Hopkins got worse as the Calzaghe fight went on.

artyarty:hammertimeartyarty
-------------:dance:mjwha::mj:dance-------------

 

that answers all questions.

 

My thoughts exactly. What a dumb thread. atsch

 

Don't have a clue decided to not watch that travesty, several years too late to bother watching it.

 

I would disagree about Tarver being his best performance. It was in terms of legacy one of his best wins as he won a title at a second weight but he has looked far superior when he faced Tito and even better when he beat Johnson which I regard as the best performance of his career just not his best win.

Why did Hopkins then become more cagey? Hopkins used to be a seek and destroy kind of fighter who would overwhelm you with constant pressure, a vicious body attack and an immensely rough and physical style. Why did he change because he was having plenty of success doing what he had always done?

There must be a reason and I believe that reason is because just like any athlete his age, his VO2 max dropped off effecting his aerobic capacity and therefore stamina. This isn't just personal opinion but medical fact. Why didn't Hopkins abandon his supposedly new cagey style when losing to Taylor, he only had to switch back to what he had been doing for the last 17 years as a pro and up his workrate and get the win yet he failed to do so not just in the first fight but in the second as well. Your answer is that he was physically incapable of doing so.

No JJM is not less effective than Katsidis but can't compare 2 different fighters with opposing styles to make a valid point here. They are 2 different fighters with different attributes. If Katsidis tried to almost halve his workrate and became a more cagey he would definately be less effective, he may be more economical but not more effective and the same applies to Hopkins.

And your comparison of pitting an old but cagey Hopkins against a less experienced pre prime Hopkins is also flawed like many of your opinions on Hopkins.

While it's true that Hopkins has gassed out only once against Calzaghe that is because many of his previous opponents were unable to make their superior stamina count as Hopkins used movement to ensure they were unable fight at their usual pace. For example Pavlik and Wright were both fighters capable of a very high workrate but when they fought Hopkins there workrates drastically dropped. The reason Hopkins became more cagey and elusive was to ensure his stamina would not be tested, so while his stamina worsened his performances did not drop off as drastically because Hopkins was smart enough to adjust to the situation. Calzaghe was too mobile himself and that combined with his workrate resulted in Hopkins stamina being severeley tested for the first time since he fought Taylor and consequently lost.

 

:deal

 

posting of the highest calibre

 

I agree Head'. soulja has shown Elite-level smiley usage, and for that he should be applauded.

 

he is a scolar and a gent


:vonnecunt:hammertime:mj:desk:signs:dancewha:

 

fair enough.

& totally dominated the guy considered "the man" at that weight. i don't recall him losing more than 1 rd. in fact...i would bet that he lost more rds vs tito than he did vs tarver. or are we basing this just on him being able to stop a guy whose prime was at welter fighting at middleweight vs a guy whose prime was at lightheavy fighting at lightheavy? cos i can think of at least one very good reson why b-hop's power was more telling vs the former welterweight as opposed to a career lightheavy. can you guess what it is? atsch

tito was not at his best weight. i don't rate that any higher than beating odlh at middleweight (especially as odlh blatantly beat tito). a top middleweight SHOULD be able to beat a top welterweight who is moving up to face him. & again...i bet he won more rds vs b-hop than tarver did...& tarver was the bigger man with all the apparent advantages.

as for glen johnson...i like the guy...but a) he is/was/never will be that good. & b) at the time b-hop faced glen johnson; glen was still boxing part time & working on construction sites to top up his income. he went on to be comprehensively outboxed by sven ottke (who i think is ****) & made to look like an absolute amateur by derrick ****ing harmon (who was **** no question). the guy is a glorified gatekeeper now & he is far better now than he was then....something i am sure he freely admits.

plenty of success = drawing with mercado?

he is not a worse fighter because he exerts less pressure. quite the opposite in fact. but hey...maybe you're right...why box like floyd mayweather when you could just box like ricky hatton? nothing ******ed about that idea. :hey

i believe b-hop himself puts the closeness of both fights down to a difficulty making weight. maybe why he moved up in weight. oh...& looked a million times better at that higher weight. do you reckon that had anything to do with it? :roll:

you asked "Please explain Hopkins decision to become less effective by choosing to decrease his workrate?" i simply replied that he hadn't become less effective as i believe that being "less active" does not equate to "less effective". in fact...some of my favourite boxers are guys who are less active but spoil & lay traps & make come forward sluggers look like mugs. & i used a recent example to illustrate that being "more active" does not equal "being better".

but you're right...the guy who dominated world champions like tarver & pavlik & made pascal look like an amateur...he is just ****, right?

well, if the argument is; when b-hop was active vs when he isn't as much...it's probably smarter to use an example of when he was actually a much more active...ie much earlier in his career & not what is considered his "prime".

for example...

b-hop vs tito (2001...b-hop's absolute prime according to several posters)= b-hop threw 653 punches

b-hop vs wright (2007...the fight immediately before he met calzaghe & is apparently more conservative with his punches) b-hop threw 640 punches.

wow. 13 punches difference. how could any fighter ever hope to combat such an astonishing physical decline that he is FORCED to throw 1 punch less a round.

if you actually had a point other than being a pedantic ****...i think it may be dead in the water...as i will keep bringing up that stat & proving that you are talking bollocks. :deal

be prepared.

that is true. thanks for noticing. cos generally when i say someone has "stamina issues" it's based on more than 1 fight where their stamina lets them down. if their stamina lets them down once & once only during a career that has encompassed nearly 15 years operating at world level; it was either a one off or their opponent did something very special. he certainly does not have "stamina issues". only a ****** would say he did. look at yourself. :-(

a) maybe they didn't actually have "superior stamina"?

b) maybe joe calzaghe did a lot of things right & blaming it on b-hop's stamina (something that has only "let him down" ONCE EVER...including later fights where you would think the blueprint would have been set) is ******ed.

altho interestingly...he actually threw almost exactly the same number of punches vs wright in 2007 as vs tito in 2001. so this whole point is bollocks. :hi:

yes. he lost. to a guy who couldn't punch any more due to all the injuries he'd had, whose punch resistance was noticably going, who had been talking about retirement for at least a year & who was having his first fight at a weight where b-hop was the recognised champ.

no need to make excuses tho. just deal with it. :thumbsup

 

I'm particularly impressed with his use of the MJ-style background dancers. That's special work right there.

 

Calzaghe didnt set that high a tempo and was fighting at a tempo more suited for Hopkins. Calzaghe threw less in the Hopkins fight than he had many others atsch. Calzaghe pressured but as noted before it was educated pressure and ring generalship which gave Hopkins problems

 

Often when a fighter goes up in weight they throw less punches, that is normal.

Lacy = Vanderpool a world rated fighter, Sheika, Pemberton, Manfredo when world rated, Tsypko who won the European title, Reid a world rated fighter. I noted 6 as Sheika and Pemberton are around the same level

Kessler = Beyer, Siaca, Froch, Sartison, Mundine admittedly some may put down some of the other names from Kesslers win resume like Andrade and Lucas