Thread: If B Hop beats Wright.....

and maybe another few names,is he TOP 20 or even higher in the GREATEST FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME lists? I've seen a few prominent members here(Amat and well...Bilbo :P) have mentioned and I totally disagree. What does everyone else think?

i think he will always stand behind jones as far as all time goes but he is up there mayb top 15

Originally Posted by the phenom

i think he will always stand behind jones as far as all time goes but he is up there mayb top 15

Agreed. Personally I have him somewhere in my top 6 middleweights of all time. A CONVINCING win over Wright would do wonders for his legacy IMO.

Well done Gamo..it warranted a new thread

How anyone could think Hopkins ranks amongst the top 10/20 greatest fighters of all time is amazing

If he beats Wright and goes on to beat Calzaghe, Maskaev or Taylor in a rematch I'd say his legacy would be greater than Roy Jones Jr when viewed back in 30 years or so time, assuming Jones doesn't achieve anything else of course.

Longevity is an important factor when analysing greatness and few boxers have had the longevity of Hopkins. If he beats Wright that will probably be 3 Hall of Famers who he will have defeated. His middleweight reign is I believe the second longest in boxing history, although Calzaghe is catching but Hopkins has fought much the better fighters.

Halger is an all time great and his major fights were all in the twighlight of his career. Since Hop lost his middleweight crown he seems to be more willing to take risks and make the big fights in order to secure his legacy.

I think beating Winky, on top of beating Tarver would put him at number 2 p4p given the closeness of his losses to Taylor. Barrera remained at number 2 p4p for most of 2005 and early 2006 despite being knocked out by Pacquaio and is still in the top 5 now after a couple of shaky defenses.

If Hop beats Winky he is a top 3 p4p star again no question and I'm sure the Ring magazine, who currently have him at number 5 will agree.


Hop is underratted. We always talk about Toney's toughness and how he's never been stopped in his entire career, well Hopkins is 42 and has likewise never been stopped. He's been more consistent that Toney having only ever been beaten by 3 men. When you consider that his 1st loss was on his pro debut that really means that a prime Hopkins was only ever beaten by one man, a prime Roy Jones.

But if Hopkins can prove to have greater longevity than Jones and equal his career achievements he finishes above him in my book.

I'm one of the few who sees a heavyweight title victory for Hopkins as a crucial part of securing his legacy forever. His two biggest lifetime rivals, Jones and Toney managed it, although Toney was stripped for steroid abuse. Hopkins wants to get that belt in order that he matches those guys.


It's a funny one for me, I find a lot of Hopkins' fights a bit dull but I absolutely love the man for his acheivements and boxing ability. I hope he beats Wright convincingly, then goes onto win a heavyweight crown.

the thing is the real question is what happens if he loses does it do alot of damage

He's top 20 for sure imo. He's the 3rd greatest middleweight of all time behind SRR and Hagler, and now he's facing a TOP fighter. Even at 170 lbs, Winky Wright is no worse then the 3rd best fighter in the world. Honestly I don't get how that is lost on people.

He's already reached the top 20 imo. Look at this.

From the period of 1993 to 2005, 12 years, he was undefeated. Wins over Glenn Johnson, Felix Trinidad, Antwun Echols, William Joppy, Oscar De La Hoya and Howard Eastman. Yet he's not a top 20 fighter? Very few fighters have taken on all comers and beat every one of them soundly. Then he goes up to 175 at 42 years old and beats THE champion yet he is still slighted as insignificant? B-Hop is the most under appreciated fighter of our time. Boring fighter? Yeah especially in recent years but who cares? Now he's going up against the number 2 fighter in the world yet if he wins it means nothing? That would be one of the biggest victories of this entire decade.

Top 10? That's a stretch but I think he sits very comfortably in the top 20. And I think somewhere in the top 15, if he wins even higher maybe. But he has to be considered when you put together a top 10.

