Crawford beats Hopkins. Not going to go through the analysis and the rest of the nonsense that most on here who gives Crawford credit for nothing in his career, will simply just ignore. History has shown that Crawford finds a way to beat everyone. It doesn't show the same for Hopkins.......
In sorry mate, I like Crawford but you’re being disingenuous. “He got Madrimov and Porter to fight out of character”…..what does that mean?? Porter was outboxing him for chunks of the fight and most truly neutral observers (including buds corner actually) had Porter up in the fight up until the stoppage. All credit due to Bud for coming back with the stoppage though. Madrimov fought how Madrimov fights vs Bud. If anyone made Madrimov fight out of character, it was Virgil Ortiz. The Canelo win was good, I’m not knocking it but you can’t act like Canelo hasn’t looked like a diminished fighter for the last 5 or 6 fights he’s had. Buds fans have taken this win and ran with it and now we’ve got people saying he’d beat Prime Floyd, Hopkins, GGG…you name it. I can’t stand Floyd or Hopkins but both of them are a level above Crawford and I find it amazing how quickly boxing fans forget how great those guys were. They really paid their dues as fighters and their skills were proven against a far higher calibre of fighters than crawfords have been.
Hopkins would be too much at 168. If Crawford could fight him at 158 like Delahoya did, then I could favor Bud. (Hopkins actually weighed in at 156 for that one)
One of the greatest middleweights of all time, who went on to unify at 175 in his 40s, but Crawford beats him? The recency bias is almost palpable. Hopkins beats him in a stinker of a fight, a total 12-round snoozefest, 116-112.
Crawford has had one fight above 154, against a stylistically favourable diminished opponent who had also come up many weight divisions and was his size “I was stronger, I punched harder and that was just it,” Crawford said. “A lot of people put too much into me moving up in weight and things like that. But like I told y’all once before, Canelo is not a big guy [5-foot-7½]. He’s a smaller guy fighting in a big weight class. Me and him is practically almost the same height. I’m a little taller [5-8]. My arms [are] longer. “He got a little wider frame, but he’s a little shorter. But all in all, we’re around the same size. So, by y’all saying, ‘Oh, Canelo’s this massive size,' it was disrespect. Then, when y’all seen me weigh in, then y’all say, ‘Oh, well, they about the same.' It’s not a big difference.” In order to pick him to beat MW and SMW greats and top fighters from previous eras at those weights I think we really would need to see more of him at those weights (or at that weight for 160) vs other styles which aren't so stylistically favourable for him against opponents who are not diminished versions of themselves on four year KO droughts. Clenelo is much more accomplished than Benavidez but Crawford would not have moved up to 168 to face him had he held the belts instead of Clenelo Clenelo is way more accomplished than Iglesias but Iglesias is way more dangerous than Clenelo 168 and 160 are graveyard divisions but even if Crawford does decide to continue with his career he's going to pick and chose his opponents very wisely in these divisions and I think that would've still been the case had he moved up when he was younger or much younger.
Winky Wright managed to make it competitive against Hopkins. I can see a scenario where Crawford makes it close or comes close to victory. Hopkins would be the favorite though.
