Froch v Hopkins???

Please... NO! Can't stand Hopkins style, the play acting, the spoiling tactics its horrific to watch and the complete opposite of Froch's style. No, just no.

 

^^^
This is a pretty concise summary of how I view it:

- Froch taking his time, working at a pace Hopkins likes. Hopkins dictates.
- Froch being behind on points after 6 and increases his workrate, knowing he is behind (Ward, Kessler, Pascal and of course Taylor are examples).
- The pressure, intensity and workrate is upped and Hopkins has two choices: meet head on and engage or fight off the backfoot/use his movement.
- At this point the physical aspects come into play namely, how durable is Hopkins now? (Pascal dropped him, is he deteriorating), has he still got the legs? (Definitely not against JC, Yes against Pascal who has shockingly bad stamina)
- Hopkins ring IQ, technical nous and experience are incredible. Its simply a question of whether his body can execute it.

It all hinges on whether Froch can claw back the deficit from the first six.

BTW I thinking of this fight at 168 as Froch has said he wouldn't go up, is a champ etc.

Undeniably a close fight but at 168lbs and at 47(?) I think Hopkins would lose a close decision. I think the Pascal fights flatter him immensely.

Is that ok JFT96?

 

Sorry to go on but another point is this notion that Froch is a limited, crude boxer. This is doing him a disservice IMO.

Admittedly in some fights, especially Kessler/Ward he has let his head rule his heart. However, the Abraham/Bute fights and the fact he has been successful in both codes of boxing show he is no mug.

Froch is a lot more than a all heart, chin and grit fighter.

 

it just goes to show how our good fighters get underrated by people,and froch gets underrated the most on here,its ****ing ridiculous.
i hope he fights hopkins (which he won't,hopkins will want none of it)and beats him,but then again the know it all know **** alls on here will make excusers about hopkins being **** or some other crap just like they did when he beat 'the next stars of boxing' in AA and bute :roll:

 

And they use the "he was old" excuse when calaghe beat B-Hop, but when Dawson does it 4 years later it proves that "Dawson is class"

It's particularly annoying when people in the Brit forum do it, I don't know if we are so scared of being let down that we just play our fighters down or what.

 

Don't know if you're referring to me when you said about people underrating Froch but if you were, you're 100% wrong. I've always admired Froch's abilities and picked him to beat Bute, though not in the manner he did. But that doesn't change the fact that Froch can't fight on the inside. And smart fighters who want to take the fight there have inevitably been able to do so in the past (Ward, Johnson etc.). He's not going to be able to outwork or outhustle Hopkins if he's being tied up and handicapped throughout a round. In a completely different way of course, Dirrell gave us an indication of how wild and sloppy Froch can become when he doesn't get the distance he wants to fight. Rather than running around the ring like Dirrell, Hopkins can take away that range on the inside. I see that as the key to the fight.

And if anyone is getting underrated, it's Hopkins by yourself. So what if you find him boring? It doesn't detract from the huge achievements he's had in his career by adopting a style that fits him so well. Calzaghe was always a poor matchup for Hopkins; the fact he made it so close is a testament to his ring IQ, despite it being a bit ugly to watch. Ward potentially could be a great but at the moment he's got to prove himself as Hopkins has done so for you to say Hopkins is no Ward is just downright ignorant.

Lilo, fair enough they're your reasons, I just happen to disagree. If Hopkins were to start quick as you reckon, I'd imagine he could have the fight wrapped up after 6 rounds. Fatigue and his aging would only come into play if Froch forced a good pace early on. B-Hop knows all the tricks needed to survive and nick rounds here and there and, if he's been able to fight at a leisurely pace that he wants early on, there's no way he'd allow Froch to come on strong. Tying him up, pushing him off, punching on the break; he'd be able to frustrate Carl and make it impossible to claw back the fight. Hopkins never engages any more, a bit of tiredness wouldn't make him that reckless. I jusg think despite his age, Hopkins would have all the bases covered in this one.