Hopson was freakishly fast of hand and reflex but he was also a hyper bundle of nervous energy who never really transformed from great amatuer to educated professional. Beat Banks, Carl Daniels, Sharmba Mitchell among others in Ama. Turned pro in Highschool with Duva as trainer who made him finish school as he talked about dropping out for pros. He was in a rush and way to eager for his own good. A case of wanting to be a flashy star and small mistakes becoming a part of skill set instead of refining things. He got way ahead of himself. Sparring with Meldrick Taylor and Whitaker doesn't mean you can be them. He was getting caught in between flurries as he came up and Duva saw it. He belted around rugged Hector Monjardin but was stunned badly in second round before it was over. They saw Patterson as his breakout fight but honestly it was man vs boy and Patterson was reading him before he even entered the ring. Tracy actually came up two weight divisions for that fight and it was just a brutal eye opening beat down and Hopson never recovered.
I am pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge on this guy. He was lightning fast and befuddled most guys he fought.
It was surprising seeing Patterson KO him as I never thought of Patterson as a KO puncher, but it makes sense how he got him when greynotsoold and spicoli explained it.
You guys reckon Gatti woulda done the same to him?
"You knocked him down...now how bout you try knockin me down ?"
I think Gatti would have beat him. Gatti,was fast at that weight, could box pretty good and would have made him fight. Hopson didn't have the power to get him off, the chin to last in the exchanges, or the boxing skill to avoid them. See, Ivan Robinson beat Gatti twice because he could hit Gatti on the way in, get his hands off, change the angle to avoid getting hit back, then keep punching.
Hopson didn't have that skill, never learned it. Never had to, I guess, because he was "fast." Fast hands, fast feet. So he never developed skill. Meldrick Taylor was very much in that same boat, which I take as a black mark on the Duva/Benton way of bringing fighters along. There are so many ways a good fighter can negate speed, and, in and of itself, speed is not as important as timing.
Ever wonder why a real fast guy can beat an opponent to the punch all night long, but never hurt him? A part of it is that he's not 'sitting down' on his punches. Mostly it is because he isn't hitting him at the right time. To maximize the value of his weight turn and your weight turn you have to be in sync, not way out in front.
Yeh bud I think Grey nailed it on all points. A boxing Gatti pre bricks & balls slugger would have done a number on Hopson also. As crazy as it sounds Hopson didn't 'have enough' to walk Gatti into his own faults?! Patterson wasn't a massive puncher but very solid boxer-puncher with timing. Hopson a good reflex type but when it got deep, he got wet.
Fast Eddie was a cross between SWEET PEA and Meldrick Taylor , blurring handspeed , however he didn't have the toughness at top level , was exciting , and yes Gatti would have beheaded him.
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