hopkins vs JC , there opponents

[deliris]

is it me or is it obvious the opponents they have both faced there seems to be a vast margin in class?, im not having a pop at joe but hopkins has faced the likes of winky and rjj and who has joe faced the likes of , lacey and kessler and eubank, is there an obvious difference in the class of opponents , and will this not help bernard as he has the experience if you like. pls give opinions as im very close to putting a lot of money on the executioner as i did with mayweather.

[NUCLEAR BULL]

yeah theres no doubt b-hop has got the bigger names on his record, roy jones, winky wright, tarver, de la hoya, trinidad, taylor.............. but at this stage that may not really tell how the story may go

hopkins is 43, fighting a man who throws over 1000 punches a fight.... non of the big names he's fought before did that, its no suprise calzaghes the bookies favorite

calzaghes never fought anyone with hopkins cagey style which may of set him but he'll still get out 700 shots, i hope hopkins wins but it looks a tall order at this stage in his carreer but you never know with hopkins

[deliris]

i appreciate your opinion and have decided the money is on hopkins lol i hope im right . this thing about 1000 punches and his punch volume , again not having a pop at joe but we all know a lot of them are slaps and for the judges to see as offence and agression , surely hopkins knows this and has planned for all what joe will do , SHOW ME THE MONEY BABY!!!

[Mar]

Should be a close fight either way. I just see hopkins being able to make up for any disadvantages he may have simply by outsmarting joe in the ring legal or not. I'm sure joe see's the opportunity to make hopkins show his age but with the experience and brains hop has in the ring i just don't know.

[bambamdaddio]

Look at the weights of the fighters too Winky is he really natural at super mid or light heavy, ODLH was middle his best weight, then you mention Taylor and Jones both who have beaten B.Hop...

Yes it's true that Joe may not have fought some one as cagey as B.Hop.....but believe me B.Hop will not have seen anything like Joe before either...He doesn't just throw punches any old how, he hurts far more than he is given credit for ask Lacy,Kes,or Eubanks he is very very awkward in his style and the guy really is as hard as nails...he loves to fight and has a granite chin too....

And to be honest as NUCLEAR BULL says the past ain't gonna come into it, if it did lets remember Joe ain't been beaten am or pro since 1990 and World Champ a decade or so, and he still looks fresh too...

When questions have been asked of Joe he has always delivered hence being unbeaten, has B.Hop in truth no he ain't he was gonna do wonders in the 2nd Taylor Fight wasn't he even bringing back the mask....but to no avail....

Trust me, I saw Joe from ringside in Manchester destroy Lacy, and tho B.Hop ain't Lacy you see a guy that's as fit and strong as a bull ... and is the better option at this stage of there careers....there styles alone will make this an awkward fight, but again I feel Joe will deal with B.Hops style far far better than B.Hop will deal with Joe's....

[deliris]

very good points being made and i appreciate it , still i have my money on hopkins to win, first fight for joe in usa , hopkins been there done it and i think in the fact hopkins has faced such opponents of different styles , that joe will jsut be another style he will adapt too. its a massive fight and i jsut think joes lack of world class opponents unlike BH may catch up with him. we all know its on the night but hopkins is a great tactician in the ring , MORE MONEY ON HOPKINS I THINK LOL.

[bambamdaddio]

Lol, I hear ya deliris and thanks for the appreciation of my points.....but I was also trying to save you some money bud, but hey ho life and boxing is about learning bro...have some rep on me for standing by your beliefs, that's quality itself bud...

Just don't say ya mate bambam didn't warn ya lol..

[donnydarkoIRL]

One could argue that Calzaghe is the best fighter Hopkins has fought since RJJ.

In fact look at it this way.

Tarver was big and strong, but lethargic and mentally impotent.
Oscar was classy and fast, but undersized.
Trinidad was nowhere near the puncher he was at 147, undersized.
Winky was fighting 3 divisions North of his best weight!

The two fighters who matched Bernard for size and physicality were Jones Jr and Taylor.

Calzaghe is of a similar height, good reach, good chin, fought at Super Middle his entire career, deals with physicality well, great stamina.

[deliris]

im starting to worry my money is going down the drain reading some of these posts but i did get the same feeling about hatton vs mayweather closer to fight night. what about the fact bernard says he will not lose to a white boy lol. and the saying always goes always bet on black. is hopkins legend better than joes , if we look at opponents i think so.

[donnydarkoIRL]

im starting to worry my money is going down the drain reading some of these posts but i did get the same feeling about hatton vs mayweather closer to fight night. what about the fact bernard says he will not lose to a white boy lol. and the saying always goes always bet on black. is hopkins legend better than joes , if we look at opponents i think so.

I think this fight decides it.

If Joe wins he goes down in history as the greater.
If Bernard wins he goes down as the greater.

[Pugilistic]

hopkins has faced the better opponents

[Tins06]

To put it simply i'd say both there resume are pretty equal..I mean we can smash holes in the big massive names on hopkins record..wright,DLH,Trinidad and whith the weight difference and all, but i decided to shorten my whole take on it to this.

Hopkins has fought 2 big big names at his own weight..RJJ,and JT..lost to both of them

Calzaghe has fought 2 Lacy,and Kessler and won both.

The rest of there records(bar the big names out of weight on hopkins record) were all ranked alphabet challengers...

Have to respect both really how long they have been active but I'd give the edge to Calzaghe on the "threat" his opponents were to him,and the fact he won those fights.

[GAME]

Hopkins opponents

Roy Jones Junior - The best man either have faced. But Hopkins lost
Felix Trinidad- Hopkins best win over an undefeated superstar in their prime . All beit a blown up welter.
Oscar De La Hoya - Coming up from superfeather and he was in the fight too . Not a great win for B- hop IMO as it was expected
Winky Wright- He should have been nowhere near this weight class. He looked fat and Ive never seen him so sloppy . Ugly fight but Hop deserved the win over a top p4per
Antonio Tarver - Didnt look in fighting shape but was totally schooled by the underdog Hopkins . Very impressive win IMO .
Howard Eastman - Hopkins stunk the place out in this fight. He won in a real bad fight but didnt gain many fans with it
Jermain Taylor - This is how bad Hopkins can be . Jermain beat him twice and Jermain is nothing special IMO Spinks beat him and Pav beat him twice .


Joes Opponents

Chris Eubank - Previously held a record for most title defences but was never in the fight with Joe. Must be said that Chris was coming in at short notice for that fight and to this day still gave Joe his hardest fight
Richie Woodhall - Former WBC champ at the end of the road IMO.
Robin Reid - Another former champ in decline. I thought at the time he beat Joe by a round. Bad display from Joe that night
Jeff Lacy - Undefeated American champ came with loads of hype and got an almighty beating so bad it was embarassing for him . Joe was absolutley fantastic that night
Charles Brewer- Another former champ in decline but Joe showed his chin and stamina in that 1
Byron Mitchel . An American puncher lasted only two rounds with Joe . Calzaghe was ready to walk through walls and took Byrons best shot . Good fiight
Mikkel Kessler - Young unbeaten unified champ . Gave it his all but was not good enough for Joe .


As we can see Hopkins clearly fought the better opposition but he also had mixed results. Joes unbeaten and I think it will stay that way .