Would you really be surprised if Hopkins beats Calzaghe?

The ring craft does not realy bother me because Joe has plenty of that himself.

The dumb stuff well.... he mostly does something that aint too bright during a fight at least one time. So I could see him losing a round or two if he does anything dumb and gets caught, I dont envisage too much of it though.

One thing also if Hopkins try's to lead at any point he is going to get batterd. He needs Joe to be coming onto him to have any chance. :good

 

Thats what Joe will do. I really do think Joe believes Hopkins is not a lot better than Kessler or Lacy. He's in for a shock as I still believe this is a massive step up in class for him.

 

Hmmmm....

At this stage of his carrier I would happly pick Kessler against Hopkins. Especially considering how he delt with Wright, who has a jab and that is pretty much it.

Kessler has a better jab than Winky and a much much better straight right (left). He is also much bigger. I had the Hopkins vs Winky fight:

6-5-1 for Hopkins.

If the same man turns up that did against Winky he is going to get absolutely annihilated against Calzaghe, who does everything significantly better than Winky.

 

Hopkins will shock people in this fight. The Winky fight was a strange one. Hopkins just did what he had to do in that one as opposed to the Tarver fight where he just out muscled him &, frankly, battered him. I really see Hopkins doing a number on Joe. I dont see Joe using the same output as he did against Kessler. Hopkins will make him fight his fight. He's a little bit like Lennox Lewis the way he controls the pace of fights.

 

On a minor point, Joe didn't actually get caught with that many straight rights against Kessler. The meaningful punches that he was caught with were a couple of good uppercuts, a right hook and one straight right.

Kessler threw a lot of straight rights in that fight, though admittedly, they were preceeded by a jab that didn't land flush.

Hopkins has the ability to throw single straight right hands which Joe/most southpaws are vulnerable to. The problem being that I can see Calzaghe walking straight through them to unload a 6-7 punch barrage.

 

But you surely must see that Calzaghe has been able to control the pace of all of his fights too. Granted, those fights haven't always been against boxers of Hopkins craft and sneekiness, but Hopkins hasn't faced a boxer as active as Joe for many many years. I always see a speed boxer being able to impose that style for longer periods of the fight.

 

Despite Tarver KOing Jones. Tarver was never realy very good. I thought Hopkins would win not in that way and it was a very impressive. However, it is the only impressive performence that Hopkins has put on in the last couple of years.

I do not think that he will be able to cope with Calzaghe's handspeed.

 

I would be gobsmacked

Infact, I would have to consider whether life is worth living

**** it, it's not going to happen

 

joe tends to do a lot of his 'dumb stuff' when he's in control of the fight and brimming with confidence, such as dropping his hands, sticking his chin out and goading his opponent and hopkins hasn't got the power to make him pay if that's the case come april. this isn't the same joe calzaghe that fought robin reid.

if 'nard is gonna want to make that right of his count then he'll have to lead with it all night.

 

I don't believe Joe will use those tactics straight off. I think he will try to box Hopkins but may become frustrated if hes not landing, as he has done in the past, and then get sloppy which will play into B-Hops hands. Joe can throw 6-7 punch barrages all he likes but he wont land them. He'll get more frustrated, more sloppy & this will cost him the fight.

I disagree. I think Joe forces the pace but doesnt control it which are two different things.

I agree Tarver was not that good but I certainly dont think he was any worse than Kessler. I'd say he was slightly more versatile than the Dane.

Nothing is worth taking your life over. Nothing.

I really do think Hopkins can make a dent if he connects clean. I guess thats part of the reason our opinions differ. Joe is not a perfect fighter & he makes mistakes that are not purely related to show boating. I think Hopkins will exploit these flaws like Mitchell & Salem did but only better.

 

Hopkins won't hurt Joe. He doesn't have that power when he isn't fighting welterweights. His right hand is about equal to Joe's slaps

Joe ate flush shots from a powerful young Kessler, and contrary to what idiots like Fighting Weight say he was never in real trouble

Like I've always said, Hopkins only chance is to make it as dirty as possible without getting DQ'd, and that will probably involve slipping the ref a bung. He will then need to make sure Oscar hires Paulie Maglinaggi's judges, with their stars and stripes selective sunglasses

I hope Joe Cortez refs this fight

 

Lennox

 

I wouldn't be suprised. Personally i just want to see Hopkins frustrate another opponent and make them look bad. I love to hear the complaints after LOL!

 

Hell no I wouldn't. Hopkins is a very mentally strong fighter and is very savvy. You can never count Hopkins out.

 

Who do you think will win the fight?