I will admit that i am not a fan of Hopkins style but he has achieved plenty,
his resume is solid and although as you say he fought a lot of beefed up Welterweights he still beat them all! He is 43 yrs old and i don't think he has any chance against Joe Balls at all. His comeback wins against Tarver and Winky were superb efforts and he is not a bum. This fight will see the end of him but credit where credit is due and Joe balls has a way to go to receive a lot of that!