Who will be remembered as the greater fighter: Bernard Hopkins or Floyd Mayweather?

[mikeeod]

In what ways is Bernard Better than Floyd?

He fought everybody, most of them in their prime.

Floyd avoided many, or waited until they faded (Mosley was 40 when Floyd fought his, De La Hoya was past his best). Floyd fought a lot of clubfighters/fringe contenders like Ortiz, Mitchell, and Maidana.

actually floyd probably fought tougher opposition. bhop did clean out the MW division but most of the people he fought werent really that good. the fight that really put him over was against tito who was a welter. same with de la hoya. i would say that floyds best wins are better than hopkins best wins.

but its a joke of a thread anyways. floyd is a top 20 p4p of all time. bernard basically sealed his legacy because of his age. floyd sealed his with his greatness.

I would LOVE for you to explain how you think Floyd faced tougher competition. No way and it isn't even close. Floyd hasn't faced nearly as many top guys as Hop. It's not even close. That statement just completely overshadows any valid points you may have made.

[mikeeod]

Both guys are close and depending on how you weigh the criteria is how you will rank each guy against the other. If you like consistency, multiple titles at multiple weights and no losses you favor Floyd. If you like longevity, historical accomplishments and quality of opposition you favor Hop.

The one aspect of this debate that is asinine is the question of who fought tougher comp. it's not even close. Look at the number of P4P ranked fighters each guy fought while those guys were in their prime and ranked P4P at the time of the fight. This is the only objective method for weighing quality of opposition. Hop wins big here. Not even close...

[ruthless rocco]

One of them deliberately bent and broke the rules at every possible occasion in order to win.
The other used superior skills, talent and athleticism to dominate almost every opponent they faced over 18 years.

Who is the greater fighter... The cheater or the virtuoso?

[p4pking]

I don't really give a shit, bickering over the legacies of people who werent in the same weight class and could never have been rivals is waste of time imo. This thread is basically proof of why. All that said though, I take Floyd!!!

It boils down to whether you prefer longevity over dominance(I certainly don't), how much credit you give a guy for taking fights as opposed to winning them(I actually think FLoyd has more quality wins, but Hopkins has really been through a hell of a gauntlet in the last ten years and has no doubt taken on tougher challenges in that time), and of course white prejudice

It's interesting to note that when Hopkins was Floyds age(which is old!!!) he had basically just emerged on the scene beating Tito. What he has done since then is freakish without question, but on the flip side I don't think Hopkins middleweight reign was THAT impressive as the big fights evaded him in those days regardless.

[Freedom]

When Floyd is Hopkins' age, he won't be fighting. He'll likely be living in a beach home in Mexico, surrounded by several young male prostitutes who resemble Justin Bieber.

[powerpuncher]

In what ways is Bernard Better than Floyd?

He fought everybody, most of them in their prime.

Floyd avoided many, or waited until they faded (Mosley was 40 when Floyd fought his, De La Hoya was past his best). Floyd fought a lot of clubfighters/fringe contenders like Ortiz, Mitchell, and Maidana.

actually floyd probably fought tougher opposition. bhop did clean out the MW division but most of the people he fought werent really that good. the fight that really put him over was against tito who was a welter. same with de la hoya. i would say that floyds best wins are better than hopkins best wins.

but its a joke of a thread anyways. floyd is a top 20 p4p of all time. bernard basically sealed his legacy because of his age. floyd sealed his with his greatness.

I would LOVE for you to explain how you think Floyd faced tougher competition. No way and it isn't even close. Floyd hasn't faced nearly as many top guys as Hop. It's not even close. That statement just completely overshadows any valid points you may have made.

so they have one common opponent and that is de la hoya. that wasnt an impressive win at all for bhop because i knew that de la hoya was way too small and was actually surprised that he did so well. mayweather did the opposite and went up in weight to fight him. and tito (who really made bhop a bigger name) was a one dimensional fighter who was very good at what he did but easily got outboxed (watch the de la hoya and winky fights). plus tito was a welter, not a middleweight.

those are probably his biggest wins along with probably tarver. most of his wins from tarver on were more impressive because of age instead of who they were against. for example, we were all impressed that he beat pascal, not because pascal is great but because bhop was old and did it convincingly (in their second fight at least). most of his wins at middleweight werent that impressive because his opposition wasnt great. look at the list of guys he fought and you will realize that no name really sticks out.

