Which ATG currently ranks higher? Holyfield or Hopkins?

Pretty close call if you ask me. Had Hopkins ended his career at 160 I would have picked Holyfield but now I'm leaning towards Hopkins.

 

Hopkins, and I don't think it's that close. Holyfield was first among equals for a while, and a legitimate ATG in that it was a tough division at that time. But Hopkins shut down an entire division for a decade. That would be more than enough to rank him over Holyfield, IMO, but THEN he reinvented himself and continued to have success well beyond his prime in another weight class.

 

In terms of longevity, Hopkins is not just the best of his era, he is arguably pushing out the envelope forthe entire history of the sport.

 

I'd go with the old man.



Wait...

 

I typically like to go with the HW fighter because I feel that it is much more difficult for a variety of reasons, but I would go with Hopkins on this one.

 

Easily Hopkins for me. It amazes me how he continually reinvents himself. Just when you think he's done, he comes back again. Holyfield had that quality too, but Hopkins is the master at it.

 

I have been writing him off for a few years now. How many people have you heard say:

"Father time is going to catch up with Bernard any day now"

 

Gotta be Hopkins for me. He was more dominant at his peak, has even better longevity (which there's not too many fighters you can say that about when the other man in the argument is Holyfield), and doesn't have the PED stigma hanging over him. Even though I assume most world level fighters are on something anyways, the blatancy of Holyfield makes it harder to ignore.

 

Has to be Hopkins.

 

To be honest, I think the Trinidad scalp is arguably more impressive than Tyson's, considering that this was a Trinidad in the prime of his life, unbeaten and favoured against Hopkins.

Holyfield was a heavier underdog for sure and he was past his best (as was Mike) so an argument can be made, but it was the manner in which Hopkins took Trinidad apart that was so impressive for me.

 

I'll go with Hopkins for 2 reasons, his reign at champ was longer, and he never used peds, like Evan Fields did:yep, and he didn't use his head as a battering ram....

Holyfield should have quit after he was brutally beaten up by Toney, but kept on fighting on, RETIRE ALREADY....

to answer your ? HOPKINS ALL THE WAY:deal