B-Hop: The Mask Is Back

[Gandalf]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

[ICB]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

[Gandalf]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

Of course, Hopkins has a chance but I do think its a minimal chance and reliant upon a freak right hand. Just isnt going to happen. I really dont think im way off the mark whatsover here. Hopkins will slow Calzaghe down. No doubts about that. But Calzaghe will throw so many more punches than Hopkins and he can punch a bit himself. Its not like against Wright where Hopkins was able to walk through what Winky was able to throw. Tarver didnt actually throw anything! Calzaghe will make Hopkins work like he hasnt done ever before. Not even when he was at his best. Hopkins isnt even all that big a puncher thse days. The right might land but Calzaghe will keep on coming back and throw a lot of punches in bunches.

Calzaghe has always risen for the big ones and Hopkins at 43 is there for the taking. Hopkins is so old and he hasnt actually fought in a bloody long time since Winky. Calzaghe has just beaten Kessler and looked as good as ever doing it. I watched that again last night for the first time in a while and it was a great display. If Calzaghe brings that then it really will not be close.

[GAME]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

Of course, Hopkins has a chance but I do think its a minimal chance and reliant upon a freak right hand. Just isnt going to happen. I really dont think im way off the mark whatsover here. Hopkins will slow Calzaghe down. No doubts about that. But Calzaghe will throw so many more punches than Hopkins and he can punch a bit himself. Its not like against Wright where Hopkins was able to walk through what Winky was able to throw. Tarver didnt actually throw anything! Calzaghe will make Hopkins work like he hasnt done ever before. Not even when he was at his best. Hopkins isnt even all that big a puncher thse days. The right might land but Calzaghe will keep on coming back and throw a lot of punches in bunches.

Calzaghe has always risen for the big ones and Hopkins at 43 is there for the taking. Hopkins is so old and he hasnt actually fought in a bloody long time since Winky. Calzaghe has just beaten Kessler and looked as good as ever doing it. I watched that again last night for the first time in a while and it was a great display. If Calzaghe brings that then it really will not be close.

Im with you Miles . The win over Kessler is one of my favourites even though I like Kess and the win over Lacy has to rank up there too .

But for some reason fighting in the States is so much harder for whatever reason . Joes never done it B4 so we dont know how he'll react if as ICB says , Hop drags him into a dirty fight like weve seen with Starie and Thornberry . If Joe brings it though and is at his best I cant see how Hop wins .

[Gandalf]

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

Of course, Hopkins has a chance but I do think its a minimal chance and reliant upon a freak right hand. Just isnt going to happen. I really dont think im way off the mark whatsover here. Hopkins will slow Calzaghe down. No doubts about that. But Calzaghe will throw so many more punches than Hopkins and he can punch a bit himself. Its not like against Wright where Hopkins was able to walk through what Winky was able to throw. Tarver didnt actually throw anything! Calzaghe will make Hopkins work like he hasnt done ever before. Not even when he was at his best. Hopkins isnt even all that big a puncher thse days. The right might land but Calzaghe will keep on coming back and throw a lot of punches in bunches.

Calzaghe has always risen for the big ones and Hopkins at 43 is there for the taking. Hopkins is so old and he hasnt actually fought in a bloody long time since Winky. Calzaghe has just beaten Kessler and looked as good as ever doing it. I watched that again last night for the first time in a while and it was a great display. If Calzaghe brings that then it really will not be close.

Im with you Miles . The win over Kessler is one of my favourites even though I like Kess and the win over Lacy has to rank up there too .

But for some reason fighting in the States is so much harder for whatever reason . Joes never done it B4 so we dont know how he'll react if as ICB says , Hop drags him into a dirty fight like weve seen with Starie and Thornberry . If Joe brings it though and is at his best I cant see how Hop wins .

If Joe is anything near his best then Hopkins will be lucky to see it through until the end of the 12th. As it is, I expect Calzaghe to go easy and pound out a decision probably on the same scale as the Kessler one. This stage in the career will make Calzaghe all the more determined not to let anything slip.

[Wayne]

As much as I like B-Hop I don't see him winning. I like Joe too, but he won't have an easy time of it. Joe is a spectacular OFFENSIVE fighter, Bernard is a spectacular DEFENSIVE fighter. There won't be a KO in this fight and at best you'll get a flash knockdown. Hopkins will do everything to blunt Calzaghe's game- in-fighting, headbutts, shoving, holding and I think it will get to him for a bit before he realizes Hopkins' game and gets his head back in it. In the end it'll be Joe's offense being too fast for Bernard to get anything off and he'll just have to settle for blocking most of what Joe throws at him. The crowd will be in Joe's head early on as this is probably the first time in a while where greater than 50% of the crowd was cheering him on.

[leftylee]

I want Calzaghe to lose badly though I don't see it

[ICB]

Of course, Hopkins has a chance but I do think its a minimal chance and reliant upon a freak right hand. Just isnt going to happen. I really dont think im way off the mark whatsover here. Hopkins will slow Calzaghe down. No doubts about that. But Calzaghe will throw so many more punches than Hopkins and he can punch a bit himself. Its not like against Wright where Hopkins was able to walk through what Winky was able to throw. Tarver didnt actually throw anything! Calzaghe will make Hopkins work like he hasnt done ever before. Not even when he was at his best. Hopkins isnt even all that big a puncher thse days. The right might land but Calzaghe will keep on coming back and throw a lot of punches in bunches.

