Hopkins Robbed.........Calzaghe Overated

The way Calzage was coming on , B-Hop needed to rest, the guys that play the mind games are also affected by them...Hop tried to break Joe's momentum and it worked the 1st Fake Foul Attempt...

 

Here's my little analysis:

Hopkins lost the fight. It was somewhat close, but Hopkins' attempt to rally the vox populi will fall on deaf ears. It wasn't a robbery.

Except for the Jack Sharkey tribute, Hopkins' micro-strategy was excellent. He did what he does -which is take away his opponent's strengths because he solved Calzaghe's style. Remember Kessler's comment about Calzaghe's "ruining your boxing"? I saw Hopkins effectively ruining Calzaghe's boxing for about 5 rounds.

I have a serious problem with the macro or "grand" strategy that Roach and Hopkins came up with -"take him into deep water and drown him" was not the way to go with Joe. Joe's conditioning is too good -he's younger, busier, and doesn't tire. Hopkins had a mental lapse last night -even though that was the strategy, he was a damn fool for not changing it once he dropped him with that beautiful right in round 1. He should have applied pressure and dinged him with big rights and hooks right after that and then did the same for the next few rounds.

Hopkins committed the common sin of the modern fighter -he got his man stunned and then backed off because he wanted to make sure he didn't expend too much of his energy. He was looking at the "what if" instead of focusing on the "here and now opportunity". So he layed off and the opportunity passed. Calzaghe shook off the cobwebs, gradually found his rythym and his confidence and then took over the fight mid-way. He took over even as Hopkins traded his effective and ruining aggression for trap-setting because of fatigue.

In the early rounds, Calzaghe was unsure of Hopkins and how good he was -he was in a new place, in the biggest fight of his life, and fighting a man both fearsome and formidable. He should never have been allowed to recover and get comfortable. Hopkins should have trusted in his conditioning and if he couldn't finish Joe, he could have taken a few rounds off and then got his second wind and went at him again.

Not age, but the conservativism that comes with it is what cost Hopkins the fight!

 

I thought Hpkins looked great but Joe kind of figured him out after 3 rds, the fight was close because of the KD in the 1st but Joe dominated the fight from the 4th on...At the most I gave B-Hop 5rds if you wanted to be generous with the close ones but Calzage clearly won 7. I agree about Bernard being conserative but he also was running low on fuel(thus the low blow caper) but Bernard has always been a conserative guy,conditioned well but fights best as a counterpuncher fighting at HIS own pace. Calzage picked it up on him

 

I think he knew that the flash knockdown didn't really hurt Calzaghe... and it's not Hopkins nature to go for the kill and fight aggressively. Maybe it was his only chance to win the fight cleanly, but we're talking about a small window of opportunity here, especially considering fighting aggressive and going for the knockout against Calzaghe has shown to be suicide. For Lacy and Kessler it was anyway, and both are bigger punchers than Bernard with much better stamina as well.

 

..............Ah! It's on HBO right now. I'll go have a gander.

 

I'm still waiting for you to tell me how Pavlik can beat Calzaghe. :nut

 

Hopkins win?No Way!He did nothing but clinch and throw 1 punch at a time.

 

I'm not like most people on here if you hadn't noticed.

 

Hopkins may be justifyably proud of his performence but Calzaghe won the fight clearly if narrowly.

Hopkins legacy is perhaps enhanced by this loosing effort while Calzaghe has shown himself to be the best fighter under 175 at the moment.

 

...........You know what pisses me off probably more than anything about some posters on these boards? Their incredibly loose usage of the word "robbery."

Calzaghe won that fight. I had it 115-112. I gave credit to Bernard where it was due, where he actually did more than circle, grapple and shoot the odd right hand now and again. After about the sixth round though, he did precious little except that. Ring generalship can only be bragged on if it prevents your opponent from doing what he wants to do, and that didn't happen here. Calzaghe controlled the tempo, landed more shots, and was the one exerting his will. Any scorecard for Hopkins needs real careful scrutiny.

 

Excellent post.

The word robbery is ALWAYS brought up. It's annoying. Some are even saying Hopkins put on a clinic.

 

............Anyone saying that simply doesn't know what they'e looking at, or has a hard time dealing with the fall of a hero.

 

Naw, I just watched a few of those rounds. From now on, he should be known as "Bernie" from "Weekend at Bernie's.":dead Bernie should have had a voodoo priest in his corner to animate his corpse more, and stick pins in a Calzalghe doll. As for Calzaghe, how on earth did HE ever get to 45-0?:huh (This concludes my momentary monthly peek into contemporary boxing, as I retreat back into the safe and secure sanctuary of nostalgia from my metaphorical "channel surfing.")

 

AP and ESPN.com had it for Hopkins too, 114-113.

 

My take...

Here's the thing about the fight...in many ways, each fighter nullified the other's strategy, so ring generalship is a wash. You could say that Hopkins landed the more effective blows, but Calzaghe generally landed more. I guess you give JC credit for effective agression, and Hopkins credit for defense, so they cancel out.

Pretty much that sums up every round of the fight. Depends on the critera you use to score, and what caught your eye more.

This is one of those fighters where you would expect a wide variance in terms of scoring....from 8-4 Calzaghe to 7-5 Hopkins...and I wouldn't begrudge anyone who had the scorecard. So, calling it a "robbery" is out of the question. I had 6-6 in terms of rounds, with Hopkins taking 1,2,4,7,10,12, and with the KD he wins by one point. But, you could make a case that at leas a couple of those rounds could go to Calzaghe, meaning he wins the fight.

Bottom lie, both fighters did what they needed to do to win, and neither of them looked all that great as a result.