Did Hopkins beat Calzaghe?

Hi Mike. Yes I'm afraid I do believe Calzaghe would have edged Hopkins had they fought at 168 in 2002 (?) when that fight was mooted and Hopkins chose not to take the fight at the last minute. Calzaghe too had other things going for him then. For example he was much better at 168 than at 175 where his power was suspect. And earlier in Joe's career he hit harder as his hand problems were less severe.

And I agree with Cobbler to a degree about Hopkins gaining some qualities with time in the latter part of his career - sure his workrate dropped somewhat but he added to his crafty ring generalship as the Pavlik fight showed. To me a "prime Hopkins" doesn't really exist. People say he was green when he fought Jones and Mercado and past it when he fought Calzaghe and Pavlik. Didn't Hopkins himself say Pavlik was even a better win than Tito?

My final point, as mentioned above, is that Hopkins ALWAYS struggled somewhat with speedy fighters, regardless of whether you think he was in his prime or not. And at 168, Joe's hand speed was blurring a lot of the time. I was ringside for the Byron Mitchell fight. I know Mitchell isn't as good as Hopkins was but the pattern of the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight is the same at any stage. Hopkins hits Joe with one hard right hand... Calzaghe comes back with lots of speedy flurries which score more points. Just about.

I don't mean to be down on Bernard. He is an ATG and I respect him. I just don't think Joe gets the credit he deserves on this forum from the non-British crowd.

On his best day at 168 versus a prime Calzaghe, the best any version of Bernard can do is get a draw. More likely, he loses a close decision.

 

The Pavlik fight was a great win precisely because he was well past his prime coming after two terrible performances against Wright and Calzaghe.

Ali was past his prime when he beat Foreman but that's what makes it a great win.

 

same thing, hopkins won his 5 rounds better, calzaghe just won more.

 

What a load of crap, past his prime maybe but that is one biased comment:good

 

Yes you have something of a point here. But I still think a prime Calzaghe edges any version of Hopkins. He just has too much speed, too much intensity and too much of a workrate for Bernard who likes to fight at his own pace. Joe threw punches too fast and too often for Hopkins to deal with at any stage. If Bernard had to dodge single hard shots from the likes of Tito or Oscar, he could do it with ease. Calzaghe is a totally different fighter. Prime Calzaghe, as much as he does struggle with some of Hopkins's defensive qualities, does beat any version of Hopkins narrowly IMO. And I'm sure I'm not alone in believing this.

 

How was the Wright performance terrible? To me he clearly beat him and that fight was at least watchable in my view. It was the Calzaghe performance that sucked and is near impossible to rewatch.

 

nope your not:good

 

It was terrible b/c Winky hit him, so Bernard decided to headbutt over and over. He should have been dq'd in the fight.