Bernard Hopkins vs Tavoris Cloud Who Wins & How?

Word. And I just came up with somethin that I think will get me and my boys some screen-time 8)

 

beating Cloud does not prove anything. It just proves a good handpicking and the level of fighter who hold the belt. They guys whom Hopkins could not beat were the better fighters. Calzaghe and Dawson and he lost to them. He fights another good fighter he loses, he fights a handpicked guy who is limited he wins. I think he can win this fight. I am not sure since he is 48, but the record of Cloud is not impressive.

 

I didn't say Duran cherrypicked, but Barkley was not a great fighter and his whole claim to fame is beating Thomas Hearns. Roberto was helped by that fight since he could win another title and beat the guy who knocked out Thomas Hearns, who knocked him out.
Barkley lost to Kalambay,Nunn,Benn in that time span he fought Duran, and Duran would not have beaten those guys either. It was the best fight and style for Duran for a win. That is not saying he cherrypicked, but Barkley was beatable by Duran. I knew the instant that fight was signed that Duran could beat him.

 

I hope he does not win the fight. I think Bernard handpicking fighters to stay in the game, yet losing to all the good fighters he fights is not good for boxing. And yes this is cherrypicking. What is the definition of cherrypicking? Picking a fighter more favorable for a win and avoiding better guys who would not be an easy win. Hopkins is not fighting Dawson again or Ward.

 

Rooting badly for B-HOP, but I think Cloud wins in ugly fashion.

 

I agree Hopkins is great because of his middleweight reign and the Trinidad fight to add to that. After Taylor he has avoided getting knocked out which has allowed him to win some and lose some, but really he has lost when he fought the cream of the crop guys in the divisions he was fighting at like Calzaghe and Dawson and even way back in 2005 with Taylor.
I never thought boxing is about the individual and his accomplishments. Bernard is great and I respect him, and he is just a month older than me. What I do not like about the handpicking in general is when a fighter handpicks to add to a resume while avoiding the tougher guys .The appearance is that they are more important than the sport. Sugar Ray Leonard whom I love as a fighter thought he was bigger than the sport with the Lalonde fight. Donny was not even the best fighter at 175 in 1988, then Ray has Donny lose weight to fight for the 168 pound belt which he was not even ranked in that division, while weakening Donny for the 175 pound title. Ray fights Donny for two belts. Donny was not ranked at 168 and weakened at his weight, and the Ray was not ranked at all in either division. That is a fighter thinking he is bigger than boxing and manipulating the rules for his ego.

 

He was well past 40 when he fought Calzaghe and Dawson. Can you blame him for not actually beating A level fighters? That was a faded version of Hopkins and not a prime version.

At least Hopkins has taken on stiff challenges after 40. Heck, one can argue that Hopkin's level of opponents after 40 is greater than all of Floyd's career. I mean you have Taylor, Tarver, Winky, Calzaghe, Pavlik, Jones, Dawson and now Cloud. That's legendary stuff right there.

 

I have been certain that Bhop will win a decision tonight, once again making history but for some reason this last couple of days I've had this horrible feeling it might be the end of the road for him and he get's KO'd.

 

Forget about being boring or not, stick to your prediction and click enter. I thought Guerrero Berto was boring like a bad night of sleep and I didn't say anything, now that people are pumping Guerrero up cause he is most possibly May's next victim. I like to watch Bernard fighting and that's that and he's doing it against a very tough cookie.

 

Yeah that's exactly what I mean!

I've still voted for Bhop on points though! :good

 

Cloud via TKO. Fight gets stopped after enough KD's by Cloud

 

More people seemed to enjoy pac getting KTFO'd than would be the case for BHop. Everyone respects BHop, and rightfully so - he's a master craftsman. manny was a juiced up lil cheat with an occult following more annoying than a group of 12 year old bullies... with their pacquiao threads every hour. Thank god that's over.

 

I am picking Bernard Hopkins to win this fight by decision. If Bernard has as much left as he did at 46, he should be able to outbox Tavoris Cloud. Having said that, I will not be surprised if Cloud's youth pulls through and gets him a decision win tonight. Bernard definitely isn't at his best anymore, but he is still an amazing athlete even at the age of 48. It's kind of funny that people in boxing were calling him "the geriatric wonder" at the age of 36. If we only knew then just how long he would extend that title.

Personally, I wish Bernard Hopkins had retired after becoming the oldest man in history to win a legitimate world title after his win against Jean Pascal for the World Light Heavyweight Championship back in 2011. It is 2013 now and B-Hop is not only still fighting, but fighting the best in his division. The Ring magazine ranks Hopkins as the #1 light heavyweight contender and Cloud as #2. Chad Dawson is the current World Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Hopkins for the title last year.

If Bernard were to win against Cloud, I still don't think he will be fighting Dawson again for the title. The main reasons are one, Dawson is a bad style match for an older Bernard Hopkins and two, the fight wouldn't do great numbers. No one really wants to see another Dawson-Hopkins fight. Either way, a win tonight would still be a great accomplishment for Hopkins and would definitely add to his already unbelievable legacy. A loss to a man 17 years his junior would hardly count against it.

I am a big fan of Bernard Hopkins and would like to see him retire after this fight, win, lose or draw. He truly has nothing else to prove in the sport of boxing. He has already beaten the odds more times than Ghe Guevara. His record of 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses is legendary and not likely to be broken anytime soon. As I mentioned before, he also holds the record of being the oldest man in history to win a real world championship in any weight class at the age of 46. Being a 3-time world champion in two weight classes is more than enough to cement his legacy as a future Hall of Famer. With his legacy secured, let's just hope that he steps away from the sport after this fight to preserve his health. Age catches up to all of us eventually, even the great Bernard Hopkins.