Thats an interesting take on Hopkins. what I tend to notice from Hopkins (and yes he does stand very wide) is that he will typically lead in with shots from outside. That is that he circles away and looks to lead in with rights while constantly feinting to the point where it is nearly impossible to tell when he'll throw. It makes him so difficult to fight because he rarely counterpunches (which is one of the few momements you'll be able to catch him; at a moment when he isn't circling) and circles away. in essence what ends up happening to a lot of fighters is that they will follow him around the ring completely frozen and unable to start up any kind of attack because they never know when or what he might throw at them. What is so ingenious about his strategy is that he rarely counterpunches. Rather, when opponents elect to punch he simply circles out of range. Because he won't stand and trade, his opponents get left in the dust, reduced to eating cheap pot shots round after round. By following him around, it is ironically this that allows him to get away with what he does.

What made swarmers so effective against counterpunchers throughout the history of the sport was their ability to counter the counter. Take for example Marciano's ko of Joe Walcott. Review the tape and you will see that Rocky throws a jab that Joe tries to counter with a right hand. Rocky lands that famous right hand on Joe's cheek as he was throwing the counter. When Joe threw the counter it instantly exposed him to right hands. Since his body was committed to the act of punching he could not simultaneously get out of the way. In essence, rocky's jab prompted a counterpunch out of walcott creating a window of opportunity for that famous right. Its so subtle that its easy to miss if you're not paying attention. i should also note that nearly all of the great knockouts of the sport come when a fighter gets punched while he is trying to throw a punch himself. Its because it not only catches him moving into the shot, but it also catches him unexpectedly because when one punches he tends to be in an "attack mode" and never thinks to factor in that he could be hit during this.

basically my point is that it is never wise to follow a guy around the ring like a schmuck. whether you are a guy who likes to use the ring or a guy who like to come forward what remains constant is that in order to land your punches you must 1. somehow make sure your opponent is in punching range and 2. once there, find a way to create an opening in his defense. very tricky stuff.

So with that said I would try to make hopkins throw with me. Because Hopkins rarely counterpunches I would find great difficulty in trying to get him to stop and punch. I would try and circle away and to my left in an attempt to make Hopkins the aggressor. By doing so I can bring hopkins to me instead of trying to go out and catch him.