You know what grinds my gears? All those comments about Calzaghe and how he would "destroy Hopkins" or "Hopkins is as good as dead", "Calzaghe by brutal KO". Calzaghe is younger, quicker, and definitely has the edge.. but Hopkins is not the type that gets destroyed. I used to love Hopkins in his day, and I have huge respect for Calzaghe. However he should be ashamed of himself for going after a 43 year old man. He could have fought him 5 years ago.. what does this fight bring now?? At least nothing for BHop, he already proved himself many times and I wish he would just retire. As for Calzaghe, he should keep fighting but leave old Hops alone godamnit. Who thinks this fight should happen ?
I think it should happen because I still think Hopkins can win it. Theres no too many big fight options for Calzaghe now, so why not? If Hopkins loses people will say he was old anyway. Wont really tarnish his legacy. Isnt he 53?
hops called out calzaghe after the winky fight ffs, why do people keep forgetting this? cal would have fought hops 3 or 4 years ago if bernard hadn't avoided him like the plague. 'uhhhhh no i want $6mil now'.
I want to see the fight happen on the basis of what both fighters have said about the other. I agree however that Hopkins isn't the kind of fighter who gets destroyed, nobody has an easy night with Hopkins, I don't care who you are. I bet that makes me sound like a fan, but I wasn't terribly impressed by Hopkins in his fights with Wright or Tarver. I compare him with Floyd in the sense his style is no longer good to watch, but it gets the job done. I fancy Calzaghe UD decision, but not an easy night by any means.
I want to se it. I think Joe will have much too much of everything for Bhop but talk of brutal KO's and such is just silly. Bhop's an ATG and a canny operator and looking good for his age. I'd take Joe by UD, but Bhop - even at 43 - is no pushover. He's still fresher than many 35 year olds I've seen.
Even as a B-hop fan, I have to come on here and defend Calzaghe... First off, it wasn't Joe's fault that this fight didn't happen five years ago. Hopkins is the one who got cold feet. Second, it makes a lot of sense when Calzaghe laments the fact that he is too big for Mayweather. Where does he go for a marquee name? He is looking upward, but isn't going to go to cruiser or obviously not heavy. Hopkins is the only big name out there by far. Even if he were to get either Pavlik or Taylor at a catch weight he'd be lucky to have that fight set up for next fall since they're both set rematch already. And who knows if there will be a rubber match or not.
Nobody will ever knockout Hopkins. He just does not get caught cleanly that frequently, and you can't beat him with one punch. Nobody can put constant leather on his face enough to really hurt him, and his body is a work of art build to sustain an attack. He is much more raw boxing skill than Calzaghe, and even with him being 43, I see him beating Calzaghe. This will look like Jirov vs. Toney. As long as Hopkins can turn it up a little bit, and has that straight right working, it will be tough for JC to beat him...
BHOP could be a handful for Joe, but there is no way Joe will lose. In fact I have a feeling we'll see another boxing clinic from Joe and Hopkins will be shocked. At the end of the day, Joe wins by UD. That's the truth and you all know it. As for "chasing a 43 year old man", listen -- what options does Joe have at LHW? Get real. BHOP is the one threatening to "rearrange" Joe's face, so let him have a go and we'll see what's really up. Joe hasn't had a single mark on that perfect face yet, and there's a good reason for that: he's just too damn slick. Deal with it. Joe is the ****, so stop trying to discredit him and get off your f'king high horse. Reality check coming up.
Awwww the cutie pie has no marks on his face...maybe that's because he primarily fights bums :thumbsup In the meantime, if you think a guy who throws a lot of wide punches and isn't always well balanced is "slick", you better learn more about boxing... Hopkins beat Tarver basically with one punch, a lead straight right hand. Hopkins with drill that down the pipe on Calzaghe all night long. Calzaghe has never been roughed up, wrestled with, or had marks on his face (as you've said). How do you think he will deal with a bruiser like Hopkins? Calzaghe also never fought a legitimately great counterpunching defense first fighter. Hopkins doesn't leave openings, he jumps in and out of action, hits in the clinch, and annoys the hell out of people. If you think this is a walk in the park, think again. Calzaghe hasn't shown that he can take it to a fighter like Hopkins. Hopkins is old-school defense and dirty tactics, mixed with crisp STRAIGHT punching... Maybe Calzaghe will beat him because he's 43 (but I doubt it), however there is no way he will dominate or rough up Hopkins, unless Hopkins get REALLY REALLY OLD overnight...