And Bilbo, I think even if Hopkins didn't win against Tarver he still is above Jones in term of legacy. I just think he is the more accomplished fighter...

Originally Posted by amat

And Bilbo, I think even if Hopkins didn't win against Tarver he still is above Jones in term of legacy. I just think he is the more accomplished fighter...

I don't know whose legacy I rate highest to be honest. Hopkins dominated a relatively weak middleweight division whilst Jones moved up and dominated two relatively minor divisions in super middle and light heavyweight.

Jones' biggest wins are against Hopkins, but before Hop was in his prime, a massively weight drained James Toney and a rather useless heavyweight champ.

Hopkins' biggest wins are against two Hall of famers in Oscar and Trinidad BUT they had to come up in weight to fight him, and Antonio Tarver who no matter what people thought about him was THE man at 175 lb.

You gotta say that Trinidad and Oscar for Hopkins is about equal to Hopkins and Toney for Jones.

Jones beat Hopkins so gains a point there but Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out.

Jones won the heavyweight crown against a weak champ, whilst Hopkins won the light heavyweight crown against the strongest champ at that time.

I'd say they are about even in terms of legacy right now.

If Hopkins beats Wright, he edges ahead. If he followed that up with a win against a S*** heavyweight to win an alphabet belt I would say that makes him the greatest American fighter of his era, ahead of Jones and Toney.

Originally Posted by Bilbo

Jones' biggest wins are against Hopkins, but before Hop was in his prime, a massively weight drained James Toney and a rather useless heavyweight champ.

Hopkins' biggest wins are against two Hall of famers in Oscar and Trinidad BUT they had to come up in weight to fight him, and Antonio Tarver who no matter what people thought about him was THE man at 175 lb.

You gotta say that Trinidad and Oscar for Hopkins is about equal to Hopkins and Toney for Jones.

Jones beat Hopkins so gains a point there but Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out.

Jones won the heavyweight crown against a weak champ, whilst Hopkins won the light heavyweight crown against the strongest champ at that time.

I'd say they are about even in terms of legacy right now.

If Hopkins beats Wright, he edges ahead. If he followed that up with a win against a S*** heavyweight to win an alphabet belt I would say that makes him the greatest American fighter of his era, ahead of Jones and Toney.

Its unfair to downplay RJJ's big wins like that. I understand Ruiz won't go down in history as the greatest or most popular HW champ of all time, but to say he is useless is unfair and innaccurate as I believe he was a decent fighter who beat guys like Holyfield, Golota, Rahman, Oquendo, ect and SHOULD hold a win over Valuev. So for Roy to move up and dominate him like that, thats a big victory IMO.

Also I think its unfair that you point out that Hopkins wasn't yet at his "prime" when he fought RJJ (which IMO is not really a good excuse, seeing as how they both turned pro around the same time period) but then you say something like "Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out" and fail to mention that Roy was out of his prime when he got sparked by those guys.

Don't get me wrong, I think the legacies of Hopkins and Jones are just about even, or at least very close...

Originally Posted by Beanflicker

Originally Posted by Bilbo

Jones' biggest wins are against Hopkins, but before Hop was in his prime, a massively weight drained James Toney and a rather useless heavyweight champ.

Hopkins' biggest wins are against two Hall of famers in Oscar and Trinidad BUT they had to come up in weight to fight him, and Antonio Tarver who no matter what people thought about him was THE man at 175 lb.

You gotta say that Trinidad and Oscar for Hopkins is about equal to Hopkins and Toney for Jones.

Jones beat Hopkins so gains a point there but Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out.

Jones won the heavyweight crown against a weak champ, whilst Hopkins won the light heavyweight crown against the strongest champ at that time.

I'd say they are about even in terms of legacy right now.

If Hopkins beats Wright, he edges ahead. If he followed that up with a win against a S*** heavyweight to win an alphabet belt I would say that makes him the greatest American fighter of his era, ahead of Jones and Toney.