Stop it. He got Madrimov and Porter to fight out of character...... That means exactly what it says. "Out of character"....which means they carried themselves in the ring different than their norm. If you aren't able to see that, then you have never seen either of them compete before they fought Crawford, you don't know what is going on in the ring beyond them punching each other, or you are willfully being ignorant just to debate. Especially with the fact that Porter is on record repeatedly saying that what he is normally able to do vs his opponents, he couldn't do with Crawford. He did a detailed breakdown after the Crawford/Spence fight comparing his fight vs both of those opponents. Porter is a pressure fighter. His strongest skill is the value and conditioning he brings to his attacks. In the fight vs Crawford, he came out within the first 2 seconds and swung for the fences with a lunging overhand that Crawford slipped easily. By the end of the first round, We saw Porter trying to measure distance as if he is a boxer/puncher. Porter vs Thurman/Garcia/Spence/Ugas.....just 8 rounds total did Porter throw less than 40 punches in a single round. Looking at his fight vs Crawford....in 10 rounds, only one round (6) did he throw more than 40 punches. Porter tried his damnedest to turn the fight into a brawl similar to Hagler vs Hearns, thus he came out with the WAR on his trunks. Porter was never in control even with his aggression. Madrimov prior to Crawford had a punch that he leaned on heavily to catch his opponents off guard. Its a lunging hook. His athleticism makes it a quick attack. Another thing that people didn't point out about Madrimov.....HE'S A SWITCH HITTER. He fights from both stances. He did it often vs Soro and Rojas.... Then you look at his fight vs Crawford....He stays orthodox and he never throws that lunging hook that he's caught the rest of his opponents with. Hell vs Crawford he never attempts to throw combinations until the 7th round. Y'all give him ultimate praise for flinching and acting like he's going to throw a punch.... You know, feints.... Once Crawford saw that he was staying cautious he came down hill with his attacks and as always, Crawford does leave himself open when he's coming downhill. Gamboa & Kavaliauskas both caught him while doing so. Madrimov was able to land the right hand often, later in the fight but when he tried to capitalize on it, Crawford gave him combinations that straighten him up putting him in danger of going down a couple times. If you can't see the difference in his activity in these 2 brief highlights, then we seriously can't hold this conversation. Israil Madrimov (9-0) Highlights & Knockouts vs FOUR DIVISION CHAMP | Riyadh Season Card: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov Fight Highlights - YouTube No where did you see me suggest that Canelo was in prime form and/or hadn't looked to take a step back in his previous performances. But I will point out that he isn't some push over that is an easy win for ANYBODY in the division. He held all the world titles at 168....Trying to discredit Crawford today after hearing so many quote cliches like "there are divisions for a reason"..... or people simply saying he had "zero chance at dealing with Canelo's power"... for months leading up to the fight. It's like y'all try so hard to be right about Crawford by having excuses in place in case he proves you wrong on a prediction. So many said that Crawford was getting older, his power isn't carrying up to 154 let alone 168. He's never been hit by someone as big and strong as Canelo, only for Canelo to be backed up often from Crawford's attacks. Now, "Canelo looked diminished his last 5 or 6 fights"..... I can't take these conversation serious anymore. Before the Canelo fight, I argued that Crawford would be able to compete with the great and respected names of the sport. I pointed to his IQ, his quickness, his power, his drive, his conditioning, etc..... The argument is he never fought a "Hagler or a Duran, etc...." Well, guess what, he fought the best in his 5 divisions, which is what he is supposed to do. And he's become a 4x Lineal champion regardless of the ignorance that he's fought nobody. Y'all wanted him to fight a name....well, after beating Spence and the excuses that came after that, he set his sights on jumping up to fight the FACE OF BOXING....the undisputed champ from 3 DIVISIONS UP. Madrimov was a pit stop.... And look at what has come from that. Regardless of the fact that he accomplished something so great, there's still people who refuse to respect his name in the same manner as the greats before him. Floyd fought AN ABUNDANCE of world champions who were far from their prime. His best 4 names in my opinion were Oscar, Manny, Sugar Shane, and Canelo......which of those individuals were at their peak physically when they fought Floyd...... On to this thread........Hopkins is easily one of my top 5/10 favorite fighters all time. But someone arguing to me that Hopkins prime is too much for Crawford at his prime just sounds like they just don't like Crawford.... because Hopkins was far from flawless and Crawford is elite at capitalizing on mistakes from his opponents. So, yes, I believe Crawford beats Hopkins....but Hopkins could also come out on top in that match up as well. There is no right or wrong answer with me.....but some fans strongly believe their opinions are facts..... That's hilarious.
No its not. Hopkins stops Crawford. Ppl. forget that B-Hop was baaad, a full 12 round somewhat dirty always in your face fighter who absolutely dismantled otherwise excellent fighters. While Crawford has a dog in him too, Hopkins is legit 2 divisions larger, has a superb chin, impeccable timing, superb stamina, underrated power and exceptional ring smarts. All around bad fight for Bud. He'd get Oscar'd.