We haven't been properly introduced, my name is Bond...James Bond.

:thumbsup...true

 

Everyone is saying 'well Calzaghe outworked him etc etc' but Joe looked poor in that fight. He was busier, but more inaccurate than I've ever seen him, and also got sat on his arse.

They both come out of that fight with kudos for having formidable styles that made the other look far from their best. Add that to Hopkins' ring record, which does supercede Calzaghe (even in terms of longevity at the top, which is another thing Calzaghe often gets credit for) and as I say, I can't see there being any argument as to who was the better fighter.

Hopkins is an ATG. Calzaghe arguably could've been but didn't do enough, I won't give him a free pass because he's from these shores.

 

Think most agree he's a better fighter...just not a far superior one

 

Yep, far superior. He has proven his greatness.

 

ive not long ago watched Trinidad's career set. he looked awesome til he ran into hopkins and then it was like a different fighter.

that win beats anything Calzaghe done imo :good

 

james who changed my avatar before , ive now changed it again but that was a gay move

 

Hopkins middleweight reign would make a good thread. Theres a lot of debatable angles on it IMHO.....

 

Agreed. There were a few times when he could've smashed through people but carried them in dull fights. That's not always been a consistent trait however. He faced some big punchers, Echols and Teinidad (Brown was done when Hop fought him) and tamed them too, as well as being the only man to stop Glen Johnson (who admittedly has got better due to the experience he would garner down the road), dissected Trinidad with ease and took him out, which contrary to opinions about Tito being shakey, was a difficult task, as well as arguably deserving the nod over Taylor, full of confidence then, in at least one of their fights.

But it's the lackidaisical showing against Eastman, plodding against De La Hoya before taking him out four rounds later than he could've. The series with Robert Allen, never better than decent IMO.

Still, Calzaghes B-level wins are the likes of Veit and Sheika. Hop still has more quality across the board than him. If you go via boxrec and say he 'drew' against Pascal (or even score it a draw yourself, I scored a 113-113 upon one viewing) there van be little doubt that the kudos B-Hop gets for that performance also adds a lot to his standing. Fact is, like Calzaghe, he wouldn't have been succesful if Roy had choosen 160 as his place to compete (likewise Joe if Roy had smashed him at 168 somewhere closer to their primes) but I think his late resurgance, and textbook brilliance seeing him score high on the 'application of attributes' criteria, see him supercede Roy in terms of greatness.

He wasn't all that bad when facing a Prime Roy (with an injured hand admittedly)

B-Hop is just flat out better. Calzaghe has, on his A-list wins, Eubank, Kessler, B-Hop, and Lacy (which is a B/C-list fighter but an A*performance) and some decent mid-range wins such as Woodhall and Reid (some say controversial) as well as a dominant win over a faded Jones (I certainly lend him more kudos than I did B-Hop for his,ahem, effort in the rematch with Roy) and displayed an unorthodox southpaw style and adaptability to go with his impressive engine.

Overall, he's just not in B-Hops league. The main reasons why, again.

B-Hops division is more historically rich

Calzaghe didn't have as impressive a defining win IMO

Hopkins ran Joe very close and also displayed ability. Joe gets a bit more for their fight of course, I scored it to him 114-113

Beaten two no.1 ranked Ring champs at Light Heavy, depending on where you stand on the Pascal fight, fairly emphatically, at an advanced age.

Win over Tito is bigger than anything Calzghe has IMO

running out of battery....... I'll be back when I charge

 

Pacemaker or phone.....:admin

 

Pacemaker? Gaz, I know I seem like a cantankerous old git, but I am only a wee bairn My fingers glide gllanty over the touch screen of my iPhone, that's all.

Am now plugged in :yep

 

I know you're picking Bradley over Alexander, Flea... but how highly do you rate Timmy?

 

I'm impressed with a lot of the facets of his game mate.

Steady head, he's a thoughtful fighter with a good inside game as well as fast hands to compliment his mid-range game. He can also utilise lateral movement well, and can drop counters at mid-range and lead people onto that snappy right hand with alarming accuracy.

