Hopkins getting better with age was/is a myth

Finally I agree with you. Hopkins became more adept at selecting opponents as he aged.

 

Hopkins made career of fighting smaller guys and draining himself to fight at 160.He lost his first ever fight at 175 and then realized hes fraud and went down to 160 to fight smaller guys.

His 'legendary' wins are against people that didnt belong at 160 and got dragged up : ODLH,Trinidad and Pavlik @ 170 lbs catchweight.

Also is that some kind of joke...this quote of yours ? 'Kovalev would always be tough because ur taking about a 160 lbs fighter and 175 lbs'. Are you serious ??? Kovalev and Hopkins are about the same size.

Some people on this forum have big issues really.First...calling Golovkin a SMALL MW[ [while he is average sized one] trying to justify the fact that he wont go up to 168,at least for now,altough if he wants to be great and make money/fanbase he will have to go up sooner or later.

Then the same people calling Kovalev BIG LHW and that he has to go CW and gets himself humilated or something,that is what they want probably.Kovalev is average sized LHW.

Just stop being such fanboys really,and stop with the catchweight **** also,Ward shouldnt fight Golovkin at 164,if anything.Golovkin shouldnt accept cw 155 or whatever vs canelo/cotto,or he should...if he cares about the money only,since he wants that payday vs mayweather at 154 lol.

 

Well said. Just use your eyes, Hopkins was at his best from '96 to '03, since then he has been declining. People who say Hopkins was still at his best (or even better) in his 40's havn't watched his career and/or doesn't understand basic human biology. Lets put it this way, prime Hopkins would never lose to fighters like Taylor or Calzaghe.

 

It's pretty obvious to anyone with eyes that work and a mind unencumbered by bias that Hopkins simply altered his style to minimise the effect of his declining physical attributes. He was clearly much faster, more dynamic and much busier during his prime years during the 90's and early 00's.

Too many allow their bias to colour their opinion of him as it suits their agenda that when their favourite fighters faced Hopkins he was prime, when in reality he wasn't and it was a faded BHop that beat their fighter.

They will make up **** saying he was a natural light heavy despite going as low as 156lbs, no natural light heavy could make 156lbs, Dawson was drained at 168lbs, at 156lbs a natural light heavy wouldn't be medically allowed in the ring to fight.

 

:goodThe voice of reason!

 

It's a credit to his adaptability. Hell, at almost 50, he was considering dropping down to 168.

 

Your ideal Hopkins
Fought in a different division
Than four of those men
Hypothetical youth
Is one thing
But hypothetical weight gain
Too much suspension of belief
To sustain
What's next
Prime Duran would do better
As a light weight
Against middle weight Hagler

 

I think Hopkins changed his style and was possibly better as he got older.
I think he focused on strength and a different style which was effective.
I dont expect the Hopkins of today to have been heavily put down and on wobbly legs against the Mercado of then

 

Any true patriotic American will surely agree with me that boxing is the real McCoy! If I had my druthers all those darnded Europeans would be struck off the map. God bless America!

 

The fight to which you refer was held in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador, which is almost 3,000 meters above sea level. Any athlete (not from there or another place with a high altitude) engaging in a competition there is at a severe disadvantage due to the lack of oxygen. Don't believe it? Check out Bolivia's home record in footie in La Paz as opposed to anywhere else. In the Hopkins Mercado rematch, Hopkins stopped him in 7.

 

I can't take any Hopkins timeline seriously that implies he was prime in 93. He was still a few years off.

 

He also took the fight on short notice so wasn't even fully prepared.

 

He got worse after 2003 in my opinion, the fights with Allen prove that if nothing else. Hopkins crushed him in 99 but was taken the distance in 04.