17 years ago today, Bernard Hopkins had his best performance

Johnson had a padded record up until that fight and he was in for a rude awakening

 

Great performance by Hopkins, him at his finest.

I personally don't think he would have beaten Jones Jr then though, but he would have given him a very hard fight. This Hopkins would definitely beat Calzaghe though. I always find it funny when people say prime Hopkins had a poor work rate, this is prime Hopkins throwing 70 to 100 plus punches a round. Great work rate, aggression combined with great technique.

 

Great win for B-Hop!

 

Hopkins doesnt beat Joe , speed was always Hopkins cryptonite. Jones , Joe even Oscar all gave Hopkins problems.

Bombers like Trinidad and Tarver easy work.

 

Speed alone wasn't Hopkins kryptonite if it was he would have lost a bunch of other times as he was never the quickest guy and was out sped by many opponents, even Tito had faster hands than Hopkins.

Calzaghe does have speed but he had an aggressive style that left him to be countered and as shown when he fought a past prime Hopkins he couldn't out box Hopkins, his speed alone wasn't enough to out box the smarter BHop. Calzaghe was forced to swarm and try and overwhelm Hopkins superior boxing from range.

Prime Hopkins would have also been too good a boxer and forced Calzaghe to try and outwork him and as shown by the Johnson fight prime Hopkins could match Calzaghe for work rate. How does Calzaghe win against an opponent who can also throw 100 plus punches a round and outbox him from range if he tries and boxes him? Answer he doesn't.

 

I think a prime Hopkins vs Prime Calzaghe would be another cagey contest, not sure who would win. Although there actual fight was close, looking back with hindsight Joe was past his best, at a new heavier weight for the first time and really underestimated how tricky Hopkins would be. I think Joe turned up thinking it would be an easy nights work where it was the exact opposite.

 

Prime Hopkins like the one who fought Johnson was a completely different beast to the one Calzaghe fought. He was forced to be cagey and defensive due to his age. 97 Bhop takes the fight to Calzaghe in his prime and tries and beats him up.

I agree Calzaghe was a bit past his best as well then, though nowhere near as far gone as Hopkins. If Calzaghe was thinking going up a weight against a top P4P fighter who had just beaten another top P4P fighter in Wright and dominated the man who had beaten Jones Jr was going to be an easy nights work then he was a fool.

I think Calaghe thought it would be a tough fight but not as tough as it ended up being especially after he was dropped early. Kudos to Calzaghe for making the necessary adjustments to win. He realised after a few rounds he could not compete with Hopkins at range like he did with Kessler where when he was struggling switched to jabbing and moving, this time he had a different opponent that he couldn't outbox like Kessler and swarmed Hopkins to try and smother the right hand. Many have tried and pressure and overwhelm Hopkins and Calzaghe is the only one that ever had any success doing it, Calzaghe's footwork is his most under rated attribute, it's what allowed him to out box the rangier Kessler and pressure the slick Hopkins.

 

lol nonsense, a younger Calzaghe would have stopped Hopkins.

 

a younger calzaghe chose not to find out, and with good reason

 

Yes past prime Hopkins loses close decision but prime Hopkins get's stopped by an average puncher. atsch

 

No chance.

 

Great win by B-hop, But RJJ would easily beat him at that point. Joe would lose to both guys (unless you are British, then Joe beats Spinx, Tyson and Ali all by KO)

 

Prime Hopkins would definately take more chances aganst Calzaghe but then if they fought in their primes good chance Joe does not get knocked down early and spend the first few rounds confused over how to get at Hopkins. You are right Joe has good footwork which was underappreciated. He could cut the ring off yet also move off with a simple side step if he had to. If Hopkins was made the favourite in a prime fight between them that could not be argued. The fight would go the distance, that is for sure.

 

Hopkins best peformance was against Trinidad,

this was an impressive performance against Johnston but Johnston was nvr in the same league as Tito and Hopkins shut him out