If boxers were judged by how much they maximized their physical attributes hopkins would be in the top ten of all time. For a guy with no standout attributes in terms of power, speed or reflexes (all are very good admittedly), he is a marvel in how he puts them to work and has been throughout his career. Just imagine if you put hopkins brain into roy jones 30 years ago. That would have been crazy good
Hopkins doesn't 'start late' per se. He relies on timing, and it takes a few rounds for him to time his opponent. That's what you saw against Pascal. So by saying he needs to start faster, you're essentially saying that he could benefit from being a better boxer.