Joe Calzaghe - Bernard Hopkins The Record Comparison Part 2

Ok here is the Hopkins part. Im going to go over which fights I believe are signficant in determining Hopkins legacy to this date and assess the quality of them before comparing them to Joes.



Roy Jones Junior: This was for the vacant IBF middleweight championship of the world. Jones would of course go on to become a multi-division champ, a superman phenom and the number 1 p4p boxer in the world for many years. Hopkins gave a good account of himself, but Jones won this fight convincingly even with a broken right hand. Nonetheless, it can be argued that Bernard was green at this point and a loss to a fighter the calibre of Jones by decision is no shame in itself! This fight happened in 1993.

Sergundo Mercado: These fights happened in 1994 and 1995. The first, which some idiot Hopkins haters haved cited as an example that his chin is not quite as solid as most believe was fought at altitude. This obviously hampered Hopkins severely and getting out with a draw in which he was clearly the better boxer is no shame. He put all doubts to rest in the rematch anyway and captured the IBF title. Good win for Hopkins and the start of his reign.

Joe Lipsey: Undefeated touted prospect....Hadn't yet mixed it with the best but still looked good. Hopkins literally executed this guy: he never fought again and the KO is both neat and sweet btw. A good win for Hopkins over a hot prospect. This fight took place in 1996.

Glen Johnson: A big win for Hopkins in my book. Johnson at this point was an undefeated hot middleweight prospect, which made a win against him at this stage very good in itself. However, the fact is this is a win that has appreciated with time and nobody has dominated and defeated Johnson quite as effectively as Hopkins thus far. Very good win. This fight took place in 1997.

Antwun Echols: Kid Dynamite was a feared puncher in the middleweight division and highly regarded. Hopkins first beat him in 1999 but its the rematch that really impresses me. Hopkins was slammed to the canvas dislocating his shoulder but showed incredible heart and desire to comeback and win by stoppage in the 10th! Impressive stuff over a good fighter. These fights took place in 1999 and 2000.


Syd Vanderpool: Good fighter. Hopkins has fought a number of these good contender types disposing of them all as any good champ should do. This fight took place in the year 2000.

Keith Holmes: Unfication fight. Dirty brawl. Holmes was a good fighter however and of course a fellow world champion. This was fought as part of the middleweight unfication tournament with both men widely been seen as fodder for the KO machine Felix Trinidad. Another good win for Hopkins. This fight took place in the year 2001.

Felix Trinidad: Finally recogntion. Does Trinidad really need introduction? 147 legend, king of 154, p4p one of the best fighters in the world at this point. Had also destroyed WBA Champ Joppy. Hopkins systematically destroys Trinidad in a shock. This is a big win. However, the blown up welter status cannot be denied and some would also argue that ODLH acutally beat him already and laid the blue print. Nonetheless it would be folly to suggest that this wasn't hugely signficant: the way Hopkins executed a game plan against Trinidad was masterful and showed the great fighter that he is. Big win for Hopkins that made him undisputed.

Alright, this section has kind of merged two parts of Hopkins careersrospect and his intial years as champion. We see here that he has fought a similar quality to Joe Calzaghe with a mix of hot prospect, former world champions and highly regarded contenders. I will now go on to look in depth at Hopkins career since the 2001 Trinidad fight. But ill have to post a 2nd post due to character limits.

To be continued..

 

2002-2004: Money over Legacy

Hopkins was finally king of the world: undisputed middlweight champion with a big win that gained him the recognition he deserved. He had taken out most of the contenders in his middleweight division. Legacy wise, he had already achieved alot. Where to go now if he was to further enhance that legacy? It seemed the only way was up to SMW or else LHW. Talk of a Roy Jones Junior fight emerged quickly....Negotiations were under way but Hopkins vanity ulimately scuppered the fight: he wanted a 50-50 split with a man who had already beaten him, the p4p king and one of the biggest boxers in the world! Why not take the 60-40 that Jones said he would fight him for publicly? Even 70-30 wouldn't be so bad: he would get the opportunity to avenge his loss enhance his legacy hugely and get a massive pay day into the bargain. Hopkins vanity kept this from happening and possibly another little thing that ill examine later....


The other alternative was 168. However this was a very European division where the two top fighters, Sven Ottke and Joe Calzaghe did not present nearly as lucrative a fight with Jones and in Ottkes case, there would probably be no point in even trying for it such was his reluctance to leave Germany. Negotiations began for a Calzaghe fight. Hopkins accepted the fight for 3 million. But something changed his mind just as the contracts were about to be signed....what was it? Fear? Unlikely...Hopkins was a great fighter with unwaveringly self belief...fear did not come into it. But doubt did....he could lose this fight. Calzaghe had enough credibility to fight on the basis of succesful fights against Sheika and Brewer...but then again there was another much safer option on the horizion...much more lucrative too and the media would probably be fooled as well legacy wise...

Oscar De La Hoya: A man who began his career as low as lightweight. However, he was boxings biggest draw outside of Mike Tyson. He was highly regarded. He had made noise about one day going to the middleweight division. All Hopkins had to do was wait at middleweight....how he was going to do this without losing credibility was tough but **** it...he had fought most contenders at the weight for years without recognition....he could wait.

So in 2002 he fights once against Daniels a blown 154 fighter. Then a farce of a mandatory defence against Hakkar where he of course calls out 154lbers much to the amusement of Larry Merchant. He beats Joppy during this time which was a decent enough win.

Finally 2004 things come together. Disposing of Allen(mandatory) would pave the way for a money spinning showdown with DLH! He defeats him then as widely expected disposes of DLH.

