If Froch took the Hopkins fight and won, how would it compare to Calzaghe's win over BHOP? I believe despite his age the BHOP that fought Calzaghe was close enough to prime, he was still a great fighter. Is he still today though in your opinions?
Hopkins prime is hard to assess. In fact, the whole prime thing is overrated. Nobody knows exactly when a fighter was in his prime they just base it off of a great performance.
I believe Froch beating Hopkins would be somewhat better than Calzaghe's win, as Hopkins was quite green at the higher weight classes at that point in time and still learning his craft.
Agreed. I'd even extend it until '04 or so. The move up in weight was a rebirth for him, but just in so he didn't have to face the quicker, more mobile fighters. The (generally) slower guys at the higher weights, are far more likely to be carved up by the old man. Can't necessarily agree with this, although I guess it's not beyond the realm of possibility. The reason being, I think it is just that much harder to perform at the top level with every passing year. Although normal logic doesn't always apply with this guy, lol. As for a potential Froch/Hopkins fight, I think any fight with Hop is a trap. Meaning, you don't get the credit in relation to the degree of difficulty it takes to win vs the man, because of his age. But, no doubt, it is a major factor. The question always becomes, "how would the fight have gone if Hopkins were in his prime?" All that said, I say Froch is a perfect victim in the making for Hopkins.
Hopkins defeat to Dawson is what would detract from a Froch win v him IMO. BHOP looked nearly unbeatable to me when Calzaghe beat him.
Very well said, this is why as Froch fan I'm not mad about this matchup. Personally I would give Froch huge credit for the win but I'm wondering what others think and that's why I've obviously started the thread.
He was still susceptible to the same things then as he is now, although, most likely to a higher degree now; Faster, more athletic guys. Which, Carl is not.
He has not really "deteriorated". Depending what style he fights, he may look good or he may look bad. Looked great against Pavlik, Pascal twice and Cloud to me. But looked bad against Jones and Dawson. Though the Dawson loss was close, and he did beat Jones clearly, it just wasn't pretty.
I don't think Froch has the style to give Hopkins too many problems but he does have the workrate. I think this fight would be very close, a 50/50 for me and a big risk for Froch. He may not be as strong at the weight and history shows us guys who go up a weight and come back down often dont look as good at the weight as they did before so that could also hamper his chances of a rematch v Ward although I think Ward wins a rematch either way. I just don't think the BHOP fight is worth the risk for Carl, he won't get the deserved credit for the win I feel and he could very well lose.