[denilson200]

I think Bernard Hopkins had a greater career than Floyd Mayweather.

He fought the best, while Floyd avoided many of the better boxers in and around his division.

Floyd avoided Williams, Margarito, prime Mosley, Morales, prime De La Hoya, Casamayor, Tszyu, Forrest and of course Pacquiao.

I remember Hopkins once offered to fight a heavyweight Oleg Maskaev when Oleg had the WBC title.

Floyd Mayweather is a America’s worst nightmare : A young, RICH, black man who is confident as hell to the point of cockiness. Although his antics are annoying as hell, the reason people hate Floyd is because he is a black man who’s UNBROKEN.

People hate, and I do mean HATE, to see a black man who is confident. The amount of hate that this man is generating from non-blacks is utterly insane.

You have got strategists all over the damn internet trying to come up with blueprints on how to defeat Mayweather.

Like I have said before, a million times, is that boxing, as well as other combat sports, are all SYMBOLIC.

Many non-black men, whether they admit it, or not, are intimidated by black men, and many of them feel empowered when they see a non-black man kick a black man’s ass in anything; especially fighting.

I’ve noticed ever since the advent of MMA, white and other non-black men have become more confident than ever when it comes to challenging black men.

They finally feel as if they have an answer to the hand-to-hand combat problem when it comes to black men. I will tell you one thing, many brothers reading this better recognize; because other races of men aren’t taking these damn courses for their health.

The thought of besting a black man in hand-to-hand combat is their chief motivation; and many cats don’t have a clue as to what’s going on.

All of a sudden, you’ll begin to notice non-black men who are LOOKING to pick fights with you out of nowhere; literally trying to PROVOKE you into a fight. They will feel bold enough to do this because they know something that YOU DON’T.

And if black men think that they are going to get by off of a damn intimidation “Scary black guy” factor, they got another thing coming.

Many of the younger black men swim like women when they fight. No technique at all, just wild as hell and running your mouth won’t work these days brothers. You are going to be forced to SHOW and PROVE

Just watch James Toney get his ass kicked by Randy Couture, yeah sure Toney was out of shape and past his best, but so was Couture.

Even though I am a boxer, I definitely plan on adding grappling techniques to my repertoire;

The bottom line is this: many non-black men measure their manhood in comparison to black men. That’s the main reason why they are damn near drooling at the thought of Floyd Mayweather’s defeat. They are looking for any confirmation that they can get that they are, somehow, manlier than what they perceive black men to be.

Damn, I wanted to reply to this thread but when I read the words of our resident profit @denilson200 I was left speechless. Denilson, you say you are a boxer and non black men quiver at the prospect of fighting a black man. I would love to meet you in the ring @denilson200 and my fear, if any, would arise from your talent and your size only. After we fought, I wont say I would kick your ass but I am confident that would occur, our post fight hug would be exceptionally long as I spend many nights dreaming of holding you close.

You may well be able to kick my ass in the ring or in a cage.

I don't under-estimate anyone.

I'm not gonna sit up here and say that I'm super talented at boxing but I just do boxing, sparring for fun and other forms of combat sports to keep me in shape and so should everyone else.

[Rantcatrat]

One of them deliberately bent and broke the rules at every possible occasion in order to win.
The other used superior skills, talent and athleticism to dominate almost every opponent they faced over 18 years.

Who is the greater fighter... The cheater or the virtuoso?

Do you recall the Victor Oritz knockout by Mayweather? Hopkins is dirtier but Mayweather is far from clean.

[Beanflicker]

Hopkins and Mayweather are both dirty fighters.

[ruthless rocco]

One of them deliberately bent and broke the rules at every possible occasion in order to win.
The other used superior skills, talent and athleticism to dominate almost every opponent they faced over 18 years.

Who is the greater fighter... The cheater or the virtuoso?

Do you recall the Victor Oritz knockout by Mayweather? Hopkins is dirtier but Mayweather is far from clean.

That was a legit KO.
Ortiz deliberately fouled him, kissed him on the cheek, tapped gloves the ref told them to resume fighting.
Ortiz walked towards Floyd with his hands down.
Floyd KO'd him. Fair play. Not dirty.

[Rantcatrat]

One of them deliberately bent and broke the rules at every possible occasion in order to win.
The other used superior skills, talent and athleticism to dominate almost every opponent they faced over 18 years.

Who is the greater fighter... The cheater or the virtuoso?