What do I think of this win? Its decent. Hoya was and is a very good fighter and I give Hopkins credit for stopping him. However he is most effective at welter. And was clearly out his depth at 160.(Sturm) So no, not a huge amount of credit goes to this win. He waited and waited for it and why not? The money was huge. But legacy wise it means little.

Continued...

 

2005 - Present Legacy Back on Track

Howard Eastman - Decent win. Perennial contender, one of the few viable ones at 160 in the aftermath of 2001. Eastman had regained his creditbility following the Joppy farce in which he should have became WBA champ. A good win for Hopkins this. 2005.

Jermain Taylor: Hot up and comer. Not unlike Jeff Lacy in the 160 division, Taylor was being touted for great things. Hopkins to his credit gave the young heir apparent his shot but stated he would execute him just as Trinidad had David Reid. He was wrong: A close fight but a clear win to Taylor in my eyes and Hopkins 10 year reign at 160 was over. A rematch was set for later that year with the result being the exact same. Unlike Calzaghe, he just couldn't comprehensively beat the new up and comer. Many began to speculate that Hopkins was finished. 2005.

A fight against RJJ was announced but cancelled when it was discovered no1 really wanted to see a couple of old guys who had lost their last few fights have a rematch(Take heed Holy and Tyson!)

Antonio Tarver: This fight was to take place at LHW with ring magazine champ Tarver, conquerer of RJJ. Tarver was a heavy favourite with the view being that Hopkins was past it. Hopkins bucked those assertions with a boxing clinic to become the new kingpin of 175! This was hugely impressive and a real shock to many. Tarver is erratic as shown by his losses to Johnson, Jones and Harding but he avenged all of those. Great win for Hopkins and champ in his second division. 2006

Winky Wright: This fight could have happened in 2005 when before were undisputed in their divisions. That it didn't isn't a big deal: Hopkins fought a very worthy contender in Taylor instead. Nonetheless, this fight at 170 for Hopkins gave him a major advantage given that he was always a very big MW to start with whilst Wrights best division was 154. Hopkins wins this fight against the man no1 wanted to face. I give him some credit but its not as big as it would have been at 160..Wright was clearly a little pudgy too.



The Final Comparison:

In terms of competiton, Hopkins HAS fought the superior competition. Not by much at all but by a little. RJJ and Tarver separate this for me. However, merely fighting the best competition does not make for a better legacy or else George Chuvalo would be an all time great. The fact is Hopkins lost not only to Jones but also to his heir apparent Jermain Taylor. Worst of all, there were the two best fighters that Hopkins ever faced at the weight. Not good.

Nonetheless, Hopkins proved himself over the years. Like Calzaghe he beat a number of contenders: Vanderpool and Echols. Hot prospects: Johnson and Lipsey. And fellow champions: Holmes and Trinidad. Truly impressive stuff. He also did something Joe has yet to do: become a champ in another division. However, unlike Calzaghe he has lost to some of his competition, most notably to Taylor the heir apparent. Please explain to me Hopkins fans the difference between beating Taylor at that point and Lacy? They were both hugely regarded prospects who had looked very good to that point. If anything, Lacy had beaten the better competition of the two till then. So exactly why are the Taylor losses glossed over for Hopkins and the Lacy victory dismissed for Calzaghe? It doesn't make sense!

Overall, however my opinion is this: Hopkins and Calzaghe are on a par legacy wise. Hopkins for me has beaten the slightly better competition on the merit of his win against Tarver. But he also lost to Jermain Taylor his heir apparent whilst Calzaghe disposed of Lacy which evens the scores a little bit.

Conclusion: One will edge ahead of the other on the basis of the up coming fight.

Your thoughts would be appreciated on all of this btw.

 

Exactly.

Where does this myth come from...spun by the legions of idiots that Calzaghe spent 10 years squandering his potential whilst Hopkins fought a whos who at that time?

Who else could Calzaghe have fought I proposed yesterday? The twin businessman that were RJJ and Hopkins weren't game. Ottke? Please. DM is the only one we could really come up with.

Hopkins after 2001 stayed in the ravaged middleweight division when they were bigger more important fights in regards to his legacy in the divisions above. Why? DLH! Money spinner minimal risk.

That is not to say Hopkins isn't a very good fighter and champion. Far from it. But it does show how easily boxing fans are manipulated by the media and false perceptions.

Look a little deeper. In regards to this issue the truth is somewhere inbetween. If and when Calzaghe beats Hopkins I will have no hesitation in saying he has the superior resume.

 

Cheers mate.

Yes, my point is Hopkins is a very good fighter and has taken on very good competition. But its not lightyears ahead of Joes and I believe Hopkins losses balance out their resumes somewhat.

The Taylor fights are subjective...I was of the opinion that Taylor won both but recognised they were close. I watched them twice but I can't say I have any great inclination to do so again...they were rather dull.

All in all however I feel whoever wins the fight on April 19th edges ahead of the other legacy wise. Its got alot riding on it which just further adds to the anticipation. I simply can't wait.

 

Sturm has went on to be proven to be a distinctly average fighter. Good, but by no means very good and certainly not great.

Would a win against him have did much for Hopkins? At the time maybe. People were talking up Sturms jab and speed and speculating that he might have a big future. He would have at least a name on his record having beaten a fat DLH and is at least a natural middleweight...

That being said, most thought that DLH had underestimated Sturm and gave him a by on that basis. I think legacy wise to the uninformed fan DLH represents more. To me, Sturm might have meant a little bit more at that time as he was a hot up and coming prospect who was the deserved victor over Hoya...