he did that after hurting Kessler with a body shot in the 8th - all rounds from the 9th till the 12th were give and take and Joe must be psyched up to exchange now but just like in the Kessler fight, he needs a sign to get started and that is Hops getting hurt, not Bernard laughing at him and people booing.

I don't dismiss Calzaghe's power and I agree that he's dangerous specially when hurt or cut ( agains Salem and Kessler to mention examples) and that is about his fighting heart, he comes fast forward with both hands ( lefts over the top, right hooks, short hooks and uppercuts) - Eubank's, Woodhall's, Mitchell's and Veit's anatomy should not be very different from Hopkins so he can well drop Bernard like Mercado did. But it all depends on him landing the right punches and controlling the tempo and action of the fight - same goes for Hops, if he lands well-placed shots on Cal, there's always the risk for both. I have seen and heard too much hype about this one already - so and accordingly to other overhyped fights, it's fair to expect a boring, ugly and uneventful 12 rounder with the winner taking it by no more than a 3, 4 points advantage. Gonna make my bet 115-112 or 116-112 to Calzaghe ( cause I may look to some but am not stupid) ...