We know he is at 160lbs and also overall (adding up his resume at 160lbs and 175lbs). But specifically at 175lbs, is he an ATG?
Nope. Didn't do enough. Nor do i rank him particularly high on 175 in a strictly head to head sense. Nope. A win over Tarver is excellent but not in my top 20 at 175.
No. He lost to Calzaghe, Kovalev & Dawson & was dropped by Pascal twice in a draw.. yes he was doing it at an advanced age and some of the outcomes were contentious but he didn't do enough to be a great at the weight.. An all-time great fighter in general just not at light heavyweight. Good win over Tarver though.. Cloud was decent but nothing special & Wright wasn't a LHW.
Well the fight stunk to high heaven and they pretty much neutralized each other's best assets in a way .. bringing out the worst in both of them.. but I do think Hopkins couldn't deal with the physicality and work rate of Joe so had to resort to stalling the fight.. even though it was one of Joe's worst performances I still think he did enough. He was pretty much done with boxing by then though.. the Hopkins and Jones fights were nothing but cash out fights. I'd have like to have seen Joe fight Hopkins at 168 in his prime because I've always maintained he would have beaten him then too.
It at least answered a fantasy fan question similar to Holmes vs Holyfield we just say “Look at what Larry did as an old man!” Etc.
Lost to Calzaghe.Got dominated by Dawson and Kovalev.Went life and death with Pascal.No Hopkins definitely was not a great light heavweight
His accomplishments there are good and he did after all become the oldest man to a win a championship while being at that weight. But no. Not enough depth to be an ATG light heavy.
