~ Joe CALZAGHE v. Bernard HOPKINS ~ ANALYSIS and PREDICTION Thread ~

I agree with your analysis.

Calzaghe's been promising 1) power, 2) punch output, 3) an exciting fight, 4) to make Hopkins look old, etc. etc. These are the kind of promises that will put you in trouble if you try to deliver on them come fight night vs. a guy like Nard. To win Calzaghe must be willing to fight a boring, point scoring, fight.

He's also been trash talking way more than he usually does. Hopkins has been relatively more silent.

I think he's been less focused in the pre-fight. Reminds me of Hatton's behavior pre-Mayweather.

 

bernard hopkins is a modern day legend...based on the amazingly long period that he has been boxing at the very very top level of the sport, he is rightfully called a legend...

if this fight was made with a 29/30 year old bernard hopkins then you would never back against him...but he is almost 44 years old, and based on that...and...calzaghe's past {jeff lacy, kessler...and back to eubank}..then common sense says its gonna be calzaghe on points or by a late stoppage on accumilative punches thrown...

calzaghe moving up will NOT be an issue in this fight...in excatly the same way that it was NEVER an issue in the floyd mayweather v ricky hatton fight...the british sports writers like to state that ricky hatton moved up in weight and it was too much for him...that he is the best in the world at his natural welterweight....that is bollox as far as the mayweather fight was concerned...based on the simple fact that mayweather could easily have come down to hattons weight and the result would have been the same...mayweather was pro at a weight lower than welter {super feather}, and became so good that he could move up through the weights....so if anything...hatton was nearer his natural weight than mayweather in that fight...

they will say the same in this calzaghe fight - 'how will joe find moving up in weight'...while not mentioning that hopkins started out as a middleweight !!...

anyhoo...tarver next for joe after he beats hopkins...he'll get another world title and he has the beating of antonio tarver every day of the week..

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Calzaghe by lopsided SD. One judge will inexplicably give B-Hop the nod.
Believe it!

 

He says he's been speaking with Ricky about Vegas, staying away from the Strip, avoiding Casino hotels because the air-conditioner is better... Hatton never stopped talking about the entertainment factor from the Castillo post-fight interview to the weigh-in and Calzaghe could have said something different but he didn't... I know what they really want is to "entertain" the judges and make them decide whom are they gonna give the rounds to, even before the fight happens. But we have to keep in mind that while some fell asleep on Hopkins-Wright, Glen Trowbridge and Dave Moretti scored 117-111 for Bernard. Is Wright less respected than Calzaghe in Vegas? Politics...

 

Great analysis!!! :good Roll on April 19th:bbb

 

great post that punchdrunk

 

Calzaghe UD close

 

This fight won't be as easy for Joe as some people here are predicting. Joe won't stop Hop either. Joe really needs to plant his feet before he starts shooting off combinatinons, and against someone with the movement of Hopkins this will be extremely difficult. Joe will be very hard to outbox from the outside though, and will land consistently with his jab more so then anything else. I can see Joe overall outworking Hop, but getting frustrated at the same time. I think Hop will land the heavier shots in the fight though, and will find a home at times for both his right hand lead/counter, and his left hook lead/counter. I think in hindsight, many people will look at this fight, and bag Joe for not being more dominant against an ancient hop.... And people will look at this fight and wonder/presume that perhaps a younger Hopkins would have had Joe's number. Hop will certainly win rounds, and there will be a lot of close rounds where Joe takes it through sheer punch volume. Overall Joe by Wide UD.

 

there are a few things i am not sure about this fight

in no particular order

1/how will calzaghe cope with 175

2/how will calzaghe cope with the heat and the fact the fight is at 1000 foot altitude, will it affect his stamina

3/how will calzaghe cope with fighting away in america.

4/calzaghe has boxed **** v spoliers in the past and bernard at this stage is the biggest spoiler of the lot.

5/hopkins has a style to shut calzaghe down if calzaghe does not box disciplined.

6/will cortez keep the fight clean suiting calzaghe or let it be dirty suiting hopkins .

these are all x factors that will dictate the outcome.

i am 99% sure barring injurys the fight will go the distance.

calzaghe wins if he stays focused and up for it , usues jab/feet/speed/flurries/workrate.

hopkins can win if calzaghe boxes poor and not focused ,

hopkins to win
hopkins goes backwards and gives him angles left and right as he will setting traps and then landing, following through with the head and then ties up calzaghe time and time again as he did wright not letting calzaghe set a pace or get into a rythem.

i look for calzaghe to fight a kessler 5/6/7/8/9/10/11 type fight and would be 90% sure of a win.

calzaghe fight a bika 3 through 12 fight and hopkins wins IMO.

i think the fight taook place in uk bet your house on calzaghe in america i think it is something like 65 to 35 in calzaghe`s favour.


IMO this is one to keep the money in the pocket as i can see a fightplan where hopkins can win.

of course same can be said of hopkins.

if hopkins boxes like he did in the 2 jermain taylor fights where he boxed very conservativly both times trying not to lose rather than going all out and trying to win then calzaghe will win .

i do not take much notice of tarver or winky, joe is nothing like them and if he is on top form i see the top form calzaghe beating the top of his game hopkins at this stages of there careers.

if joe is not on form , hopkins will take advantage.

my pick is calzaghe points.

 

great analysis decebal, was a good read and alot of what you said made sense. i just hope your right. i hope joe does box from the outside and not get inolved in anything stupid. but as the fight goes on and nard gets frustrated, a lot stoppage for joe is a cetain possibility

 

I think using "Calzaghe on points" as a base assumption if both guys bring their best physically and strategically, we can say that deviations are dependent on which fighter, if either, subperforms; in other words, it's in Calzaghe's hands to lose, and in Bernard's hands to get stopped.