Can we just STFU already about Bernard Hopkins knocking out career WW Tito Trinidad

I never said he was drained. I said he shrunk himself down to the weight. He did it by living an incredibly disciplined lifestyle. He used to literally measure out units of food per day, even when he wasn't in camp. He used to go into restaurants and ask chefs to cook him specific types of food in a certain way. He was more disciplined and more dedicated than Marvin Hagler. He had the discipline of a monk. He made incredible sacrifices both mentally and physically. And whilst that dedication deserves huge respect, he really should have been fighting bigger and better guys at SMW and LHW. He's 6'1, with a 75" reach, which gave him huge advantages over the majority of his MW opposition. The reason he hired Mackie Shilstone to help him go up to LHW, is because he'd honed his body in order into becoming a MW for 13 years.

Regarding Oscar, he had no pedigree at MW. He looked awful against Felix Sturm, and Sturm was robbed. Tito looked very good at MW, but Oscar clearly didn't belong there. How can it not be tainted? It was just a money grab. A low risk fight for huge rewards.

 

Robinson looked great at 160. He was dominating that championship fight but gassed under the lights which had the ring temperature scorching hot. The added weight coupled with the extreme heat contributed to Sugar losing that one. He was well on his way to winning a unanimous decision

 

It's funny people shyt on this fight but Trinidad destroyed a decent MW in Joppy. Whitaker who beat Nelson at LW and Chavez at WW they had zero accomplishment in the division and it gets ignored.

 

chito trinidad got a lesson!

 

Bernard didn't just beat Tito he gave him a boxing lesson Took him to school Also Nard did not lose to Taylor or Cal Slappy he was screwed out of all 3. We all should feel blessed to have seeing Nards career as it happened. Jis like will NEVER be seen again

 

agree 100%
Nigguh took that whiteboy to school

 

you ever see my video......the joe calzaghie deception?

 

No sorry I havent

 

I made a video breaking that fight down to a T. It was on youtube for about a year and then it disapeared like kaiser sosa. Said it violated youtube community guidelines.

 

But it took a year to violate them lol

 

I was a HHHUUUGGGEEEE! Tito fan and he remains my all time favorite fighter. When this fight was made i knew it was a bridge too far. Tito had no business in there with a big strong true MW like Bhop. I nearly got into a fist fight with some puerto ricans (im also pr) at a fight party because they got pissed when i said i was a Tito fan but that i thought he was getting beat badly that night.
How Tito was the favorite is still beyond me all these years later. Tito had absolutely no business fighting about 154lbs. He shouldve spent the better part of his career at that weight and made a killing with big fights against all the big names coming up. Not sure who was advising Tito but he got some poor career, financial and training advice. I always thought his father limited Tito as a fighter. Tito peaked but never improved and stayed very one dimensional.

 

You talking like Hopkins was doing something that no other boxer or boxers have done. The average fighter out there is fighting a weight or two below what they could be fighting except for the heavyweights. You ragging because the man had respect for his body ( being that it was what was earning him his living) and saying that he should have been fighting at a higher weight class which is only planting the seed that he is somehow less a fighter for not doing so. The fact is that when he no longer had the speed or deftness of his youth he indeed moved up and conquered which bears witness to his greatness. Oscar and Tito were very skilled and elite fighters that went up in weight to challenge Hopkins and there was no real physical advantages for Hopkins. He had a couple of inches in height on both of them and three inches in reach but skills pay the bills (Ask Pac ) he had no problems. Tito was heavier by a pound or two in their encounter and Oscar's skills were better than Hopkins so I am not trying to hear that those fights were not valid because indeed they were and like I said, if the fight would have went the other way, those two gents would be lauded with praise. Hopkins deserves his props for defeating them both.

 

You can say Tito is one dimensional but what a dimension it was lol.
Big fan of Tito myself. I agree that Tito have no business fighting above 154 but man you have to admire the courage to test himself. There was talk about moving up to face Roy Jones should he prevailed in the tournament, insane, hard to find that type of balls in today's fighters.
Tito has the length and punching power to compete at middleweight, but I though he lack the physical strength to be successful in the long run, besides Hopkins was one of the biggest middleweight around.

 

Yes, Tito was a welterweight

 

No other boxers have lived their life like Bernard has.

I'm not talking about just staying disciplined and keeping to your target weight like a guy like Floyd does/did. What Bernard did was beyond that. Running 7 miles per day, every single day, even when he'd got nothing lined up, and again, literally measuring out units of food. He even missed his sister's wedding because he was training.

Again, whilst I have to respect his incredible dedication, he should have been fighting better opponents at the higher weights.

He turned pro at LHW/CW.

He then had numerous fights above MW before finally committing to the division in the early 90's.

He then won Roy's old belt which had been vacated, before defending it for 6 years until King's MW tournament. Take a look at some of the guys he fought. Take a look who was at SMW and LHW at the time. Again, he had significant physical advantages over most of his MW opponents. And even though for many years it looked as though he couldn't unify, he showed no desire to move up. He was content to defend his IBF belt against whoever was lined up to meet him.

When he'd beaten Tito and won the MW tournament, he still wouldn't move up. HBO offered him $6m to fight a rematch with Roy at SMW. Yet he declined and demanded $10m instead. He then spent over a year out of the ring before fighting Morrade Hakkar for $1.3m.

His fight against Oscar was a money grab. How can he receive a lot of credit when Oscar looked absolutely awful at MW against Sturm? Sturm was robbed blind. The MW division was just a bridge too far for him. But I do give Bernard credit for beating Tito, because Tito showed me that he was a capable MW. He looked against Joppy, and Joppy was a decent fighter.

After he fought Oscar, he then fought Taylor twice. Fairly or unfairly, he lost both of those fights. Which meant that his MW run had come to an end. It left him with nowhere to go. He'd done all he could. His legacy was secured at that point. Which meant that he was in a position where he had everything to gain and nothing to lose. Which is why he moved up to fight Tarver and Calzaghe etc.

Below is a transcript with Larry Merchant, in the build up towards his fight with Joe Calzaghe in 2008. It was originally uploaded by Serge, so many thanks to him:

So: By his own admission he could have moved up to LHW years earlier, yet he wouldn't fight Roy for a huge fight at 168 C-W in 2002.

In that transcript, he basically told us that he wanted to fight naturally smaller fighters because it was easier for him.

So whilst he does deserve credit for fighting guys like Tarver, Calzaghe, Dawson and Kovalev etc, he was never willing to fight guys of that calibre back in the 90's.

Although fighting Kovalev at almost 50 was incredibly dangerous and it deserves huge respect, he craved the adulation that it brought. After watching Bernard for years, I can tell you straight: He would never have fought Kovalev in his 20's or 30's.

Although Bernard had a great career, he played it safe, until again, he was in a position where he nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I respect his incredible longevity, and I respect his later wins over the likes of Pavlik and Pascal. Again, I also respect him fighting Kovalev etc. But he was a very calculating fighter, and if you put his career and his actions under the microscope, you'll soon realise that he didn't have the legendary career which many people believe that he's had.