Which was the better Hopkins ? Calzaghe's or Jones' ?

Joe faced a better version of Hopkins, but neither of them faced an absolute peak Hopkins, which I believe occurred over the period of a few years leading up to and following his fight with Trinidad.

 

Bernard was much more seasoned by the time he fought Joe. He knew every trick in the book by that point, and had been tested countless times at a championship level.

He had never fought at a championship level prior to facing Jones, and I believe that experience is a huge part of Hopkins' game that enabled him to be so successful over such a long period.

 

I had Hopkins winning by a point, but it was close and could easily have gone either way.

I can even tell you the rounds I had Hopkins winning: I thought he swept the first 4 rounds, and also won the 7th and the 10th.

6 rounds apiece, 114-113 for Hopkins.

That said, this was the one fight that sold me on Calzaghe. As some of you may remember, I was very vociferous in expressing my views that Calzaghe was out of his league against Hopkins.

For the first time, Calzaghe (in my eyes) proved his greatness against a world class fighter whose greatness cannot be questioned.

To this day I am surprised by how well Calzaghe adapted in that fight.

I don't ever recall seeing a Hopkins fight where he was outhustled in the championship rounds. Even in his fight with Jones, I remember Hopkins coming on strong late.

I was thoroughly impressed by Joe that night, and I might be one of the few people who actually enjoyed watching that fight a great deal. Many viewed it as a borefest, but I thought it was a tactical display of technical genius, and that Joe was able to make adjustments to change the momentum in that fight is what most impressed me about him.

He was much more versatile than I had previously given him credit for.

However, I do really wish there was a rematch in that one, and in many ways, even though it will never happen, I'd still love to see those two do battle again.

:smoke

 

Yeah, he schooled Pavlik, but that doesn't mean he was in his prime against either Joe or Kelly--he wasn't.

And anyone who thinks he WAS in his prime at that age is crazy.

 

This is totally irrelevant.

 

I strongly disagree.

Hopkins may have been superior physically when he fought Jones, but the experience and craft he had acquired by the time he faced Calzaghe made him a much better over all fighter.