Hopkins' Path To Victory

bernard hopkins has never been in the ring with anyone like joe calzaghe, calzaghe can adjust his style to fight anyone put in front of him, his record proves that, hopkins has lost 4 times. how many times has joe lost? yes joe is fighting in america for the first time but he will be stronger than ever and just as fast as before, hell run rings round mary poppins who is NO legend who is dirty and dull to watch, look what happened with lacy, americans have no idea about british boxing and not a great insight to the welsh dragon.

 

And why would such an experience fighter start a bit too late? Because he's old and can't fight at a fast pace. Also, I scored the second fight for Hopkins as well (7-5), but it was very close and Taylor was the one who closed more strongly in that bout.

I'm sure you'll agree that Calzaghe is somewhat better than Taylor, right?

Very few of the opinions expressed on this thread involve fact. Go back and check for yourself.

Here's all we know: People's physicial abilities deteriorate as they get older.

The rest is speculation based on evidence, agenda and/or wild-ass opinion.

In boxing terms, Hopkins is very old. He started to slip around 2003 and looked even stiffer and more lethargic in the summer of 2005, when he first fought Taylor.

Against Wright in 7/07, he looked more limited than ever. Because he's old. He has benefited from fighting two other old fighters, but he has not clearly defeated a guy who has legs in several years. And if he wasn't able to deal with Taylor's youth in 2005, how's he going to deal with Calzaghe three years later?

Hopkins is too crafty to get dominated, so he'll win some rounds. But it will be a shock if he prevails over Calzaghe, unless Joe himself has gotten old overnight. I expect this to be an ugly fight.

 

Lets hope so cos this has the makings of a great fight as opposed to the cagey bore-fest people are predicting

I honestly think Hopkins will do exactly what he did against Eastman a few years back....enaging very rarely and trying not to get involved unless he has to

 

IMO those choices will be hopkins blueprint to win, and it will be up to calzagheto nuetralize it.

also cortez will have to be complicet as well for the blueprint to work.

 

All this crying about roughhouse tactics....

Seems like the Calzaghe fans are already making excuses, even before their boy loses the fight...

If Joe is better than Hop he'll find a way to win. Period.

I don't think he's better, I don't think he'll win.

Hopkins TKO 9.

 

No one is crying about roughhouse tactics. As long as the ref will allow both to employ roughhouse tactics equally and as long as the rules of boxing will be upheld, more or less, there's no problem.

Joe is better than Hop so he will find a way to win. Period.

Calzaghe TKO 10.

 

Steward also has noted that Hopkins appears to be declining even further. If you're going to quote Steward, refer to all of his quotes.

I didn't score it that way. Don't remember the exact numbers, but in that fight I had Hopkins winning more rounds early and losing more late. Again, though, I had it 7-5 in his favor. I'm not saying Taylor dominated late, but he wasn't dominated late himself, a big change from the first fight.

Bottom line: Versus Taylor, Hopkins was a zero-sum fighter in terms of energy.

Sure it does. It wasn't Taylor's style or talent that troubled Hopkins, it was sheer, basic youth and activity. There's a reason BHops is targeting these older guys and will avoid someone such as Chad Dawson. He isn't stupid.

No amount of conditioning can stave off Father Time forever. Look at Holyfield or athletes in other sports such as Michael Jordan. It happens, and it's a credit to Hopkins that he can still command a big fight such as this.

You're wrong about his legs, though. They are not fresh. He has become rigid and lost the agility and stamina to fight on the move. Hence, the wrestling that now comprises the bulk of his strategy. You've commented on this yourself. If he could fight like he did against Trinidad, he'd have better ways to attack Joe. But he can't, because he's old.

Tarver is shot. Look at his performances prior to and following the Hopkins fight. He looked awful in Jones III and then ballooned in weight for Rocky. He has been shitty in his return bouts as well. He is finished.

Winky is fading as well, and he was far too high for his ideal weight. He looked lethargic in the lead-up to Hopkins and, again, was bloated as well.

Joe may get old overnight. I allow for the possibility, even as his die-hard fans seems to resist the idea. However, most recently we saw him defeating an excellent and young fighter in Mikkel Kessler, relying on his legs to carry the fight. There is no evidence to suggest he won't have his legs against Hopkins.

I already explained the relevancy of Taylor to this fight. If not for age, what did trouble Hopkins? Staying at 160 too long? Ok, but now it's three years later and -- here we'll have to agree to disagree -- he did not look fresh or particularly good against Winky. That was a wrestlefest against another guy who has lost his legs, and this one bloated as well.

I hope so! I'm cheering for Hopkins, just not very confident he can win.