Please ignore or delete this thread if you find it ridiculous but I want to ask a hypothetical question that has been swimming round my mind. To my knowledge the only fighter who has clearly defeated Bernard Hopkins is the lightening quick RJJ, all those years ago. After reading a lot of comments praising BHop's dedication, toughness, mental strength and most of all his supreme technical skills, I would like to pose the question: If along with his other assets Bernard Hopkins had been blessed with the super human speed of his nemesis RJJ, could he have gone on to be one of the very top fighters of all time, or even the greatest?
Impossible to answer, really, but if we assume that Hopkins worked just as hard on the skill sets he's acquired and essentially formed the same type of habits with tremendous speed to compliment it, he would have been even better. Hopkins really is a master of versatility. I'm simply shocked that so many people view him as something other than what he is--one of the best fighters in the world today.
Interesting. I thought Hops started too late in the first fight. Aside from winning round 5, I gave Taylor the rest of the first 8 rounds. But then Hopkins completely took over during the final four. In the second fight, I thought they split the first six rounds, with Hopkins taking all but one of the final six (the 11th). Interesting to note that in both fights, rounds won by Taylor tended to be very close rounds, whereas down the stretch, Hopkins was dominating rounds. In the end, I really think he got jobbed in the rematch. Either way, at his age and with his frame, he was really having problems at 160 and probably should have jumped in class earlier, which I suspect he would have were it not for the record number of title defenses he sought.
I think it is a pretty good question but i am not sure what the answer is. Maybe having RJJ's speed would have resulted in Hopkins not train as hard as he does or learn the technical side behind the craft as he has. Personally i think because he was not gifted with the abnormal physical attributes RJJ was gifted with, it forced him to become a much better technician than RJJ. But assuming best case scenario where Hopkins would have all the ring smarts/technical prowess and abnormal speed to boot? i think he would have had a great shot at becoming top 10 atg. He is already a atg though and has a shot now to rise very high on the ladder.
Agreed. This is what I was trying to allude to in a previous post here. The problem would be, how much more could he have accomplished? Would this speed have enabled him to beat Jones? I still believe that Hopkins already has the tools required to neutralize speed, regardless. I just don't think he fully realized his craft when he fought Jones, and even there, he started figuring something out towards the end of that lackluster encounter.
I dont think you can reward RJJ in his prime of being better than hopkins b/c of their match all those years ago.....you should look at where Hopkin's career was at that time and the fighters he fought before making that leap to challenge a definite great fighter..........HE HAD NO BUSINESS BEING IN THE SAME RING AS RJJ IN THAT POINT OF HIS CAREER.....Bhop in his prime u could argue would be RJJ in his prime....and he would defintely beat him now....
Yes. Give a fighter this crafty fighter with chin and good composite punching, balance, technique blah blah blah he'd be amongst the best of all time, perhaps the best. But guess what; Give Ali Shavers power and it's him. Give Jones Jeffries chin and it's him. And so on. As it is you got pick one out of Robinson, Greb, Armstrong and Langford and live with it.
Its the same answer to the question of what if Pernell Whitaker was blessed with power??? Ya just dont know...I mean, would him having that extra thing take away from his other gifts and make him a different fighter??? Same with Hop...if ya ask me.
I'd just like to add that if I were "blessed" (for ****'s sake....) with a body like Shaq's, a shot like Bird's, feet/legs/stamina like Stockton and had Jordan's moves and mind, I would be in the NBA right now ****ing OWNING.
Hopkins can be quite fast with those single counter shots - right hand down the middle, lead left hook and counter jab on the inside - and please watch the Eastman fight or the Tarver fight closely. The whole thing about this guy is boxing I.Q. ( fast thinking) and coordination of hand and feet... He may seem slow working on the mitts with J D Jackson and moving around the ring for the press and photos, but I guess he's just re activating his processes and come fight night, he's blocking ya and countering fast on the inside, he's either manoeuvring, putting ya off-balance with jabs to the shoulders and feints or setting you up for "that shot". And you could check it out for that Washington D.C. title fight - Hopkins and Jones just circling and battling with jabs thru 2 rounds ( Jones 15 of 99, Hopkins 10 of 85), Hopkins pressin him and Jones very tentative, stealing it with potshots ( but still Hopkins responding fast - Jones throws a right over the top, Hopkins responds with a right in round 3 as an example)... At some point ( round 5), veteran Gil Clancy has to say "Hopkins very solid fundamentally, good stance. Jones very talented, quick but very unorthodox). Till the sixth round, it was all about Jones flashiness and accuracy ( Hopkins 35 of 250 attempts, Jones 60 of 239)... Of course, Hopkins tried to close him down in the end stretch and couldn't because he would move out of the way and score effectively with unexpected shots from the distance... Hopkins actually threw 76 more and landed 53 less in that fight just for that reason ( the chess match early and Jones trap devices in the second part of the fight) - Hopkins 153 of 670, Jones 206 of 594. Hopkins is just not one of the very best fighters of all time because he started very late and he always had to use his ring smarts to make up for what was not there. Bernard said that the only part of his body that may have let him down was his ***** but he didn't use it against Winky and Winky did go for that part so...
