If B-HOP had done this...

Of course....but this was Jones fault. Instead he beat a couple more top ranked LHW, then fought a HW champion. Shame on him.

 

His post was in reference to YesIhave's assertion that Jones ducking Toney in a rematch.

And the fight with Hopkins was competitive. Not close. Jones clearly won IMO. 8-4 was the right score. It was close by Jones standards.

 

If know nothing about Hopkins not getting paid.

And Hopkins was going to have to give up his belts no matter what. He wanted the fight at LHW just as much as Jones did. So that wasn't relevant.

I remember the 70-30 rumor. It came out of Hopkins camp. Jones camp said the opposite. That's a wash, since no one was there to know what it said. But on national TV, Jones said 60-40, Hopkins said 50-50. Jones deserved 60 then, and Hopkins priced himself out. Recently, Jones priced himself out of the same rematch.

 

Jones WAS a scared fighter. He admits this and I agree After McClellan, he fought differently. His KO ratio dropped, he took less chances. I also think he was difficult to negotiate with as well. However, HBO had offers turned down by Benn, Collins, and Liles...so that was on them IMO. Jones curiously never went after Michael Nunn.....that would be a good name on his resume. Nunn could have beaten Jones.

 

I relayed info just as you did. Give and take. Don't see what the problem is. I haven't shown any adverse reactions, though you just did. If you have a problem keeping the discussion informational, then just drop it. I never said either was afraid....if anything, their mutual egos are to blame.

 

They were the other champions of the SMW division though. No one else to offer a fight too.

 

He could have stopped alot of those guys. He wouldn't engage because they were bigger than him and he didn't want to get hurt. He hurt many of those guys. He is still the only fighter to stop Hill...

I think that's why he is gunshy now. That and his legs are gone.

 

Hard to read emotion over computers. My apologies.

 

WHOA!!!!

kg, I think we can both agree that BOTH of their egos came into play in not making this fight happen.

Roy said publically that he would offer 60/40...but never offered him more than 70/30 when it came down to attempting to negotiate. As well as saying that under no circumstance would he meet at a catchweight.

Hopkins wanted 50/50 and refused to not meet at a catchweight. He also wouldnt budge on either of these...

Now if Hopkins agreed to 60/40, would Roy have dropped a little weight to make it happen? Who knows. If Roy would have went 50/50, would Hop went directly to LHW? Again, who knows. Fact is, neither of them budged....the fight never came off and we (the fans) were robbed in the end.

Now as for the original question....

I hate playing the if game about fights in the past....they will never change....so why speculate on what "would" have happened.

As of right now, I have Hopkins #2 all time at MW (behind Hagler, just above Monzon) and top 30 All Time. If he goes on to beat Calzaghe (after Joe beats Kessler....which he will), he could very well jump to #1 at MW and top 20 All Time... If he follows that up by taking on one of the lesser HW titlists (He would have a fair chance against Maskaev or Sultan), I could easily make a argue top 15 - top 10.

Now going on that....I DO feel that the Hopkins - Calzaghe fight will happen (makes too much sense for both fighters not to make it reality)...and I do feel Bernard will take this one. But the HW thing....I dont know.

 

I mention this later on about their egos. As far as the 70/30 offer....they both say one is lying and they are telling the truth.

 

In a nutshell.....

Both fought great WWs moving up. Both fought very good MWs. Both had great accomplishments at the weight (Hop edges it here....). Both were highly skilled and stayed elite relatively later in their careers (Hop a little longer...due to Monzon's insane lifestyle). And beyond just that, H2H I favor Hopkins.

Again, that is just a quick recap of why. Remember greatness is heavily reliant on resume, but there are ALWAYS other factors (look at Duran at LW.....:deal ).

:good