Hopkins had a style built for the long run....Roy Jones Jr.'s style was built on reflexes, speed, timing, things that fade with time. Hopkins ALWAYS fought in an ugly manner more difficult to hit clean than most but he was always consistent with his attack and he's a strong guy. Holyfield had a similar way about him. Andre Ward has a similar way about him. Wladimir Klitschko could even be mentioned in this group (though he knocks out many more guys than the others) as it looks as his style could have him sticking around for as long as he likes.


RJJ never adapted his style to his age...not even sure if that would have been possible with the way he fought. Too herky, jerky, too much energy consumption, too much reliance on speed and reflexes.



I don't think there was a fighter in his era that could have really pushed him to the brink from 160-175....maybe cruiserweight, but you just don't know. There were certainly heavyweights that could have hurt him just due to their pure size advantages. Benn, Eubank, Collins, Michalczewski, Jirov....they couldn't have taken him and in his pomp Joe Calzaghe would have been 0 match for him. The guys that would have had chances would likely have been very small heavyweights, the super tough cruiserweights, or the extremely talented all-time greats.