I still think a Prime Hopkins beats Dawson.

Hopkins will never beat an A level talent his own size.

 

Joe would have always beat Hopkins as well ..His work rate would have been to much ..This is why he also lost to Taylor or at least struggled with him ..His style didn't change over the yrs he just looks great against inferior boxers ,Pascal,Trinidad and Pavlik ..

Look at his out put against Taylor ,Joe ,Jones and Dawson ..Its too conveinet to say those losses came when he was 40 ,that age wasn't a factor to fans when he beat Tarver and Pavlik ..But its the excuse fo his losses :-(

Nah Im not buying that ..There are just certain styles that are all wrong for him..

 

Well, I am buying that. Agree to disagree. Hopkins was CLEARLY not the same fighter after 40 (and especially not as a light heavyweight) on film as he was when he was younger and took more chances, had more youthful energy, had better reflexes/movement, and was much sharper offensively.

 

If's,buts,and maybe's.
Hopkins lost a lopsided decision,why not give Dawson some credit instead of making excuse's about Hopkins age and physical condition.There were plenty of Hopkins fans predicting an easy night for him yesterday.

 

:deal

 

If Chad fights Ward well definitely get a glimpse of the TS question. Chad quite frankly only feels confident when fighting older opposition . He bitches up real quick against guys his age.

 

I do agree that a younger Hopkins takes more chances but like I said b4 that also had depended on what was in front of him .. I mean the boxing world was in awe of the chances he took against Pavlik ,and that was at lt heavy ..His reflexes didn't look that bad in that fight did it ?Thats all im saying ..It was hard to determine when he peaked ..A credit to him though .

 

No, his reflexes didn't look bad at all. He's still the third best LHW in the world imo behind Dawson and Campillo (unless Bute and Ward move up), but even against Pascal, he looked really sloppy at times, slower, and was getting hit more than ever - he was getting hit a fair amount by Enrique Ornelas also which was alarming.

I will say though that Hopkins has never liked fighting lanky and rangy boxers with speed, jabs, and good technical skills. He's not one of history's elite chessmatch boxers. After his rough/grind-you-down Philly-style days, he became more of a spoiler/mover who exploited holes, disrupted rhythm, and found spots to counterpunch. I just think a younger and sharper, younger, and fresher Hopkins beats Taylor, Calzaghe, and Dawson (with the latter 2 being more difficult fights by far - they would certainly be competitive).

 

I have to agree. Hopkins is one of my favourite fighters but we will never know for sure. I felt he won 4/5 rounds against Dawson and felt if he had of done just a bit more he would have won. Maybe if he wasnt 47 years old he could of done a bit more, but we will never know for sure.
Dawsons night, but Hopkins is a legend

 

I think the Hopkins that fought Tarver would squeeze out a tight decision. Dawson just does not do enough. He is frustrating to watch because you can just see his amazing talents and he seldom displays them.

 

Of course Hopkins beats him prime. Dawson isn't an ATG, Hops is

 

Agreed they would all be competitve ,What I disagree on is the out comes but Hopkins makes it tough on anyone ..

His issue was that he took time to disect opponents ,If you got a guy thats busier than that just made it tougher for him to catch up .It was a gifet and a curse ..



Just look at the Jones fight he made it competitive but he couldn't out work Jones ..

 

A younger Hopkins could have beaten him yes, but it's no guarantee. A lot depends on how/what Dawson brings in that fight, as it's been said before he needs to let his hands go more. If Dawson didn't up his activity, one could see a younger Hopkins upping his output and winning a close decision. And sadly I don't see Dawson upping his output.. Frustrating as hell, hope this changes although I've been saying it for many fights now..

 

There's no such thing as a prime Hopkins @ 175. Any version of Hopkins at that weight would've struggled against Dawson. Prime Hopkins was @ 160 and Dawson NEVER fought there.

 

He also became a better fighter after the first Roy Jones fight and none of guys you've mentioned(including Dawson) had the speed and reflexes Jones had, that's the difference. I can agree with you on the roy jones thing, but not the other ones. I believe he would of beatin Taylor and Calzaghe(I had him winning those fights) but he would of had more difficlties with Dawson stylisticly from what I seen. Either, he wouldn't lose to all of them like you keep implying.