Give Bernard Hopkins his just due!

[ykdadamaja]

What is his next big challenge?

Run for President.

I was thinking rematch Dawson, Cleverly, Ward, moving up to Cruiserweight,

Good for him, but not for us. I have no appetite for B-Hop. Seriously. lololol... he's a great champion and fighter, but he really isn't must-see-tv!! Ya know?

[Master]

What is his next big challenge?

Run for President.

I was thinking rematch Dawson, Cleverly, Ward, moving up to Cruiserweight,

Good for him, but not for us. I have no appetite for B-Hop. Seriously. lololol... he's a great champion and fighter, but he really isn't must-see-tv!! Ya know?

Everyone watches to see if age will catch up with him.

[Beanflicker]

Anyone who is winning world titles when they're damn near 50 is a legend in my book.

[bigstinkybug]

After it is all said and done, the record will relfect B-Hop's achievment over all other middleweights.

*Oh ,i don't think so... it'll show his relevance i the game over a long period of time... Hop's "greatness" is something that was never really spoken until he moved up in weight and fighting Tarver.. Cal.. Dawson... etc... as a middleweight, he was a good fighter fiesting on small game. When it mattered, he fell short.. Taylor beat him twice... Roy jones ...

Hop is a better fighter now than he ever was as a middleweight..JMHO

[ykdadamaja]

What is his next big challenge?

Run for President.

I was thinking rematch Dawson, Cleverly, Ward, moving up to Cruiserweight,

Good for him, but not for us. I have no appetite for B-Hop. Seriously. lololol... he's a great champion and fighter, but he really isn't must-see-tv!! Ya know?

Everyone watches to see if age will catch up with him.

Then they are all sickos!

[jon09]

What is his next big challenge?

Rumor has it that he wants to fight Cleverly in the U.K. And yes BHop is bad mofo, dirty fighter or not.

[ray corso]

All time biggest bore in boxing! He gets in great shape for ANY age and should be noted that his latest wins are impressive for his age but he hand picks his opponents and knows they can't catch up to him! The guys a bore, never beat anyone of note! His best opponents beat him!!!
Is Jermain Taylor or Chad Dawson or an "Overated" Calzaghe great fighters? They all beat him and Roy beat him square up when they were young! This guy comes to "spoil" not fight!!! Ray.

[ykdadamaja]

All time biggest bore in boxing! He gets in great shape for ANY age and should be noted that his latest wins are impressive for his age but he hand picks his opponents and knows they can't catch up to him! The guys a bore, never beat anyone of note! His best opponents beat him!!!
Is Jermain Taylor or Chad Dawson or an "Overated" Calzaghe great fighters? They all beat him and Roy beat him square up when they were young! This guy comes to "spoil" not fight!!! Ray.

Glen Johnson, Oscar DLH, Tito Trinidad, William Joppy, Howard Eastman, Kelly Pavlik, Jean Pascal, were all bums?

I thinks not! Actually, his record of who's who in his first 30 is far superior than RJJ's first 30. Let's not even talk about RJJ's last 25!

[uwey]

The best mentally prepared fighter i have ever witnessed. He truly knows his style and what his opponent brings. Understands timing, reach, space and how much energy to use and when to use it and when to conserve it. His style can be slow at times so the excitement is not their most of the time. For a casual fan his style is not that special but i love the little things he does that allows him to take advantage of less technical fighters. Maybe im a bore but sometimes i dissect his fights minute by minute. He truly is the master of his style. But i can understand why some people dont like his style. Not very fan friendly but i LOVE it. Technically sound fighter. Thats is the only way u can last to fight at age 48.

[ray corso]

First of all the fighters you mentioned were NOT great fighters, as to "bums" thats your impression not mine. I never used the words bums!!! If Eastman and Joppy and Pascal are great what the hell was Hagler or LoMatta Is everyone "great" these days?
If he's great theres Ward at 168 or 75 and I'll bet GGG will let him weigh 180 for a shot! Now Hopkins isn't doing any of that and he's welcomed to pick and choose. However the "great" status goes to great fighters which he is NOT! He is not an ATG at middleweight or LtHvy and I doubt he's a top twenty-five rate in either class!

Smart, Yes! Taking advantage of boxing demiss, Yes!
Great well rounded boxer, No! tremendous puncher, No!

He's good, he's slick & well schooled! He takes no chances because he's already picked his opponent and knows he won't have to! He's alot smarter than most fans thats for sure! HA!! Ray.

