I'm thinking that old a** HOPKINS beats CALZAGHE!!

I hope you're being sarcastic.

Hopkins shouldn't have been the underdog against Winky and Tarver. I bet on him for both fights and now I'm betting huge against him. I also lost money on him for the second Taylor fight when I thought he shouldn't have been an underdog. Phrases like "Hopkins is one guy you don't want to bet against" are meaningless, especially when he's up against a top 3 P4P fighter who will give him huge stylistic problems and without a doubt will come 100% motivated/focused. It doesn't help that Hopkins is shot. It's going to be interesting to see how this forum reacts if Hopkins gets stopped. Will the people saying there's no way Calzaghe can TKO him give Joe credit for the win or simply say Hopkins looked shot and anyone would have KO'ed him that night?

 

Calzaghe is too fast for Hopkins, he will also outwork Hopkins, but in Vegas, the judges and refere will be for Hopkins.

 

I'm thinking he certainly has his moments, and doesn't let himself get embarrssed (as some here strangely think he will)... But Calzaghe's gonna win a decision.

 

This fight is a mismatch! Kind of like Holyfield versus Ibragimov. Hopkins posseses no threat to Calzaghe whatsoever. He is way to inactive to outpoint Calzaghe, and he is no KO artist.

Calzaghe could win in the same fashion as Ibragimov, moving in an out scoring without taking risk. Easy UD Win.

My guess though is that he will beat Hopkins up badly! Retire the old man for good.

 

I don't think anybody's going to get beat up in this fight, and as for picking a winner, i think it's very hard because these guys are so experienced and versatile, they can do a lot of different things in there. Very hard to predict what kind of fight it's even gonna be, let alone who'll win it.
Conventional wisdom says Calzaghe, but i'm not shocked if BHop pulls it out.

 

I always go back and forth what I think about this. Both guys know what they're doing and Hopkins apparently has no trouble with southpaws - at least those who aren't as good as Calzaghe. I doubt he would have taken the fight if he didn't think he had a legitimate shot at winning, he seems to have a lot of pride.

That said, my official thought is a close UD for Joe.

 

Hopkins is clever and will use any tactic neversarry to turn it into another ugly match. i dont see a fight where calzaghe looks amazing like Kessler and Lacy, joe will be dominant though and I do see a comfortably UD.

Joe is quicker, has more stamina and workrate this alone is a nightmare for Hopkins who has been feasting on southpaws but southpaws who thro 4 punches a round more southpaw too slow to catch him.

Bernard will be hanging out of his arse come the 9th round and TKO stoppage is not a impossibility.

 

Hopkins took the fight to light heavyweight because he must be aware of Joe's handspeed and punch output and would want to minimize the effect. Both guys are more comfortable at 175 lbs but I feel Hopkins is naturally the stronger man at that weight. Regardless of their low workrate, Hopkins seemed strong and still very sneaky against Tarver and that is not something Joe can overlook... The age factor is severely diminished at this weight class because it's all about who connects solid and cleanly and the way that reflects on the progress of the fight. Hopkins is a terrible challenge at Calzaghe cause if Joe doesn't snap that jab with some pop on him, he's gonna walk right into some sharp counter shots and at mid-point, with the crowd booing and all, Bernard may well get a hold on the pace and rhythm. I think it's very difficult for Hopkins to steal it because he only fights on spurts now and Joe definitely looks at him like he did to Eubank - he wants to beat Bernard very, very bad and that may bring the last great effort in Calzaghe and we all know Joe is all about fighting heart.

 

Hopkins UD.

 

No one fights harder than a man with something to prove.

Hops hasnt got anything to prove, Joe has. He'll be way to much for the stiff old Ameri-bum.

 

I think you are wrong there because Hopkins was the one to mention a Maskaev fight at some point, and saw no substancial reason about a Calzaghe fight back then... He definitely wanted to prove something or else, he would simply have retired after the Tarver fight. I think that Hopkins suffers from self-descriminatory symptoms and always feels that he has to overcome someone more, prove something more to himself and others... Winky was seen as a better fighter P4P ( a favourite with an overwhelming output that the old man could never beat) and he took Winky just for that reason. Calzaghe's side has been providing motivation for Hopkins for quite some time - Joe got to the point to tell it in his face ( when he said he would never lose to a ...) and the crowd for the Hatton-Mayweather weigh-in booed Bernard, the media has been talkin about a guaranteed win for Joe and Calzaghe already won HBO's attentions. Hopkins may have the motivation but he's also sayin that Calzaghe has to beat the legend in him to become a legend, no doubts he's playin with Joe's mind... Calzaghe has a great reason for beating him in his long awaited and long-delayed american debut but he is the one really to say that he doesn't have anything else to prove against a 43 year old - that is plain arrogance that weighs against genuine fighting desire to overcome obstacles.

