Bernard Hopkins tribute thread

Nearly beat Calzaghe lol . Big Fella Calzaghe fought Hopkins where and when Hopkins commanded , ie infront of American Judges , American ref and in America , if there was any way possible the judges could have given it to Hopkins then they would have , besides a 36 year old version of Calzaghe was / is nowhere near the version he was @ 28 years old , Joe could pop along back in the day and Hopkins was a Middle weight , There is a reason Bernard Hopkins shot through from middle to L/Heavy without picking up titles @ S/middle and the reason is Joe Calzaghe .

 

I agree with you kegsy. It's good to see Billy having a go. At least he is willing to back up what he says. I hope for his sake, he puts in a great performance, win or lose, I admire the bloke for having the conviction to take up the offer of this fight rather than just talk himself up ala many other boxers. Here's hoping for another title to come Australia's way. Good luck to ya Billy Dib!

 

Is there a rule that a fighter has to stay in a shitty division and defend a trinket? Why didn't Joe call out and try and get fights with the elite guys who were half a stone north or south of his division. Your right, Joe f#cked around Glen Johnson on several occasions. Until Joe stepped up in 2006, he was living off Sven Ottke's leftovers.
Don't get me wrong, I think Calzaghe has been a top class fighter over the years but his resume, for someone of his talents, is poor. You are obviously a big Joe Calzaghe fan. Surely you are not pleased in any way over his "superfight" with Roy Jones.

 

How many points did you have him winning by. I had Calzaghe by 2 rounds close fight. You are looking at Calzaghe through rose coloured glasses. Do you remember the Read fight? In his prime my arse he was around 28 when that fight happened.

Why did Joe not fight Ottke ? Didnt want to go to Germany even though Ottke had the legitimate title, Instead Joe defended his WBO bull**** against guys like Pudwill etc.
Joe wasted his best years and is only now really pushing for an American name as he knows that there all washed up.

If Calzaghe wanted to prove himself he would be fight Pavlik not RJJ.

 

There is no rule either that says you have to bounce around weights to prove you are a decent fighter , Calzaghe Unified the S/Middleweight championship of the world and should have retired straight after kessler . obviously im not happy Calzaghe is fighting Roy Jones Junior but if its a prelude to a showdown with Pavlik ( As i suspect it is ) then he will be forgiven in my eyes , win lose or draw he must fight Pavlik now if he is to remain in the sport as a fighter .

 

I had him winning by 3 rounds actually and it was Hopkins with his negetive tactics that made it a **** fight but before we hang Calzaghe lets see how Kelly fairs aginst such a fighter aye ? as for the Robbie Reid fight yes it was close but Joe clearly won as he would v Ottke if he could have ever gotten the feather fisted ****er in a ring , as for Tocker Pudwill ? well i admire his guts for getting in there with Calzaghe on a weeks notice after Thomas Tate **** his pants and refused to leave the states for their proposed bout . On YA Tucker :good

 

I agree with you that Calzaghe MUST fight Pavlik next at 168 or catchweight of about 170/172 if he stays active in boxing. If he fights Pavlik, win or lose, i will give him credit for stepping up to the challenge. If he does something stupid and has a final fight in Cardiff against someone like Clinton Woods for a retirement fund then he will be a joke.

 

Nah mate i would love to see Clinton Woods fight again but he ain't even remotley on Joe's radar . its gotta be Pavlik next or no one imo . these fights with Hopkins and Jones are a joke just retirement money fights , Calzaghe has done enough to get himself first ballot IBHOF without doubt , and if Brewer , Reid etc were fighting Sven on netural ground he would have been facing them as champs also . did you ever see Ottke v Reid / **** me the Runcorn Robin got deduted i point for hitting ottke in the face atsch

 

Bernard Hopkins WAS without doubt the standout MiddleWeight of his generation and deserves all the props he recives, but i wonder if he would have stayed there if Roy had also ? me thinks he would have defo had to stop off @ S/Middle to fight Calzaghe .

 

I often get into arguements with people who say Ottke got a lot of gifts. He got a few later in his career, the first Brewer fight was debatable but for the most part he won fair and square in the majority of his defences, even if he only did just enough.

The Reid fight however was one of those gifts...that ref was a ****ing wombat, actually he was just a **** I dont want to insult wombats. I was actually so incensed by the reffing in that fight, that I from time to time look up to see if that idiot is still officiating. Amazingly he reffed about a dozen bouts after that but luckily none of note, mostly 6 & 8 rounders in Europe.
But he is still judging bouts...

 

Bernard is a legend.

2001? even at that date he was out of his prime. The Executioner at 30 was a beast who fought totally different to what he does now.

 

Well if you mean getting dropped Twice on his arse by Mercano and beating lesser blokes like Lipsy etc aged 30 was Hopkins prime then i don't really know what to say mate , I thought everyone and his dog realised the 1999 - 2003 Hopkins who schooled the likes of Vanderpool , Echoles , Daniels , Trinidad etc was at the hight of his powers around that time . Hopkins was a late bloomer and 32-35 was his prime .

 

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B-Hop = Butter.........get it.