You said he was cringe worthy as far as being dirty goes. I asked you for examples of this cringe worthiness. I'm not sure he would even make my top 50 list of dirty fighters. He is boxing royalty.
He's closing in on Archie Moore for the longest career in history and his to do list matches up pretty well with the Mongoose. Sure he's a prick and geographically challenged but so what? I just think his reputation for being a dirty fighter is exaggerated and somewhat on the extreme side.
Hey, I don't knock you for liking Bhop. you are talking to someone who likes Victor Ortiz. When I say cringe worthy perhaps it was too strong a word. I find Bhops tendency for malingering a bit over the top. Perhaps he is boxing royalty but I think he should act more like it. THANKS for clarifying, when you asked me for further evidence I thought you were implying that I knew nothing which would be pretty much on the money. I'm sure you as a Bhop fan can see why some wouldn't like him.
I don't like him. I respect what he has done in the sport regardless and think he gets a way worse reputation then he deserves based on the last few twilight years of his career at close to 50 and a few short of 30 years in.
Cringe worthy? U really asking for Hop's cringe worthy moments as if you dont know?
I could go on and on but just to give a few examples. If I remember correct in the Roy rematch, Roy barely grazed him in the head and this con man Hopkins started rolling all over the canvas like he got shot. Not only did that made me cringe was but for the first time, it made me hate a fighter.
Dawson-Hopkins 1.. enough said.
Hopkins is not a throwback fighter like he claims to be.
Great fighters most of the time are dirty because they know how to bend the rules and get away with it. Holyfeild makes Hopkins look clean his head was more dangerous then anything seen in a ring. Still Holyfeild is one of my favs and his avenged win over Bowie and his demolishing of Tyson and Moorer are great moments. People this is boxing not patty cake there trying to kill one another in the ring. If you look at alot of great fighters they did some dirty shit and would not think a thing about it when there hand was raised as the winner. I don't know why after so many years people still are so buged by it really its funny i mean every seen fights in old days. Today guys are not even close to the old guard when it came to making a boxing match into a street fight shit they wait above the guy to knock him out back then.
Like I said people seem to be basing this claim on one or two fights at the end of his career which you are now sustaining. And the flopping around from a shoulder lift from Dawson has very little with him being dirty. In order for him to make a top dirty list the evidence should be all over the place in close to a 30 year career. He does not make the cut. And if he's not a throwback I don't know who is.
Calling Hopkins a "dirty" fighter is not really an insult, just about everyone he's ever faced has called him "dirty," and he himself has admitted so in several interviews, seemingly taking great pride in being seen that way.
He doesn't view it as cheating, he sees it as him being smarter than everyone else - the ref, judges, opponent.
3-Time SADDO PREDICTION COMP CHAMPION.
You know that I also respect Hopkins and I think that, more than any other fighter of this era, he has worked hard in the gym to overcome other fighters with physical superiority AND I think that he is a smart tactician in the ring who is prepared to adapt to almost any style. That said, I think that a part of his willingness to 'adapt' is his willingness to bend or outright break the rules. He holds and hits where he can get away with it, he has wrestled fighters (was in Robert Allen he tossed around? I can't remember) and he got into something of a foul-fest with Echols, didn't he? Going off of memory there, so don't know that I have that quite right.
Anyway, he used his head against Winky, Taylor, and I'm sure against countless other fighters (my opinion - I don't have evidence handy - again, I am going off of memory) - but then he has also turned in masterful performances against Tito, Oscar, Pavlik, and Tarver with minimal fouling if any.
I think that his mentality can turn to the dark side at any time and part of the reason that he is considered a dirty fighter is by his own personna. He is a win at all costs guy - he believes he is justified any time that he uses dirty tactics because he feels that the referees don't always take care of stuff. Still, he ups the ante (my opinion again) when that happens and I think that he is fairly dirty a fair amount of the time and, in part DUE to his longevity, he has had his share of fighting dirty.
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