 

Hopkins in the Ring Interviw Edition March 07:

"What about Joe Calzaghe? He's called you out.
Bernard: Calzaghe's not known in the United States. As far as I'm concerned, fighting Joe Calzaghe doesn't give me a legitimate excuse to be able to handle some of the backlash. People will be asking, why are you dropping back down to 168 to fight Calzaghe, that's not making history. It would make a lot of sense on his part, but not on my part, it wouldn't be history. Also, I don't think I'll be the underdog in that fight, and with Joe coming off the fight with Bika, it won't be a thing where people say - Wow, Bernard is fighting this guy! - I need a major threat.
So let me get this straight. Regardless of what kind of money was offered, you wouldn't fight Joe Calzaghe?
Bernard:I didn't say that. If the money is right, I would fight Joe Calzaghe. But not at 168 pounds. Calzaghe would have to move up to lightheavyweight."

Also on the Ring Fall 2005 - William Detloff "...If Hopkins had spanked him ( Taylor) and shown clearly that he was still in charge at 160, we'd be looking forward maybe to a Hopkins end-of-career superfight against Antonio Tarver or Winky Wright or maybe even Roy Jones." - Hopkins lost the titles and Taylor didn't really win them like Clay to Liston, Foreman to Frazier, Louis over Braddock, Dempsey over Willard or Hopkins over Mercado... Therefore, the titles were split once again and Hopkins went to 175 to face lineal champion Tarver, top rated p4p Wright and now undefeated, unified and undisputed SMW Champion Joe Calzaghe to redeem himself. I am tryin to be part of the solution and not of the problem here. Bernard has something to prove alright.

 

I cannot believe some of the **** you people are saying. I'm really glad that some of you looove Calzaghe and some of you looove Hopkins, but a lot of you are really talking out of your asses here. A few little points I'd like to make:

-Hopkins throws more than 5 punches per round. His last time out he threw 618 punches in 12 rounds, and against Tarver he threw 417. 417 isn't a lot more than Hopins's average, but 618 is a lot of punches. A lot of light heavyweights don't throw that many punches over 12 rounds. It is a FACT that Hopkins throws plenty of punches per round now. Possibly because he has more energy without having to drain down to 160 lbs, despite his age. Btw the CompuBox average punch output for light heavyweights is 54/round. 618 over 12 rounds comes out to 51.5. Not to bad for a 43 year old 'shot old man'.

-Calzaghe is not going to knock out Bernard. Bernard has excellent defense. It is very difficult to hit him in the first place, and even if you do its nearly impossible to land flush shots because of how well he tucks his chin and hides it behind his shoulder. Hopkins isnt going to knock out Calzaghe either. Stop kidding yourself either. The fight is in Vegas, so the ref isn't going to call the fight just because Calzaghe throws a flurry of ineffective Sugar Ray Leonard style combinations - which I see as only a good thing, who wants the fight to be stopped prematurely?

-Bernard is NOT shot. He's throwing more punches than ever, with more power than ever, and he's still very intelligent and has decent reflexes. His coordination is still very good, he's very accurate. He even still has pretty good legs, he used them in fact to beat Winky, taking advantage of Winky's bad legs!

- Calzaghe is not naturally the bigger stronger man. People saying this are making more sense. Hopkins may have fought at 160 for many years, but he did this at a cost. He is much closer to a natural light heavyweight than a natural middleweight. He was only to make 160 lbs because he constantly stayed in shape between fights and ran a LOT. Hopkins is 6'1", Calzaghe is 5'11". Thats a 2" advantage for Hopkins. So please please please stop saying Calzaghe is bigger. Bernard also has a 2" reach advantage (though that doesn't really mean anything).

I know you guys are big fans and all that, but saying **** thats just obviously bull**** is not going to make your boy look any better...

 

Please explain to me why on Earth Hopkins should've been favored going into the Tarver fight? Now let's look at the facts.

Hopkins was coming off of two consecutive losses at MW. He was moving up 15 lbs in weight to fight what was supposed to be the best LHW in the world at the time. Yeah, no big deal there. I'm sure you had every reason to believe why a logical person would favor Hopkins. :nut