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That was an awesome win by Hopkins. I was pullin for him but I figured he'd lose a close, boring decision.
Boy was I wrong, he boxed circles around Pavlik.
BUT, he sure did look A LOT younger.
I don't belive he took anything, but my Dad is convinced that Hopkins must be taking Human Growth Hormane or something very similar.
Without being dismissing know it all boxing nerds, what do you guys think?
I have to admit Hopkins was more active and looked much fresher than he has in a very long time.
Me and your father are similiar, I thought Bernard was taking steroids when he fought Tito back in 01, but at this point I think he is just a great fighterQuote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
When he fought Calzaghe he looked very dry in this fight he had a nice shine to his skin perhaps he just had a better camp. I think change in trainers will have helped also i think he need trainers who rant at him and keep him motivated in the gym and throughout the fight unlike Freddie Roach who talks in that soft voice between rounds i don't think he helped him at all vs Calzaghe.
Sometimes a fighters style is just made for someone. Like Lacy's was perfect for Calzaghe.
Hopkins and Calzaghe kinda cancelled eachother out i thought.
So many improvements in sports science and nutrition nowadays that 43 aint what it used to be. It's a cliche but it's true. B-Hop just has the style and experience to still be very, very effective at his ripe old age.
I think Hopkins had more energy because he was able to lower Pavlik's punch output. Against Calzaghe, he made it tough for Calzaghe to land cleanly, but Joe was still throwing flurries and letting his hands go. Hopkins had to use up a lot of energy on defense in that fight and that tired him out. Whereas in this fight, he confused and frustrated Kelly so much that Kelly wasn't letting his hands go, so Bernard didn't have to use much energy avoiding/blocking punches.
He maintained his energy with Pavlik because he did not have to work hard with Pavlik. He had everything down against Pavlik and fought a totally relaxed fight, which is much less tiring.
Against Joe, Joe kept him thinking the whole fight and tense even when Joe was not landing anything. Joe kept him on edge and Bernard wore himself out.
What I said above may be mostly BS, but I think it at least contributed some. I also think Hopkins may have trained better for this one, was in better shape etc. It is hard to say.
he definitely seemed to have a bit more energy than in the Calzaghe fight, but i think it was just his gameplan..
in the calzaghe fight he wanted it to be a rough and tough fight and he knew that he wasn't going to match speed and output with joe, so he fought the fight he thought would get him the W..
with pavlik he knew that he couldn't let kelly take shots at him so he had to get off first as much as possible, and then counter when pavlik retalliated..
I also think it had a lot to do with the psychological fact that he knew he was hurting Kelly.. When you hit someone and you see them wobble, it's only instinct to go at them, and your adrenaline increases even more.. He looked tired at the end of every round when he sat in the corner, but he just kept coming, and as long as he was staying effective, that was all he needed to push him to continue doing what he was doing..
i bet if kelly had one big round in the 5th or 6th, where he even caught bernard with two or three big shots that bernard wouldn't have come up so gung-ho afterwards..
HGH would only make you bigger,Bernard has allways been an oversized middleweight,he just let himself fill out a little bit when he went up in weightQuote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
right, HGH would not have as positive of an effect on boxers as it would a baseball player for example.. You would obviously get a little more power, but i don't think bernard was showing any type of increase in power than we have seen him before..Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainer MonkeyHGH would only make you bigger,Bernard has allways been an oversized middleweight,he just let himself fill out a little bit when he went up in weightQuote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
I don't think anything like that would really have TOO much of an effect on stamina, as boxing is mainly considered an anaerobic workout, and the only way to really prepare for that is to actually train your ass off..
Pavlik did nothing to tire Hopkins. He has no footwork or punch variation. Calzaghe had Hopkins against the ropes and landed well to the body.
Exactly..Quote:
Originally Posted by Markusdarkus
I don't think Hopkins cheated- he's a young 43, and in great shape. I think he beat Kelly with footwork; in a nutshell, his superior tactics kept Kelly from applying serious pressure. Every time Kelly went to set up the left jab, right cross combo (may have been a straight right; he didn't get to land it much so i couldn't tell-- some of you probably did), Nard was putting hooks in his ear.
Having said that, if he did cheat, this is what he used:
[ Blood boosting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
--this stuff literally increases your athletic ability and stamina to the same degree that steroids increase strength.
Also, HgH doesn't necessarily make you bigger, (it can be used to that way, normally in conjunction with other things) it makes you recover super fast; it's typically prescribed after a sports injury. A boxer would most certainly benefit from it because he could train harder more often, (not take as many rest days or light workouts), and in theory be in better shape on fight night, and not leave all his hard work in the gym.
Its pretty simple, and there are a few factors.
1) Calzaghe and Winky have much faster footspeed so Hopkins had to move quicker when facing them.
2) Calzaghe and Winky threw more punches so Hopkins had to move his body more to avoid their punches.
3) Against Calzaghe Hopkins was always, whereas against Wright, Pavlik, Tarver Hopkins allowed himself to stand his ground more, and that always takes less energy. I think especially against Pavlik and Tarver Hopkins moved probably half as much as he did against Wright and a third as much as he did against Calzaghe, and thus that is why he was so much less tired against Tarver and Pavlik.
Calzaghe didn't really land anything, but he threw a lot and it takes a lot of energy to dodge punches like Hopkins does, he really moves his upper body a lot to get out of the way of punches, add that with the amount of footwork he used, I'd bet almost any fighter would be as tired as Hopkins was, except maybe Mayweather.Quote:
Originally Posted by Markusdarkus
It could be for many reasons.
I personally feel he had a better training camp, having Nazzim back as his trainer.
Hopkins forced Pavlik to fight more at his pace. He was more agressive than what he has been in years though.
Against Calzaghe, Calzaghe was able to make Bernard fight at a faster pace which drained his stamina as the fight went on.