Poll: So Who Does Hopkins fight next?

[El Gamo]

If Hopkins defeats the winner of Calzaghe v Kessler, he goes down as the conqueror of the 168-175 post RJJ/Tarver era.

See,that's my thinking too. Why would he not want that?

I'm surprised Mick,I've never seen you so scathing of B Hop/Winky I am about to see the fight now so I'll let you know what I think.

I think he'll fight RJJ. I'd muc much prefer a JC fight because I think JC would beat his a** and cement his own legacy but those 2 negotiating is a pain in the a** and I don't know if they'll be able to work things out. RJJ does not have as much pulling power as he used to so B Hop can take more control over negotiations,something which was always a stumbling block in the past.

I really dont want to see a fight with Calzaghe. A few years ago, of course. But not now. Hopkins just beat someone who is really at his best at 154 pounds and had to do that at 170. It was a good win for Hopkins but I would leave it at that. Calzaghe is all wrong for BHop at this late stage.

Retirement is the favourable option. If not, then a final fight with Jones Jr. And then for goodness sake. Retirement please!

Yeah but on the other side of the coin,he just beat a P4P top 3 guy,and he also beat the man at lightheavy. If he keeps winning,I don't see why the JC fight can't be made and especially as so many fans think B Hop would win,I think it would make for a great fight but like I said,the chances of it happening are slim.

I think we both said that WInky was silly for taking this fight and I think it showed. Win,lose or draw,at 33/34,he is going to have this one fight,and have to lose allll that weight to go back to 154/160. It's not good for his body especially at this age and I would much rather have seen him fight JT again.

I agree with what you are saying. If a Hopkins: Calzaghe fight makes sense for both parties then that is an option. Ive always been a supporter of Hopkins and likewise a a huge Calzaghe fan too. On a personal level and this is me talking from the Hopkins perspective. I dont think he can beat Calzaghe at this stage. So I really dont want him to fight Joe. A few years ago this is an entirely different case. Hopkins would have had every chance of hanging with Calzaghe and perhaps winning. Now it proves nothing. Others will differ on their feeling on how the fight might go and perhaps that a reason for the fight to happen. But I think both fighters have different fish to fry now.

Since the second Taylor fight, Hopkins career path has been scripted very well. He went up and took out Tarver. He bypassed SMW altogether. This does raise some questions for me. Admittedly beating Tarver was also a swipe at Jones Jr who beat Hopkins but lost twice to Tarver. Next comes Winky. Yes, WInky is a top P4P fighter but he has been lured up to a weight that Hopkins is comfortable with and Wright himself has never fought before. 10 pounds is almost a jump of 2 weight classes. This was a pretty close fight and I wasnt sure which way it would go because of the variables. Hopkins was aware of those variables at play and fighting WInky at 170 was obviously an advantage.

If Hopkins were to fight Calzaghe then it would be a move away from the calculated path he has been following of late and would be a mistake. I dont think its a path Hopkins will take.

Hopkins has nothing left to prove. A farewell fight against Jones would be more than enough for me.

You make good points and I agree with most of them except the B Hop-JC fight. It would enhance his legacy even moreso and also(I'm more of a JC fan),it'll give JC a fan to cement his. I totally agree though, B Hop knew exactly what he was doing when he made Winky jump 2 weight classes but Winky made the mistake of taking the bait.


BTW,I wonder what kind of numbers this did?