Hopkins: 'Brits are very arrogant and I'll bring out the worst in them'

Nah just most of them. It annoys me that so many of them clearly know nothing about boxing & had probably never seen PBF fight before that night.

 

That is true. I mean, I have only seen PBf fight mitchell, gatti, judah, baldimour and oscar. I mean I did get my rag off when somebody said hatton will do him in two rounds and just because he'd seen floyd on strictly come dancing. I mean yes I did think hatton would win and thats not be nationalistic thats me going to hattons open days at the pheonix camp and also when I was in Vegas. He just left his work in the gym unfortunately. But he still not a bad fighter though.

 

No he didn't leave his work in the gym, what you saw was all he had. Hatton always looks great in the gym when he's hitting the pads or Grahams body bag. As the competition has got stiffer his work has become less effective. A prime Tszyu with a fair ref would have seen Hatton starched I'm afraid.

 

Well we would never know, yes the ref let alot go, but he did for both of them including KT. Hatton would probably would have lost to floyd but the ref was quite a knitpicker though.

 

There wasn't one moment in that fight (apart from the first round maybe) where Mayweather wasn't in complete control of Hatton. He toyed with him. It wouldn't change the skill levels of the two fighters if there had been a different referee.

 

Great article, and it would only take a Brit (whose a hardcore Cal fan) to think otherwise. Hops is a great interviewer, and I really do believe him when he says he'll be getting into Calzaghe's head... I also noticed the "eyes" he was talking about at their meeting at the Floyd-Hatton fight.

And in GENERAL, the Brits are quite arrogant. With absolutely NOTHING to make them be, really (looks, apart from SOME women, and accent... for two things)... Quite annoying actually. I mean, if you had SOMETHING (anything) to be arrogant about, it'd maybe make sense... Otherwise you just look like a fool...



Na, the Brits are cool.... ish. Either way, Joe Cal will win a much tougher and closer than expected decision over an old past his prime B-Hop.

 

Fair enough we brits are arrogant in some respects just like our american cousins. I mean it most be arrogance that distorts history by suggesting you won WW2 by yourself.

 

I think Calzaghe's fight with Sakio Bika has to make Hopkins very happy when he watches it on film. Calzaghe looked brilliant against guys with decent skills yet predictable styles - Kessler and Lacy. Bika is no world beater yet is very durable and has an awkward style. Although JC won going away he was roughed up more in that fight than the Kessler and Lacy fights combined. This is something that is making Hopkins happy when he prepares for this fight. Hopkins is just as durable and difficult to fight as Bika - yet has many more dimensions and superior skills. His resume is superior in terms of quality of opposition. JC's speed advantage can be nullified by Hopkins' ability to punch effectively in between Calzaghe's flurries with damaging blows that will bust the welshman up and slow him down. Hopkin's worldclass experience should make a big difference in his favor.

Hopkins most likely by UD or possible late stoppage.

 

Well he could win by UD but he's not going to knock JC out.

 

I have to say, even the Hops of TODAY will ANNILATE the Calzaghe that fought Bika (only 2 fights ago)... Maybe your onto something with the predicatable styles thing (because both Kessler and Lacy ARE predicatable, despite being world class, moreso for Kessler)...

I'm still leaning towards Calzaghe. How can a 43 old man who throws 10-20 punches a round these days beat a 35 year old who throws 80 punches around... by decision?

 

Hopkins is only 43 years of age in a chronological sense. The man takes pristine care of himself and never lets himself get out of shape between fights. He is not worn down from years of taking punishment because he is a master of hitting without being hit. I agree that is not exactly in his prime. But he still has enough physical skills to match his invaluable experience to make this a very unpleasant night for Calzaghe.

 

I like your conviction Sardu, but one question, do you think the Calzaghe that fought Bika beats Kessler?

 

Big difference being KT shouldn't have needed to foul as he hadn't in any of his previous fights.

 

Calzaghe beats Kessler everytime IMO. Bika presents a whole different array of problems with his awkwardness than Kessler does. Hopkins has that same awkwardness coupled with a herky-jerky rhythm AND superior skills. This might be anathema to Calzaghe in this fight. His workrate could be nullified by Hopkins' economical but effective and accurate punching.

 

I agree that Calzaghe beats Kessler every time but the Calzaghe that turned up against Bika would have made far more mistakes against Mikkel. Joe's motivation for the Bika fight was very low. Don't forget, Bika was completely unknown before fighting Calzaghe (4 rounds vs Beyer aside) so it was not the opponent Joe wanted. He tried to take his frustration out by blasting Bika out of the ring and didn't account for Bika's rough-housing. To cut a short story long, JC was on a downer in that fight after the celebrations of the Lacy shutout and Sakio wasn't having any of it. Joe eventually established a rhythm from the mid rounds onwards and won with ease by the end. The first few rounds were awful and scrappy.

Against Hopkins, you're going to get a primed and focused Joe Calzaghe, this isn't a meaningless defence against a nobody in Cardiff. You're right to bring the Bika fight up, but Hopkins is lulling himself into a false sense of security if he thinks Joe is going to perform like that. Do you really think Calzaghe will rush in to try and KO Hopkins early?