he is a very proud man. I think you have to understand the history of Hopkins to appreciate his sourness. The guys has dedicated his whole life, not 8 week training camps....HIS WHOLE life every day to preperation and dedication to the sport. He is too proud and too obsessed with his place in history. He fought the best fighters, it is easy to say TITO was a welter, he dominated Jr Middle, he dominated middleweight Joppy, Cherifi was P4P no:2 at the time and expected to beat B-Hop. The guy paid his dues and waited till late to get recognition. He didnt have a F.Warren etc to manage his career. He was so upset to lose to a guy that is exactly the opposite of himself from a managerial sense ( a well managed but excellent fighter). Bhop had it hard through his 20+ defences, Calzaghe had a few legit defences. It was supposed to be his final moment before he rides of into the sunset, he was upset that the judges were not going to do him a favour. They did it to him twice vs Taylor also. Has He ever had a favour? I had Joe winning by one rnd. But I do feel for B-Hop. I think he must be regretting not fighting JOE 6 years earlier. I think we all know who would have won. I will remember B-Hop for what he was in his prime, an true predator of the ring. He re invented himself in his later part of his career to an outstanding counterpuncher. Its a tribute to his adaptability as a fighter he was able to do this. It is also a credit to him that he took an excellent younger champion to a disputed victory at 43. I can forgive him for his dirty tactics at the end, hes 43 for God sake he going to look for some sort of advantage. Bernard was a true student of the game a guy who genuinely loved boxing, can you blame him it turned his lide around, he found it hard to accept a well managed fighter to come around at the end of his career and take all the plaudits that he felt he was due. A Brit here, and I can see past the narrow mindedness of some of our countrymen. You were an exceptional fighter, that will be missed.
I absolutley agree. I had Joe winning, but Bernards skills impressed me far more. What other 43 year old could take a Top 5 pound for pound fighter to the brink of defeat and at times make him look silly. I am not a fan of Hopkins persona outside of the ring, but inside it he is and was a hell of a fighter. The Hopkins that fought Trinidad would have whooped Calzaghe bad.
Neither man's style is my favorite, but at least Bernard puts some pop into his punches when he decides to actually throw some. I HATE Calzaghe's disgusting slappy, wild mule style. :tired However, it was clear Joe thoroughly outworked him, and Bernard should have admitted his defeat. But yes, it's apparent Bernard is quite stubborn and arrogant.
i am a calzaghe fan and he made calzaghe look bad on many a occasion in that fight. but i think the result is the right one
I feel bad for him too. It was a traumatic night for him, being taken back to prison and all in the 10th.
Bernard is a legend, but to say that his 20 defenses were so much harder than Joe's is kind of ridiculous. Hops- Trinidad, DLH, Johnson, Holmes. Calz- Eubank, Kessler, Lacy, Reid. Each has 4 big wins in their reigns at their original weights. Hops had the bigger names, Calz had fighters who were naturals for the weight class, they even out IMO. What sets Hops apart are his last two victories which were extremely impressive, all things considered (age, going up two weight classes, and a high level of opposition).
Why do you feel the need to remind everyone your a Brit? Hopkins has earned his plaudits. It dosen't give him the right to be a bad sportsman.
I respect BHOP for his genius but I want entertainment and throwing a couple of punches each round and then headbutting followed by holding just aint gangster! JC came to fight and wanted to trade. BHOP came to fake low blows because he was tired from JC workrate.
exactly. No class whatsoever shown after the fight by Hopkins. Not that Im surprised, but he couldnt give Joe even a tiny bit of credit. No reason to feel for him at all, hes had a great career, and made a ton of cash. Just because he lost to a better fighter is not any reason to feel bad for the guy.
This "He's a 43 year old fighter" excuse is getting old. He took the fight against a guy who is somewhat past his prime @ 36, not some 28-30 year old guy in his absolute peak. In prior fights Hopkins was the one who was always stronger @ the end, remember Taylor? Give Calzaghe credit for imposiing his will on Hopkins and wearing him down to the point of pulling out dubious survival tactics. The, "Hopkins should have thrown more punches" excuse is getting old too. Had he thrown more, chances are Calzaghe would have had an answer for that, and if he couldn't KO Calzaghe early, he would have likely been beaten from stoppage by accumulation ad fatigue. Hopkins fought great on Sat. and he was/is a great champion. He just got beat by a guy who was better.. If you think Hopkins won the fight, I've got no problems with that. But don't make up excuses for him if you thought he lost.
He's had a great career, I had him winning against Calzaghe but even a good performance against him showed how great Hopkins is.
