Hopkins final fight should be against Dawson

Even though Dawson will try and avoid him like a plague Hopkins will chase Dawson, beat him then retire.

Hopkins chases achievements. He openly admitted Roy Jones bettered him when in his prime and even went as far as to concede the Calzaghe fight could be contested either way - he stated this after beating Pavlik, its there if you listened. And that is straight from the HIS own mouth.

Hopkins knows Jones won't mean much considering he is past his best and though he'll chase a Calzaghe rematch because he believes he can win that fight won't happen. Joe will retire or fight someone else, rematches are not something he goes for.
Like he did Pavlik he will then go for the best men around that everyone else could be accused of avoiding - in this case Dawson. This is why he chased Pavlik and this is why he'll chase Dawson because bar Calzaghe Dawson is the force in LHW & is another top name he can chop down for his legacy. Think about it....Jones/Calzaghe/Dawson are the only boxers out there for him.

Expect Hopkins to chase Dawson and expect Dawson to lose because Hopkins will cut him down should they fight plain and simple. Sure Dawson looked good against an upright light puncher with limited repetoire (Tarver) who though good is far from great; styles make fights and Tarver was tailor made for Dawson because he is a guy who likes to stand upright and box with a slick jab but not much else - perfect for a slick power puncher with good speed who can close the gap in suitable time.

Dawson won't land on Hopkins like he did Tarver because Hopkins won't shift into an upright shell defene ala Tarver, he'll move & clip, dive in and tie/liver shot or counter off the ropes & there will be nothing Dawson can do in return.

Mark my words if Dawson & Hopkins fights Dawson will get beaten every bit as bad as Pavlik. Dawson is good but Hopkins/Joe are in another league; Dawson only looked stunning in his last fight becase of the opponent he faced. Argue all you like about who won between Bernard and Joe but NOBODY can dispute how close the fight was. Either of these boxers will do a number of Dawson. Dawson isn't bad, he's good, maybe great but he isn't elite. Joe won't fight him he will (maybe) retire but Bernard will because Bernard continually seeks goals for himself.

 

So many posts hence the bump