Why is there so much intrest in this fight? Hopkins is way past it! I'd like Calzaghe to fight Pavlik.
Even so Pavlik presents a bigger challenge. Pavlik almost 6ft3 and has a big frame. He will only be stronger at 168. Pavlik's skills are highly underated, thats what people said before the Taylor fight.
:yep That's right . . . JC wants Bhop's name . . . he's desperate for it because that name is what he needs to go up in terms of recognition and stature. And yet some nut huggers in here insist that JC is now bigger than Bhops. Now for those people who believe so . . . explain the logic why JC is moving heaven and earth to fight "Grand Pa Bhops".
Anyone remember Calzaghe/Bika. Bika made Joe look bad w/ his akward style and gave him fits. hopkins has the oddest style in boxing and has the ability to make Joe look like an amateur like he did to Winky Wright.
I'm not a fan of Joe but Damn!!! He just owned BHOP.. I never thought Id say this...but Bhops been avoiding JCal!! Who agrees for $3 mil and comes back w/ a counter of $6 Mil the next day??? This is worse than JMM avoiding PAC and fighting for 30k in Indonesia
I read the article and you want to know what I really make of it? Bernard Hopkins is a master in mind games and psy wars and has proven just that with the Winky Wright pre-fight presser melee and making Wright take the fight to him, negating or neutralizing his best weapon and outlasting the Top P4Per. Now, Joe hits the big spotlight and wants that momentous upheavel towards Glory by way of defeating this man and he's so convinced that he can actually do it that he's tryin to play the same backstage psy war from this moment on. But I consider that the atmosphere under which the fight is to be agreed, announced and built is such an important factor in the outcome of the boxing display itself that I dare to say that if Joe travels to the States, he's already half-disadvantaged, the other half in experience and technical/physical attributes can most difficultly give him the edge in that fight. I think both are aware of all this, no WKO6, no clear UDs, a very rough, ugly fight under tremendous pressure between two icons, old-timers, but symbols of whatever they represent nonetheless and sides are being taken already.