Do you recall the Victor Oritz knockout by Mayweather? Hopkins is dirtier but Mayweather is far from clean.

That was a legit KO.
Ortiz deliberately fouled him, kissed him on the cheek, tapped gloves the ref told them to resume fighting.
Ortiz walked towards Floyd with his hands down.
Floyd KO'd him. Fair play. Not dirty.

Hahahahahah. I don't care if it was legal or not. It was the definition of a cheap shot.

Do you consider that a brilliant KO?

Watch it again: Ortiz is backing away with his gloves down and the ref isn't even looking at the fighters and not only does Floyd hit him once, he hits him twice.

Come on, man.

That wasn't a way to end a fight. It was utter crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieJPRhlkVh4

[Silkeyjoe]

In what ways is Bernard Better than Floyd?

He fought everybody, most of them in their prime.

Floyd avoided many, or waited until they faded (Mosley was 40 when Floyd fought his, De La Hoya was past his best). Floyd fought a lot of clubfighters/fringe contenders like Ortiz, Mitchell, and Maidana.

actually floyd probably fought tougher opposition. bhop did clean out the MW division but most of the people he fought werent really that good. the fight that really put him over was against tito who was a welter. same with de la hoya. i would say that floyds best wins are better than hopkins best wins.

but its a joke of a thread anyways. floyd is a top 20 p4p of all time. bernard basically sealed his legacy because of his age. floyd sealed his with his greatness.

I would LOVE for you to explain how you think Floyd faced tougher competition. No way and it isn't even close. Floyd hasn't faced nearly as many top guys as Hop. It's not even close. That statement just completely overshadows any valid points you may have made.

so they have one common opponent and that is de la hoya. that wasnt an impressive win at all for bhop because i knew that de la hoya was way too small and was actually surprised that he did so well. mayweather did the opposite and went up in weight to fight him. and tito (who really made bhop a bigger name) was a one dimensional fighter who was very good at what he did but easily got outboxed (watch the de la hoya and winky fights). plus tito was a welter, not a middleweight.

those are probably his biggest wins along with probably tarver. most of his wins from tarver on were more impressive because of age instead of who they were against. for example, we were all impressed that he beat pascal, not because pascal is great but because bhop was old and did it convincingly (in their second fight at least). most of his wins at middleweight werent that impressive because his opposition wasnt great. look at the list of guys he fought and you will realize that no name really sticks out.

You conveniently leave out Pavlik, who was one of the most feared fighters at the time. You also fail to mention P4P king Roy Jones Jr, Joe Calzaghe and Kovalev who in my opinion are better P4P then anyone Floyd has fought. Im not argueing who was better I believe its Floyd but I cant see how anyone can think Floyd fought better opposition

[ruthless rocco]

Hahahahahah. I don't care if it was legal or not. It was the definition of a cheap shot.

Do you consider that a brilliant KO?

Watch it again: Ortiz is backing away with his gloves down and the ref isn't even looking at the fighters and not only does Floyd hit him once, he hits him twice.

Come on, man.

That wasn't a way to end a fight. It was utter crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieJPRhlkVh4

That's how you handle a bitch punk like Ortiz. He had tried to headbutt Floyd 3 different times over the course of the fight. That means all pleasantries are off. There's no cheap shot against a guy who deliberately fouls you in a attempt to injure you. Add to that the kiss on the cheek and the hugs Ortiz kept trying to give Floyd... I think it was the best ending possible. Ortiz just wanted out of the fight anyway. He's not a real fighter despite his natural talent.

Here's a video for you. Keith Kizer the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission explains how it was legal. He even mocks Ortiz. It begins at the 25 second mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPt9PodmaPQ

[Beanflicker]

You conveniently leave out Pavlik, who was one of the most feared fighters at the time. You also fail to mention P4P king Roy Jones Jr, Joe Calzaghe and Kovalev who in my opinion are better P4P then anyone Floyd has fought. Im not argueing who was better I believe its Floyd but I cant see how anyone can think Floyd fought better opposition

Kovalev better p4p than anyone Floyd has fought? Kovalev isn't even officially the #1 in his division right now, let alone a p4p great...

[Beanflicker]

Here's a video for you. Keith Kizer the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission explains how it was legal. He even mocks Ortiz. It begins at the 25 second mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPt9PodmaPQ

LOL@ Ortiz, "nobody lost tonight, I never lost in my mind" Hahaha, bro you got KTFO