What are our thoughts on this fight? I agree with the commentary team that it was close but Hopkins started pulling away and getting the timing. Brutal knockout! That uppercut froze Lipsey! What are our thoughts on this fight? I've heard this described as one of Hopkins better 160 defences. Why is that? Was Lipsey highly regarded at the time? This content is protected
He was talented but unproven if I recall correctly. There were alot of good Middleweights around in the early mid 90s. He was one of the talented crop.
It just shows what a completely different animal a young middleweight Hopkins was as opposed to the trap-setting oldster he eventually became. He was a pure hunter earlier on, and not afraid to impose himself physically.
Hopkins learned to fight southpaws by sparring hundreds of rounds with John David Jackson. He mentioned that in many interviews throughout his career.
I was ringside for that fight. Lipsey was almost knocked onto my buddy's lap. Lipsey was undefeated, and was better than some of Hopkins' other defenses. But, his undefeated record flattered him. He was from the extremely weak, Southern US circuit. Not a lot of legitimate quality wins. He was basically a USA Tuesday Night Fights level contender. Since he retired after the Hopkins bout, it is difficult to say if he was really of contender calibre.
