Hopkins "No Need To Fight Kovalev "

he's the man now! beating stevenson and kovalev makes him the baddest mf'er of this generation imo.

 

Jones was right.
Only old boxing fans know who Darius is. :yep

 

I think you may be overrating Hopkins a bit remember he was beat twice by Taylor and once by Dawson not to mention a old Calzaghe




He's good but don't get carried away

 

He's right that the belts mean nothing, however, he's completely wrong because of the amount of interest that Kovalev has made, it's the devastating KOes that make Kovalev, not the WBO.

He knows PEDs won't be good enough for this fight.

 

Well... That's disappointing. I guess Hopkins only wants to be the undisputed champion in his head. Like it or not, the WBO is part of the picture now. So Kovalev will be there to dispute Hopkin's self-proclaimed undisputed status. This certifies Kovalev as the most feared LHW... Even the great Hopkins wants none of that. Way to duck Kovalev, Bernard. I respected what you were doing and was 100% cheering for you to get all 4 belts, right up to this cowardly move. Now it's all pointless to me. Going around calling yourself undisputed doesn't make it true. You have to DO IT to make it true. You can't have a recognized world champ left standing to oppose you.

 

This.

Kovalev is a solid champion, the WBO may have been weak a decade or two ago but today it is as legit as the other 3. You cannot be considered Undisputed when there is dispute from the WBO, as well as many boxing fans that their man Kovalev is no1.

If a fight with Kovalev doesn't happen because of boxing politics then "No need to fight Kovalev" is understandable. But if a fight with Kovalev is possible then in order for there to be no dispute Hopkins, Stevenson and Kovalev would need to battle it out.

 

Then why has he talked his way out of TRULY unifying the division if Kovalev is a limited opponent (i.e. an easy win)? He must see something in Kovalev that he'd rather not mess with.

People should let BHop know via his social media that they're not going to swallow this farce and that he needs to truly defeat all the champions in the division. So go get on his Twitter and be intellectually honest and unbiased and let's have him do this for real. I want him to get all four belt. I'm cheering for him, but three is not four.

 

I wish the old ******* would just retire already. He clearly doesn't want any part of Kovalev at this point in his career, a guy who probably hits harder than anyone Bernard has ever fought. Who does he think he's fooling with this ****? He's just as skeerd as Floyd without actually saying "I'm concerned about my health" out loud.
Oh wait, I thought Bernard was all old school and badass and would fight anyone and went out looking for challenges? Apparently even Bernard's audacity has limits.

 

I agree Hopkins, Stevenson and Kovalev would need to battle it out for there to be no dispute for the Undisputed LHW championship.

But I don't think Hopkins is doing this because of ducking or cowardice. Hopkins has fought pretty much the best available, but rather its because of boxing politics that these Unification bouts are not happening. If the fight is possible to make and Hopkins says there is no need to fight Kovalev, and then claims to be Undisputed champion, then that would be some bull**** move on BHop's part. But if a legit champion like Kovalev is not beaten, then there would remain dispute.

 

First of all it's Its lineal, not linear...

Second of all the undisputed adjective today means there are NO other champions (recognized world belt holders) to dispute your undisputed status. In today's boxing world, that means the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and lineal title (aka The Ring Title these days), must all be held by one person. That's it. It's not arguable. It is what it is, like it or not.

 

So if Mayweather (WBC), beats and unifies against Maidana (WBA) and Shawn Porter (IBF), all of whom are Goldenboy fighters, then claims to be the Undisputed Welterweight champion of the world because he holds the WBC, WBA and the IBF...

... but at the same time does not beat and unify against Manny Pacquiao who is the WBO champion, Mayweather would be criticised, and rightly so because Pacqiuao is a legit world champion.

So how can all these people agree Hopkins does not need to beat Kovalev to be considered undisputed?

 

I find it interesting from a social observers standpoint how certain people get defended no matter what they say or in many cases, do.

 

They are proving right now with the Lomachenko/Russell fight that the political/network boundaries can be crosses if they really want to, and getting the last LHW belt for BHop should be a "really want to" situation. He should fulfill his dream, not partially, but 100%. Everything in business can be worked out if the parties want to do it. Everything. Hopefully BHop will come to his senses and do it the way it should be done. That way no one will question him.

 

"lineal"!!!


Perhaps he is a geometry teacher and got confused.

 

I see more and more that we as a society are losing our objectivity and critical thinking skills. People too often navigate situations and discussions with their emotions and with rhetoric, rather than with their intellect and with facts. A boxer cannot simply change the definition of undisputed champion because the definition inconveniently doesn't fit their needs. Anyone with intellectual honesty would have to agree. The definition of undisputed is the definition, and ever since the WBO got recognized, like it not, it's included in that definition. If you're short a belt, you're still only the unified champion, not the undisputed champion.