[ykdadamaja]

First of all the fighters you mentioned were NOT great fighters, as to "bums" thats your impression not mine. I never used the words bums!!! If Eastman and Joppy and Pascal are great what the hell was Hagler or LoMatta Is everyone "great" these days?
If he's great theres Ward at 168 or 75 and I'll bet GGG will let him weigh 180 for a shot! Now Hopkins isn't doing any of that and he's welcomed to pick and choose. However the "great" status goes to great fighters which he is NOT! He is not an ATG at middleweight or LtHvy and I doubt he's a top twenty-five rate in either class!

Smart, Yes! Taking advantage of boxing demiss, Yes!
Great well rounded boxer, No! tremendous puncher, No!

He's good, he's slick & well schooled! He takes no chances because he's already picked his opponent and knows he won't have to! He's alot smarter than most fans thats for sure! HA!! Ray.

You said he didn't beat anyone of note- all of those names, during that era, not to mention Antwun Echols and Simon Brown, were all solid fighters who could win on any given night.

Everyone had their one or two defining fights. Haggler had two- Sugar Ray and Hearns, even beating Duran at that age was kinda of not in character.

So, don't piss on the man for his achievments! He won- it's like Lebron fans hating on Kobe Bryant.

[bigstinkybug]

[QUOTE=ykdadamaja;1145486]

You said he didn't beat anyone of note- all of those names, during that era, not to mention Antwun Echols and Simon Brown, were all solid fighters who could win on any given night.

Everyone had their one or two defining fights. Haggler had two- Sugar Ray and Hearns, even beating Duran at that age was kinda of not in character.

So, don't piss on the man for his achievments! He won- it's like Lebron fans hating on Kobe Bryant.

*Whoa!...ur comparing Simon Brown and Antwan Echols to Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns... u should be ashamed of urself.

[IamInuit]

After it is all said and done, the record will relfect B-Hop's achievment over all other middleweights.

*Oh ,i don't think so... it'll show his relevance i the game over a long period of time... Hop's "greatness" is something that was never really spoken until he moved up in weight and fighting Tarver.. Cal.. Dawson... etc... as a middleweight, he was a good fighter fiesting on small game. When it mattered, he fell short.. Taylor beat him twice... Roy jones ...

Hop is a better fighter now than he ever was as a middleweight..JMHO

Hopkins never had a middleweight division full of stellar competition but I'd say he had the opportunity to show how good he was after he left more so then he turned into a better fighter.
He still made 20 title defenses and dominated a division for a decade. And during that run he would have been a handful for any middleweight in history. Its not his fault that many of his opponents were weaker anymore then it is Wlads or was Calzaghes.

I don't think its fair to keep on claiming that he beat smaller men. Tito was a huge welterweight and walked around an in shape 170 pounds. Hopkins fought at the same weight on fight night that he weighed in at a day before.He was a natural middleweight just as Floyd is a natural welter and so far the only undisputed champion of this century. You never hear about Monzon feasting on x welterweights.

When you think about what he has done, how he did it and the when its nothing short of unbelievable. He's like a modern day Archie Moore. Sure he looks a little sloppy and yet once again just schooled Cloud.

I think Hopkins may actually surpass Moores active record.

[bigstinkybug]

*Hopkins beat alot of decent B fighters as a middleweight...that's it. I'm not sure how many defences.., but name one HOF'er... DeLaHoya and Tito were small guys trying to make the fight cuz Hopkins being Hopkins, wouldn't budge... BUT,that's the truth.

Hopkins has made his name beating B fighters... every name fighter he fought, he lost to... Cal..Roy Jones.. Dawson...

[Spicoli]

*Hopkins beat alot of decent B fighters as a middleweight...that's it. I'm not sure how many defences.., but name one HOF'er... DeLaHoya and Tito were small guys trying to make the fight cuz Hopkins being Hopkins, wouldn't budge... BUT,that's the truth.

Hopkins has made his name beating B fighters... every name fighter he fought, he lost to... Cal..Roy Jones.. Dawson...

Unfortunatley for Hopkins he couldn't dig up the prime corpses of a Hagler or Hearns and that cannot be held against him. You play the hand you are dealt. He beat, literally, every Ring ranked middleweight as a champion save for a Swede. What did he fail in the big picture to do that the same Jones, Calzaghe etc did? He beat up a run of mandatorys just as Roy. Joe beat up a shot ghost in Roy, and had a debatable win over Hopkins...feel free to hang your hat on that if ya want. He cleaned out a division...then he jumped up and set records then broke them. Tito was a legitimate middle after thrashing Joppy from pillar to post and a heavy favorite v Hopkins and that fight alone was being billed as the best middle unification since a Hagler-Leonard. Literally. And being honest Dawson is but a name in his own household but the fact is we are talking about Bernard before, during and after him now. Dawson had to twice fight guys who Hopkins literally dominated but once.