Its unfair to downplay RJJ's big wins like that. I understand Ruiz won't go down in history as the greatest or most popular HW champ of all time, but to say he is useless is unfair and innaccurate as I believe he was a decent fighter who beat guys like Holyfield, Golota, Rahman, Oquendo, ect and SHOULD hold a win over Valuev. So for Roy to move up and dominate him like that, thats a big victory IMO.

Also I think its unfair that you point out that Hopkins wasn't yet at his "prime" when he fought RJJ (which IMO is not really a good excuse, seeing as how they both turned pro around the same time period) but then you say something like "Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out" and fail to mention that Roy was out of his prime when he got sparked by those guys.

Don't get me wrong, I think the legacies of Hopkins and Jones are just about even, or at least very close...

People point out Hopkins not yet reaching his prime because it's true, just as it's true that Roy Jones was past his prime when he got blasted by both Tarver and Johnson. Just because two fighters turn pro at the same time does not mean they reach their peaks at the same time. Every athlete is different.

If he beats wright, and either Calzaghe or Jones or a heavyweight champion he goes down as one of the very vest IMO maybe even top 20. He's already HOF IMO.

Originally Posted by Beanflicker

Originally Posted by Bilbo

Jones' biggest wins are against Hopkins, but before Hop was in his prime, a massively weight drained James Toney and a rather useless heavyweight champ.

Hopkins' biggest wins are against two Hall of famers in Oscar and Trinidad BUT they had to come up in weight to fight him, and Antonio Tarver who no matter what people thought about him was THE man at 175 lb.

You gotta say that Trinidad and Oscar for Hopkins is about equal to Hopkins and Toney for Jones.

Jones beat Hopkins so gains a point there but Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out.

Jones won the heavyweight crown against a weak champ, whilst Hopkins won the light heavyweight crown against the strongest champ at that time.

I'd say they are about even in terms of legacy right now.

If Hopkins beats Wright, he edges ahead. If he followed that up with a win against a S*** heavyweight to win an alphabet belt I would say that makes him the greatest American fighter of his era, ahead of Jones and Toney.

Its unfair to downplay RJJ's big wins like that. I understand Ruiz won't go down in history as the greatest or most popular HW champ of all time, but to say he is useless is unfair and innaccurate as I believe he was a decent fighter who beat guys like Holyfield, Golota, Rahman, Oquendo, ect and SHOULD hold a win over Valuev. So for Roy to move up and dominate him like that, thats a big victory IMO.

Also I think its unfair that you point out that Hopkins wasn't yet at his "prime" when he fought RJJ (which IMO is not really a good excuse, seeing as how they both turned pro around the same time period) but then you say something like "Hopkins beat both guys who sparked Jones out" and fail to mention that Roy was out of his prime when he got sparked by those guys.

Don't get me wrong, I think the legacies of Hopkins and Jones are just about even, or at least very close...

I didn't downplay Jones I highlighted the aspects that possibly take away from his wins and I did the same for Hopkins, saying that his wins over De La Hoya and Trinidad were against fighters moving up in weight.

I also said that Hopkins peaked later and said his beating of Tarver and Johnson cancelled out Jones beating of him back in 1993.

I said that currently their legacies are about equal so we are actually in agreement buddy.

Originally Posted by yoitsdan

If he beats wright, and either Calzaghe or Jones or a heavyweight champion he goes down as one of the very vest IMO maybe even top 20. He's already HOF IMO.

Yeah definately HOF already no doubt about it. If he beats them like you say he should be top 20.

If B-Hop beats Wright, Wright should FARKING retire! Sorry to break the news AGAIN, BUT B-Hop is PAST it. RJJ is PAST it. They were and are legends of this sport, BUT, get over it, they are old men now! Wright had trouble with Soliman, Taylor wouldnt fight him, what happened to Sammy the other day?? Enough said....I think everyone is catching my drift!?!