They seem similiar in how they fight so how do you see this turning out? You can pick Hopkins from any period if you like.
Now - Ward. Prime Hopkins vs Ward - Hopkins wins, no question. Aside from handspeed, B-Hop did everything better than Ward. He was one of the most skilled and technically sound fighters in boxing history.
Prime B-Hop wins and its not even close. Ward's victory was good and he is actually doing pretty good for a guy with 22 fights, but lets not get carried away. B-Hop was just on another level.
What is a PRIME Hopkins? When he was 35? The man was definitely late bloomer, or example of a avoided fighter, depending on your take.
Ward would be among the best opponents Hopkins ever faced. This is not an easy fight for a prime Hopkins.
I dont know. Fast fighters have always given B-HOP problems, Roy,JT, and Joe so (please dont hang me), but i think Ward is a bad match up for bhop.
LMAO! nice! in all seriousness, what about ward vs calzaghe? think about it, two guys who don't know how to lose and joe's versatility. i am not a calzaghe fan by any means but the guy could fight.
Funny how Hopkins never fought at SMW. At MW Hopkins was a very Big MW with power, in the move up to LHW he became average sized with decent speed and the kinds of skills that well surpass anyone else in the division. I would have to imagine that Hopkins would be troubled by Ward's speed and toughness but he would still be larger and meaner then Ward. Hopkins just has that back alley thug mentality, he would out-muscle Ward and mug him.
At this point in time, Ward still has a lot to prove, to even be mentioned as a possible threat to a prime Hopkins. It's hard to truly make a fair comparison between the two. Based on what I have seen of Ward he is a very good sound boxer with similar strengths and skills to Hopkins. But Hopkins to me is just that little bit better in most deparments. Hopkins right hand is better than Wards, it's such an accurate and well disguised punch. Hopkins body punching is also better and so is his jab. Ward showed against green how effective he could be inside and how rough he could be, in fact it was very reminiscent of prime Hopkins. But Hopkins was just as good inside and even rougher, using more than just his head, but low blows, shoulders you name it Hopkins would sneak it in and not get caught doing it. We've seen Hopkins in against rough fighters like Echols and come out on top could Ward still prevail if he was getting fouled and manhandled back? Hopkins UD in my opinion, it takes a special fighter like Jones Jr to beat a prime Hopkins and as good as Ward is at the moment I can't see that he has enough ability to beat the executioner.
