Give Bernard Hopkins his just due!

[IamInuit]

[COLOR="darkred
Hopkins has made his name beating B fighters... every name fighter he fought, he lost to... Cal..Roy Jones.. Dawson... [/COLOR]

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.

*If u think Tito was a legitimate middleweight... then nothing i say will make a difference.

Was Robinson a legitimate middleweight? This ubiquitous myth that Tito was a welterweight fighting a middleweight needs to go the way of the dodo bird. Its one of the biggest crocks of shit continuously seen on forums and in press lines. I'm one of the biggest Tito fans on the planet and hated Hopkins at that time but the weight issue is ludicrous.

[Beanflicker]

Was Robinson a legitimate middleweight? This ubiquitous myth that Tito was a welterweight fighting a middleweight needs to go the way of the dodo bird. Its one of the biggest crocks of shit continuously seen on forums and in press lines. I'm one of the biggest Tito fans on the planet and hated Hopkins at that time but the weight issue is ludicrous.

Gotta agree with this. Hopkins had a size advantage, that's undeniable, but I don't see why people act like this wasn't a dangerous/meaningful fight for Hopkins. Tito fought a legit, BIG middleweight in Joppy and steamrolled him with his vicious power that CLEARLY carried up to MW.

How is it any difference than Marvin Hagler beating Tommy Hearns, who (I think) was in his first middleweight fight - TOTALLY unproven at 160.

[IamInuit]

Was Robinson a legitimate middleweight? This ubiquitous myth that Tito was a welterweight fighting a middleweight needs to go the way of the dodo bird. Its one of the biggest crocks of shit continuously seen on forums and in press lines. I'm one of the biggest Tito fans on the planet and hated Hopkins at that time but the weight issue is ludicrous.

Gotta agree with this. Hopkins had a size advantage, that's undeniable, but I don't see why people act like this wasn't a dangerous/meaningful fight for Hopkins. Tito fought a legit, BIG middleweight in Joppy and steamrolled him with his vicious power that CLEARLY carried up to MW.

How is it any difference than Marvin Hagler beating Tommy Hearns, who (I think) was in his first middleweight fight - TOTALLY unproven at 160.

Hop started at 175. He's a big boned middle but was not an overly big middle. He was actually the last natural middle since probably Greb or perhaps Burley. In the Tito fight I think he weighed in at 159 if memory serves and 162 on fight night. Tito was close to 170 on fight night. The notion that Hopkins beat up some shrimp is like saying when Hagler beat Mugabi he did the same. Tito like Mugabi was doing fine at 154 because they were simply bigger and stronger the night of the fight. Its ironic that people make such a big deal about weight in this 17 division time knowing full well how its abused. Does anyone here actually believe that Morales was a 122 pound fighter?

[Spicoli]

Was Robinson a legitimate middleweight? This ubiquitous myth that Tito was a welterweight fighting a middleweight needs to go the way of the dodo bird. Its one of the biggest crocks of shit continuously seen on forums and in press lines. I'm one of the biggest Tito fans on the planet and hated Hopkins at that time but the weight issue is ludicrous.

Gotta agree with this. Hopkins had a size advantage, that's undeniable, but I don't see why people act like this wasn't a dangerous/meaningful fight for Hopkins. Tito fought a legit, BIG middleweight in Joppy and steamrolled him with his vicious power that CLEARLY carried up to MW.

How is it any difference than Marvin Hagler beating Tommy Hearns, who (I think) was in his first middleweight fight - TOTALLY unproven at 160.

Or Duran coming back from the dead and beating a Moore...at jr middle... and then fighting for all three straps the first time Hagler defended them. That fight was scoffed at prior by more than a few.