This statement right here exemplifies your complete ignorance in regards to B-Hop. People really need to stop posting about fighters of which they have no knowledge.
Are you insinuating Hop beats Hagler prime for prime?...Also you know Tito was not at his absolute prime in 2001 right?
Neither was B-Hop. Prime for prime, I think B-Hop could beat Hagler. Clearly I'm biased towards B-Hop, but B-Hop does pretty well against leftys, and he's big enough to be able to handle Hagler's preassure.
Hopkins may not be of the same caliber as SRR, but I don't see why he isn't at the same level as Hagler. Both had two defining wins over two smaller guys, but you have to add in Hopkins' 21 consecutive title defences (and there were some good fighters in there) and that, bar the Jones fight, he has never been outclassed in the ring. I think Hopkins beats Hagler H2H too... too crafty, the matador to Hagler's bull.
I'll assume you agree with boring and dirty. I can maybe go a step further and say Bhop was good. He is similar to joe in many respects however i agree with you on Joe beating him. However they should've fought before both went grey. I'm not however going to try and understand your polluted logic on Bhop beating Pavlik. That's absolutely absurd. Pavlik is the greatest force in the middleweight division since Ray Robinson. If recent history hasnt helped us realize this than perhaps future outings will. People also fail to realize that Bhop is a businessman that happens to box. Kelly Pavlik is a fighter that happens to box. For all of Bhop's fans this transformation took place after being beaten by Taylor for the second time. Fighting a downtrodden Tarver is not a big accomplishment. Tarver is another "good" fighter who could'nt have had a luckier punch on Roy. I'm not a big Roy fan or anything however the results speak for themselves.
This is really sad... Echols: Average b- boxer Jones: True elite, but Hopkins lost clearly. Tarver: B- at that point, but credits for B-hop for going up in weight. Hoya: Smaller guy. Trinidad: Ditto. Joppy: Totally shot Winky: Very much smaller. Johnson: Okay roadwarrior... So actually only the Hoya and Tito fights looks decent, but being the bigger guy paints a distorted picture, despite the fact that they were elites, though none prime, but thats the same with Hopkins.
I disagree with the perception that Jones "owned" Hopkins...rewatch the fight, it's more competetive than many make it out to be. It wasn't a razor-thin decision, but many here on ESB parade around like it was an RJJ blowout. The fight was 116-112 on all cards, 8-4, a two-round swing...and every round of the fight was competitive. It wasn't Wright-Trinidad.
The same could be said about Hagler that he did not beat a truely great Middleweight, especially in their prime, but Marvin did what he had to do, clear out the division, establish himself as the man, and welcome all challengers. You can't trash a fighter for beating and ATG moving up in weight when he has already beaten everyone in his own division.
Echols - Sure he was a B fighter, but he was a very heavy hitter and seen throughout his career as dangerous fighter. Most ATG fighters have guys like Echols on their ledger. No one has ONLY EVER fought other ATG's. Hoya and Trinidad wer smaller, but it's not like they were just average smaller guys. They weren't mere contenders, they were the top guys in a weight class just below Hopkins, and seen as some of the best in boxing. Joppy was not totally shot before fighting Hops. He had just beaten Howard Eastman, who many had seen as the second best MW after Hopkins. Totally shot fighters don't do that. Winky was smaller, but it's not like Hopkins had been a Lt.HW for a long time. Like, Tito and Hoya, WInky's past accomplishments and ability seperate him some being just a 'small fighter'. Hopkins didn't just beat Glenn Johnson, he beat him badley. Every single great fighter has beaten B fighters, C fighters, guys moving up in weight and so forth. It's how accomplished those fighters were before or after that seperate an average resunme from a very good one.
Tito and De la hoya were far from over the hill when Hopkins stopped both of them, they were both in the prime of their careers':deal how is Hopkins boring:nono his last fight with Wright was far from boring:huh you are out of touch with reality:desk
He named him as an elite. True, but I rate it on par with Taylor fighting Spinks, which is not as highly as it would have been in their prefered weight class. Being bigger than them meant the world, since it negated their assets pretty much. Furthermore, Oscar had won a gift decision vs Sturm only 3 months priorly. Not really the best conditions for a fighter. I will grant the Tito fight was a good win nonetheless. Fair enough. However, over a year had expired since the Eastman win, and thats a long time for an elderly man, such as Joppy. Afterwards he was totally outboxed by Taylor - not signs of an elite. Wright wasnt even at his best at 160, much less at 175. I did rate that as a okay win, however, Johnson had only fought tomato cans, and wasn't really ready for such a fight. I am not disputing that. My argument was raised due to the fact, that he claimed they were all elites.
116-112, 117-111, 117-111. I don't need to rewatch a damn thing. All three judges agree with me. Did he have him laid out on the canvas crying and pounding the ground? No, but he controlled that fight down the stretch and won a clear cut decison.