B-Hop vs Winky.

[Dorfmeister]

If Hopkins stares at Winky for the first few rounds like he did to Taylor then he'll give up the first 3-5 rounds without a doubt. It seemed that at the end of the Taylor fights, when he picked it up, he was effortlessly being quite effective. If he does that to Winky early in the fight, then it will be VERY interesting to see what happens. Remember what Winky's face looked like after the Taylor fight, and Hopkins hit's harder than Taylor. I don't see Winky the clear favorite at all, but i give him the edge due to Hopkins laid back style.

RP33, I disagree vehemently with the assumption of Bernard's punch impact on Winky being that superior to Jermain's ( actually it is not). B-Hop is a selective, quality and tricky puncher in the first place, he doesn't rely on the one knockout punch but the fact that he appears to be more waiting to tag ya with consecutive sharp, sneaky and still solid right volleys lately ( vs Taylor I & II, vs Tarver) is because he isn't able to use pressure and volume of punches like he used to ( from Mercado to Tito and from there to Eastman). Winky has a very hard defense to penetrate in, the guy presents a perfect thin line side from where you can only see fluid right jabs comin and when you get to figure him out, he closes himself like a shell and you can't misuse your time and chances cos he'll tag you from that stance - bernard has to jump in the distance instinctively and rotate 90º repeatedly as fast to keep nailing him with rights - I do believe that is impossible for a 40 plus year old to do even if he is a beautiful physical specimen, wiry frame, perfect conditioned, experient man like Hopkins...

Uh, i've seen Winky fight before, i know what he does.. and i've seen B-hop throughout his career, thanks..
Hopkins has more KO's than Taylor (obviously, but even the ratio is higher).. But when you look at their styles, obviously Taylor was VERY active the entire fight against Wright, and Hopkins is not going to take that approach even if he could at his age.. I give Hopkins more credit than you, due to the fact that if he does figure Winky out and can sneak some shots in there, they will be just as, if not more effective than Taylor was. Do i think he'll figure him out? probably not, but i do indeed think he can be effective and have a better shot if he gets to work right at the bell of round 1.

RP33 again and Gamo, guys, I love B-Hop and have every single title fight he's been in ever since RJJ, coming off the floor twice in Equador against Mercado to the two losses with Jermain and the Tarver fight. I also deslike W(S)tinky's stance to the point of nausea, to me he is still the most natural lefty I've seen and is the same junior welter light handed guy who used to outslick nobodies like J.C.Candelo in 2003 for the IBF title, then came Shane and Tito tryin to bomb him away and Wright still doing what he knows best, breaking their momentum, sliping with scoring shots and suckin up their energy and their will to win to the finish line. 50cent tried to co-promote his image and easy-going personality and cool talkin in the video "Just a Lil Bit", still he would come without too much notice against Taylor and that's exactly when Jermain started looking on the less bright side of decisions, draws and even wins ( like against Cory) - that's what W(S)tinky does to ya, besides when he's the main attraction like when he took Quartey, see what snore-fest, idiotic middle fight it can develop into and it was a major eliminator in hometown St. Petesburg, FL.
I really believe Bernard chose the best fight to do a lil bit more than nothing, get the check and finally retire for good without getting hurt (Man, You really didn't believe he was to compete with Wlad, Oleg, Ruslan, Sultan and all those folks or did you?) - Taylor vs Pavlik is a A genuine middleweight title fight where fireworks are expected, Hopkins vs Wright is a A++ sort of light heavy (non) title fight that can be as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall.