15 rounds: would Hopkins still have been able to do what he did late in his career?

It would certainly be much harder, i'd love it to be fifteen rounds today, but i don't think Hopkins would have had much more of a problem with Tarver or Pavlik, he was schooling them with ease.

 

Depends who he was fighting and the fact that you can't just add another three rounds onto fights where the participants planned and trained for 12.

If you do that way of looking at it i expect Hopkins would retire on his stool against Calzaghe, or maybe foul out..he would certainly lose oen way or another.Nothing much else would change.

Styles and inherent quality of opposition would be more of a factor than 12 or 15 rounds.

 

Only with Calzaghe, I'd bet. Neither Tarver nor Pavlik nor Jones were in too fine a fettle themselves during those fights. The tide never would've turned in even 15, imo.

 

he wouldn't have lost to Taylor. Hell he probably would've knocked him out the first time.

Calzaghe would be the same result.

So would Tarver and Pavlik.

 

Unless there's a psychological difference between going 12 and 15 rounds, I don't see a big difference.

 

As others have mentioned, it depends whom he fights. He's a relaxed but old fighter, who was savvy enough to realize he had to conserve energy and dictate a slower tempo if he was to be successful. If his oppoent plays along, it means a few more wide wins or stoppages for him. Against a fighter who presses him and makes im work for three minutes a round......not a good thing.