Out box this guy ... I really think if hopkins was busier aka younger he would have beat him his jab was slow and he knew it younger hopkins had a off setting jab
I think a younger version of B hop would also be more brave and engage a lot more with Kovalev . Does that work in his favor or does he gets floored hard for being too brave ?? Credit to Hopkins for not being stopped , im still shocked . Kovalev sends PRIME full fledged LHWs crashing down to the canvas with a single punch . God bless Bernards Chin . The man is truly an ATG .
No Hopkins was always a slow starter that's why he he struggled with the likes of. Jermain Taylor plus Tito is a one dimensional fighter Kovaleve is a much better boxer !
The BHOP that beat Trinidad(who was a blown up LWW), woulda been blasted out in 3 by GGG. If 160 lb BHop dared to move to LHW even vs Adamek, he'd been KTFO.deal:deal
I think the result would have been the same. As said above Trinidad was a former WW champ and Hopkins turned pro weighing inside CW. I think he fight would have been pretty much the same.
I think he'd have handled Kovalez easily His win against Trinidad was a boxing clinic Ppl who r saying Trinidad was at a disadvantage moving up in weight I just don't see it, yes he was a long reigning WW champ but he was a big WW and carried is power right up to MW The way hopkins outboxed Trinidad did not have the hallmarks of the bigger man using his size advantage to win the fight, he outboxed him from the outside from round 1-12, Trinidad didn't lay a finger on him all night I remember in about round 9/10 Trinidad was trying to let his hands go with Hopkins on the ropes and BHOP drew him, caught him with a left hook on the inside then spun off the ropes turning Trinidad to where he was standing then let his own hands go (an example of what Hopkins did throughout the fight)... Tito was lost It was a beautiful boxing performance that shouldn't be "downcast" because Tito was a reigning champ at a lower weight
Tito was'nt a savy x's and o's fighter, he was'nt a fighter to study fighter tendencies and gameplan off of that. Trinidad relied on his own strenghths and he fought to his strenghths. A fighter like Hopkins always gameplans and for the most part allready knows what and what not to expect in a fight. Let me take the opportunity to say this. Trinidad was getting thorougly outboxed by Hopkins and when the time came that he knew he could'nt win a decision, he opened up and went for broke. Trinidad never stopped trying against Hopkins or anyone, man never has survival mode in his mindset, he goes out on his shield and thats to be respected.
A younger version of Hopkins still has to take those punches on the way in when he's trying to clinch
younger Hopkins would be faster...but Kovalev's strategy to keep distance , step back,and counter Bhop's lead right would still make Hopkins think twice engaging like what happened in after he got hit in round 1....if you think Hopkins was smaller as a Light Heavy, imagine how Puny he will be in his Trinidad fight version...Kovalev' s win is not all about punching power, its more about Strategy...plus Sergey's hands and feet were faster than those power punchers Bernard face in the past...
What happened was As soon as bhop tasted ko valves power he went into a shell That's scary power And any version of bhop is going to struggle
Kovalev is a problem for any hopkins... but obviously a prime hop mames it a different fight. Also opens himself up more.