While I dont think Hopkins is anyones 'piece of cake' wide punching and having balance problems are not accusations I'd throw at Calzaghe. Sure Joe doesnt having the worlds greatest punching technique, he has always had problems with his hands, but I think his balance, footwork and lateral movement are quite good. Both are 'proper' boxers though and thats why this fight would be interesting your talking about 2 guys with a wealth of in-ring craft, Hopkins has though shown he can be beat by workrate, Joes good at that. Using nothing but the law of averages and based on recent history surely Joe would have to be favourite, no?
I do see room for improvement for Calzaghe and his footwork when moving in and out, and I think he leaves too much room for counterpunching when he throws wide shots... I would assume that Calzaghe would be the favorite in Vegas, however, I think that Hopkins style will hurt Calzaghe's more than Calzaghe's will hurt Hopkins. Jirov threw 100 punches per round with power, and it took a man like Toney to first expose him. Now, I don't know if Hopkins can go to war like Toney can, but IF HE CAN, I think he takes Calzaghe in a fight much like Toney vs Jirov. I don't blame people for backing Calzaghe to win, but I don't see him as being NEARLY as technically REFINED overall... To me, the harder fighters to beat on any given night, other than the superhumans (Jones at his peak and the like), are guys like Toney and Hopkins, guys who make you bring the fight to them, and hurt you everytime you come inside. Guys content with fighting on the inside, and guys that are very hard to hit cleanly. Calzaghe throws many more punches, but Hopkins will hit him much more cleanly. If you watch the Kessler fight, as well as Calzaghe did, if you view him from a counterpuncher's perspective, there is plenty of room to strike. The advantage for Hopkins is that he is CALM and COMFORTABLE in the ring...and I think his tactics will override Joe's work rate
I still dont think theyre wide per se, a bit on the slappy side, but not quite wide, but then were probably talking semantics. Kessler did catch Joe coming in a good few times, especially early in that fight, I cant deny that. Bernard also has a touch more reach than Kessler/Joe as well as height on Joe to make the counterpunching tactic work better for him in theory, so when you say refined, if you mean refined within the context of what they do, then yeah I agree, when Joe opens up the defensive side of things goes a lil awry, Bernards approach is a little bit more considered. Bernard has developed into a great counter puncher, very good at conserving energy, but that is essentially what he is now a counter puncher. I dont think hes as good on the front foot, technically or in terms of sheer energy, especially at 43. The downside of his style is he does have a tendency to wait and wait, sometimes a little too long, so if or when he does catch up with Joe does he carry enough power to with that straight right to seriously slow Joe down? Although after the weekend comments like this are a little dangerous he has stopped only 1 guy in the last 3 years and then was fighting a significantly smaller guy. Anyway Im not totally writing Bernard off in this fight, his talent and resume deserve better, I just think that at this stage in his career, this one might be a bit of a reach.
I agree that Hopkins has not shown the ability at this stage to adapt from true counterpuncher to boxer puncher like PBF showed in the Hatton fight, and as Toney has showed throughout his career. I think that Hopkins looks to be TOO careful, which definitely cost him against Taylor. Taylor didn't beat Hopkins...Hopkins lost to Taylor... At any rate, we pretty much agree on most haha, except I think that for this fight, Hopkins will be more willing to trade and more aggressive. He knows that to a lot of people this is a fight to define him (even though he is as he put it a "legend"), and I think he wants Jones enough that he won't leave it to luck to win on the scorecards against the mile-a-minute punching of Calzaghe. I would personally predict a decision victory for BHOP, but at 43, who knows?
I don't want to see it for exactly the reasons you state. On top of that I´m seriously afraid that the fight might bring out even more of the Calzaghe critics who spend whole days hammering away on his resume. Joe beat Kessler in front of 50000. It brought him belts and sportsman of year. What can Old bag Hopkins add to that? A big grande ZERO Imo.
