Hopkins : Prime or Shot?

Of course he's not prime, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do some things better/more intelligently now than he did when he was prime; it doesn't mean he's not still very effective either. A great, intelligent fighter who is as diligent and disciplined as Hopkins is like a good wine; it gets better as it matures, even if it's not as fruity; it doesn't go sour without maturing.

 

7

 

True Hopkins had more power in the late nineties early 00's.If winning 11 out of 12 rounds against Kelly Pavlik is a well past his prime Hopkins I guess he would ud Sugar Ray Robinson in his prime.

 

I think when Hopkins fights a lesser threat or a boring fight, he fights on that level, when he is in there with a man who can take him out with a single shot, he elevates his game to a 10.

It seems in my eyes that Hopkins needs to be posed with a threat a legit threat to look fabulous

 

I say like a 5. Definetely not as athletic as he used to be. His legs are almost gone & stamina isn't anything what it used to be.

 

6 or 7 from me, but i voted 6. He was never as shot as people were saying (to try to discredit a JC win) pre-Calzaghe.

 

He has clearly declined since his prime but he is nowhere near being shot. A shot fighter is a boxer who no longer has the reflexes, co-ordination and often desire to compete on any significant level.

As we age we lose fast twitch muscle fibres which will effect are anaerobic threshold so while Hopkins aerobically is still close to his prime and can still move for well for 12 rounds he struggles to mantain a high workrate for the same 12 round period.

Hopkins reflexes still seem excellent and have only been dulled slightly by age. I would say that moving up in weight has helped Hopkins a lot to maintain a lot of what he had. If he had stayed at middleweight he would have declined much faster.

Hopkins has faded but has shown no signs of being shot. He is able to do much of what he did during his prime but is just unable to maintain the same level of anaerobic intensity due to his age. I'd say he is a 6 at the moment.

 

When he fought Joe Calzaghe he was shot but then bounced back to prime for Pavlik.

 

silly thread. he oviously isn't prime cuz he's 43, and he obviously isn't shot either (Pavlik whooping). 6 or 7 I guess..

 

5 or 6 for me, he can't throw alot of punches without getting tired but he still got skills to compete with top level fighters.

 

Hopkins' prime is something so much different from this present moment but that also doesn't mean that he's shot - there is no just black and white but different shades of grey on this one... I personally think that Hopkins was physically and technically at his best all the way since that USBA MW Title shot ( after the RJJ loss) and the two matches with Mercado all the way to the MW unification series with Holmes and Tito - the guy was very aggressive and tough, always fundamentally sound and tricky/effective. He has been losing it physically ever since but his superb, unique shape and mental strength has made it through for him against the best... I just say that Hopkins is too dependant on strategical wisdom and little technical subtleties these days that it is quite easy to imagine him losing against the best LHWTs or else, people would not simply write him off against so many guys lately. I suppose it's age but still he's very hard to beat with that experienced defense and counter-shooting of his, he must be somewhere north of that half-distance between being shot and prime- consider that that is better than most guy's primes.

 

Hopkin's win over Pavlik is great, but Pavlik was a good choice for Hopkins. Had he fought another Calzaghe or Taylor type, it would have been tougher for him. Hopkins is great, and one of my favorite fighters, but I think he pretty much picks any powerpuncher apart, whereas a slick mover or a busy boxer gives him much more trouble.
All this points to the fact that he is past his prime, but can still do many things well. A prime Hopkins would have beaten Calzaghe, I believe. The Hopkins v Taylor fights... that is a tough call, but I think Taylor's style was tough for Hopkins, so I would say those fights stay close no matter where Hopkins is.

 

I give him 6. Even with that he's still quite good.

 

hopkins should be shot!

 

I give him a 7.

He is a freak of nature to be in the shape he is in at 43. I don't like the guy much but he deserves massive respect for what he's achieved and how he has looked after his body.

The Pavlik fight especially proved for certain that he is still more than capable of fighting at the top level.