Did hopkins fight the wrong fight against Calzaghe?

I assumed before the fight that Hopkins wouldn't be able to keep pace with Calzaghe off the ropes, he did a lot better then I thought he did, but I thought going into the fihgt he would look more like Sakio Bika, or come forwad a lot more. I remember thinking in the first round when Calzaghe was giving Hopkins so much respect that, that was his oppertunity to lead in the fight. I feel when Hopkins declined the oppertunity to come forward he opted to fight in a much more tiring fashion. Looking back I still feel Hopkins had the advantage on the inside, and when he was coming forwad, Calzaghe only countered him a few times, and on the inside Calzaghe's punches were meaningless while Hopkins was landing solidly. I am not saying this would for sure work better, but it would be interesting to see Hopkins fight in a style more like he did against Pavlik with a lot more forward movement, a litte more willing to take punches for Calzaghe who can't hit that hard anyways to land heavier and more punches of his own. I thought going into that fight that the rougher it would be the better off Hopkins would be, but he didn't make it rough.

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Originally Posted by Taeth

I assumed before the fight that Hopkins wouldn't be able to keep pace with Calzaghe off the ropes, he did a lot better then I thought he did, but I thought going into the fihgt he would look more like Sakio Bika, or come forwad a lot more. I remember thinking in the first round when Calzaghe was giving Hopkins so much respect that, that was his oppertunity to lead in the fight. I feel when Hopkins declined the oppertunity to come forward he opted to fight in a much more tiring fashion. Looking back I still feel Hopkins had the advantage on the inside, and when he was coming forwad, Calzaghe only countered him a few times, and on the inside Calzaghe's punches were meaningless while Hopkins was landing solidly. I am not saying this would for sure work better, but it would be interesting to see Hopkins fight in a style more like he did against Pavlik with a lot more forward movement, a litte more willing to take punches for Calzaghe who can't hit that hard anyways to land heavier and more punches of his own. I thought going into that fight that the rougher it would be the better off Hopkins would be, but he didn't make it rough.

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Hopkisn fought the fight he fought several times prior. 1 punch at a time, then hug.
I think the Calzaghe loss is what fueled hopkins into fighting the way he did against Pavlik.
He now sees that you can't win fights by making people look bad, activity is a issue too. After the taylor fights he wasn't sold. He went on and beat tarver and winky. he loses to calzaghe for the same reasons he loses to Taylor - it could have been prevented.

The calzaghe lost was a great thing for hopkins, it was a reality check. He wont fight that way ever again


Also.. more excuses

Kelly Pavlik's Dad Wanted Hopkins Fight Stopped - Boxing News

Joe was a harder fight for BHop. Joe is more experienced and has a plan B and C, Pavlik is limited. Bhop fought the way he did because of Calzaghe.

I think you, Master, in that Cazlaghe is a much different, much more adaptable opponent then Pavlik, but his biggest weakness has been when he has foughten rough fights, Now Calzaghe is a good inside fighter, but the biggest mistake such a good fighter can do is go shot for shot, However where other guys are overwhelmed by Calzaghe's flurries, Hopkins clearly wasn't. Hopkins was able to make Calzaghe consistently miss, bs compubox aside. I would just be curious to see if this would be a more effective style for him to use.

Against active fighters like Taylor and Joe he seems to put too much in reserve for fear of running out of gas, and did not let it all hang out because he believed their work rate may overwhelm him if he fought their fight.

Even against winky and taylor he only did one punch and grab, fellas.

He fought Oscar, Taylor, Winky, Tarver, Calzaghe all the same.. Not taking anything from calzaghe, he DOES have a plan b c d etc etc, but hopkin sfought the fight he always fought.
It had nothing to dowith Joes style..

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Originally Posted by intoccabile

Even against winky and taylor he only did one punch and grab, fellas.

He fought Oscar, Taylor, Winky, Tarver, Calzaghe all the same.. Not taking anything from calzaghe, he DOES have a plan b c d etc etc, but hopkin sfought the fight he always fought.
It had nothing to dowith Joes style..

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Winky,Tarver & Taylor fight absolutely nothing like Calzaghe though do they. He was able to fight that way against those guys.

Hopkins fought the best he could and had he of had the referee he had against Pavlik he would have either got busted up or DQ`d for holding.

Cortez was awful in that fight.

I think Bernard Hopkins should of fought toe to toe more, and roughed up Joe Calzaghe on the inside. Past fights have showed Joe Calzaghe has struggled in those kind of fights, and Bernard Hopkins is way more skilled at those kind of fights, than Reid, Salem, Bika, etc.

The only way Hopkins has a chance in a fight against Calzaghe is if it were a gun fight, even then hed be too slow on the trigger

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Originally Posted by ross

The only way Hopkins has a chance in a fight against Calzaghe is if it were a gun fight, even then hed be too slow on the trigger

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Yea your right there fight was that one sided wasn't it :rolleyes:

I think he should of come forward more instead of always backing up.

At times in the fight he would come forward and he seemed to be effective when he did.

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Originally Posted by Markusdarkus

Hopkins fought the best he could and had he of had the referee he had against Pavlik he would have either got busted up or DQ`d for holding.

Cortez was awful in that fight.

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No way would have he gotten busted up by Calzaghe, IMO this fight gets worse for Calzaghe the more toe to toe these two go. I think Hopkins plainly stated he has foughten in a defensive manner because of his age. I just think guys who like to impose themselves on you like Calzaghe, Pavlik, Margarito, etc are the wrong opponents to do it against. You have to do what Holyfield did against Tyson, it gets inside their head, Calzaghe has just been fortunate enough/good enough that he can either outbox his opponent and outfight them. I think Hopkins outboxed Calzaghe in the first fight, but judges don't seem to value that as much as physically beating the opponent down.

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Originally Posted by Taeth

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Originally Posted by Markusdarkus

Hopkins fought the best he could and had he of had the referee he had against Pavlik he would have either got busted up or DQ`d for holding.

Cortez was awful in that fight.

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No way would have he gotten busted up by Calzaghe, IMO this fight gets worse for Calzaghe the more toe to toe these two go. I think Hopkins plainly stated he has foughten in a defensive manner because of his age. I just think guys who like to impose themselves on you like Calzaghe, Pavlik, Margarito, etc are the wrong opponents to do it against. You have to do what Holyfield did against Tyson, it gets inside their head, Calzaghe has just been fortunate enough/good enough that he can either outbox his opponent and outfight them. I think Hopkins outboxed Calzaghe in the first fight, but judges don't seem to value that as much as physically beating the opponent down.

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Do you remember what rounds you scored for each?

I think he didn't account for Calzaghe's jab as much as he should have, Calzaghe was able to straighten himself out in the second half of the fight behind the jab. In the first half Calzaghe was just countering over all of Joe's posturing/punches but then found that more difficult later on. Think he should have abandoned the countering and become more offensive by getting in and out with 1 punch like he did in the early goings.

Still, I think he won but obviously not convincingly.