It's his work in the pocket that really impresses me. He makes up for not being a finisher with the veteran tactics he uses, I particularly like his headbutts (no joke, it's Hopkins-esque to be able to implement that londa' stuff, it o's a fight after all) and he's seemed adaptable thus far. He seems to be pretty good at taking away his opponents jabs, which i like to see in a fighter personally (Duran was the greatest at it by far IMO) although the Holt one is a tough one for me as I personally think Holt lost his bottle once he realises Timmy was gonna stick around and ditched his jab, but you can interpret that fight as you want IMO.

I think he's a perfect little tank for 140 as well, although I think he'd give a good account of himself at 147 as well. He looked a tad slower there, but seemed to have more oomph (the Mexican came in with a padded record however, his name currently escapes me.

I don't think he'd disgrace himself against Pac. He's too smart to take a shellacking.

I think he'd give Floyd mote troubles than most. He doesn't fight only one way, although is favour Floyd to win 116-112 or something like that, more eye-catching work and snappy counters, better defensively also)

I pick him to beat up Berto outright.

I could well be wrong, but I mark him out as the best of a very talented bunch at 140. I think he'd stop Khan late. I'd love to see this fresh, tough and smart kid take on the rugged, seasoned composite style of Marquez, 135lbs champ Vs 140lbs champ, and they really are the no.1 and no.1 in the divisions (assuming Bradley does beat Devon and Khan) but age and popularity might well stop their paths crossing.

Devon is decent but Bradley appears the more complete fighter. He seems to have a good head on him from what I can see, his temperament and skillset impress me immensely. Maybe that's why his head is so big.

There's a bit of versatility in his opposition already. Awkward dangerman in Witter (away from home) massive puncher in Holt (mentally weak though IMO)

Abregu that was it

and undefeated and gutsy Peterson. These wins range from very impressive to decent, but I think Bradley showed his range of attributes in all of them. He can seemingly do pretty much everything but punch, but his punches are stinging enough, and consistent enough to dissuade most opponents by the 2nd half of the fight, and as I said, he is art enough to maximise his power by leading his opponents onto jarring right hands.

I don't think he'll be an ATG at this stage but if any of these 140 knees is going to snare a fight with either of the big two I think Bradleys the most
capable man to do the job....of not getting annihilated/thoroughly outclassed.

 

:good

I don't fancy him at Welter as much as yourself by the sounds of it. He would be able to pick up an alphabet easily enough but I think his size would catch up with him at some point. I don't think he's got the frame to be fighting someone who will be coming in well over the limit on fight night. I think his legacy in the long term will suffer because of this, despite his talent.

I can't see him getting annihilated by anyone at the moment. Even if he is in trouble, he's got the instincts to turn things a bit ugly.

 

Good post. I don't think him tryin to outhidtle say, Margarito would see him do too well, but I think his versatility could see him through some bad patches.

Against less physical guys, and Pac, who can be outmanouvered at times by someoe who can keep calm underneath the enormous pressure he brings (I think Bradley could well take a share of the first six or seven rounds before Pac pulls away with it pate through sheer volume and the fact he's a much better fighter) and isn't a massive Welter, I think we would see Bradleys skillset, adaptability and speed see him through despite his size. Floyd would be technically superior and would win for sure, but Berto? He ain't that big, and he ain't that good. Alvarez? Time would tell but Bradley would outfox him if they hypothetically fought tomorrow IMO. Who's the other guy, Senchebko? Would he hassle Bradley, I know little of the guy to be perfectly honest.

As I said earlier, I'm not predicting Bradley for greatness, I just think he's a good
package, often tidy but rough enough to give his opponents a fair bit to think about. Coupled with a gold boxing brain, and you've got a kid that appears to be a formidable 140lb fighter, if nothing else.

A lack of marketability will see him miss out on the bog fights IMO. A fight with Marquez could well reverse that IMO, and that's a fight I think JMM would fancy.

 

I'm surprised the JMM isn't one that has been talked about more... says a lot about the job Gary Shaw is doing with him. Yeah, it's a fight that interests me. Bradley doesn't have the physical implications that JMM encountered the last time he came up so I think he could be tempted to go up to try and get that Mexican record. I still think JMM's got a bit to give but I'd fancy Bradley in it. Perhaps we might see that fight and Khan-Judah before they meet up. :think