Calzaghe has always risen for the big ones and Hopkins at 43 is there for the taking. Hopkins is so old and he hasnt actually fought in a bloody long time since Winky. Calzaghe has just beaten Kessler and looked as good as ever doing it. I watched that again last night for the first time in a while and it was a great display. If Calzaghe brings that then it really will not be close.

Im with you Miles . The win over Kessler is one of my favourites even though I like Kess and the win over Lacy has to rank up there too .

But for some reason fighting in the States is so much harder for whatever reason . Joes never done it B4 so we dont know how he'll react if as ICB says , Hop drags him into a dirty fight like weve seen with Starie and Thornberry . If Joe brings it though and is at his best I cant see how Hop wins .

If Joe is anything near his best then Hopkins will be lucky to see it through until the end of the 12th. As it is, I expect Calzaghe to go easy and pound out a decision probably on the same scale as the Kessler one. This stage in the career will make Calzaghe all the more determined not to let anything slip.

Calzaghe has never been at his best when he has been dragged into those kind of rough tough fights, history proves this. Hopkins won't allow Calzaghe to perform at his best based on the stylistic clash. Sorry to say this but Kessler is a good fighter but he is very stiff and robotic in his upper body movement plus he has slow footwork, Hopkins style will be much more effective against Calzaghe. And you say Calzaghe will be more determined than anything but doesn't that also apply to Hopkins as well ?? don't you think he would love to finish his career with 3 straight wins over Tarver, Wright, Calzaghe, and all at 40+ that would be one of the most impressive achievements in the history of boxing especially at his age now. Hopkins is a hard man and yes you are underestimating him, Hopkins knows every trick in the book and has only ever been beat convincely by Roy Jones Jr and that was before he had even perfected his boxing style. Hopkins maybe old but believe me he still has enough left in the tank to beat Calzaghe or at least give a very good account of himself in a losing effort, and i think your also forgetting this is in the USA. And Calzaghe will have to beat Hopkins convincing and i just can't see that happening, because Hopkins will make the rounds hard for Calzaghe and hard for the judges to score, and the close rounds will more than likely go to Hopkins and a close decision will also more than likely go to Hopkins.

[Gandalf]

Im with you Miles . The win over Kessler is one of my favourites even though I like Kess and the win over Lacy has to rank up there too .

But for some reason fighting in the States is so much harder for whatever reason . Joes never done it B4 so we dont know how he'll react if as ICB says , Hop drags him into a dirty fight like weve seen with Starie and Thornberry . If Joe brings it though and is at his best I cant see how Hop wins .

If Joe is anything near his best then Hopkins will be lucky to see it through until the end of the 12th. As it is, I expect Calzaghe to go easy and pound out a decision probably on the same scale as the Kessler one. This stage in the career will make Calzaghe all the more determined not to let anything slip.

Calzaghe has never been at his best when he has been dragged into those kind of rough tough fights, history proves this. Hopkins won't allow Calzaghe to perform at his best based on the stylistic clash. Sorry to say this but Kessler is a good fighter but he is very stiff and robotic in his upper body movement plus he has slow footwork, Hopkins style will be much more effective against Calzaghe. And you say Calzaghe will be more determined than anything but doesn't that also apply to Hopkins as well ?? don't you think he would love to finish his career with 3 straight wins over Tarver, Wright, Calzaghe, and all at 40+ that would be one of the most impressive achievements in the history of boxing especially at his age now. Hopkins is a hard man and yes you are underestimating him, Hopkins knows every trick in the book and has only ever been beat convincely by Roy Jones Jr and that was before he had even perfected his boxing style. Hopkins maybe old but believe me he still has enough left in the tank to beat Calzaghe or at least give a very good account of himself in a losing effort, and i think your also forgetting this is in the USA. And Calzaghe will have to beat Hopkins convincing and i just can't see that happening, because Hopkins will make the rounds hard for Calzaghe and hard for the judges to score, and the close rounds will more than likely go to Hopkins and a close decision will also more than likely go to Hopkins.

I disagree with the vast majority of the nonsense you spat out there. I will reply to that in due course tomorrow. A little late for me here now.

[Preme]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

to compare the BIka fight from you shocks me.

you know a lot about calzagh and his career, you know enough to know guys like Calzaghe seldom put on great showings against guys like bika... any fighter who goes into the ring with a guy they have already beat never shines.

Reid... that was what? almos 10 years ago ice... a fight calzaghe went into the ring with a broke hand, no pad work, no sparring for an already green fighter; he went into that with fittness and nothing more and you know that lol...

ther overhand right and the stright right is a weakness to EVERY southpaw

[Preme]

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[ICB]

Hopkins is a great fighter but the facts are that he is seriously up against it here. I cannot see him beating Calzaghe. He can talk as much as he likes and he is good at that but there is little to no way he will beat Calzaghe. Im still somewhat confused as to why Hopkins has actually gone through with this, he is usually so calculated and picks his opponents so well. He beat Tarver which was respectable but Tarver was a shell of a fighter that night. And Winky was way out of his weight range and before that there were two fights with Taylor in which Hopkins was pushed to the wire both times. Calzaghe is so much better than any of those fighters (though Winky at the lower weights was extremely good).

I maintain that Calzaghe will dominate this fight and Hopkins will look his age. Calzaghe is as skilled as they come and able to adapt in the ring to anything that Hopkins can offer at this late stage. It wasnt right for Hopkins to go through with this several years ago and now it is?? Something is amiss and its most likely Hopkins.

Sorry Miles but your way off here and to say Hopkins has little to no chance is way off the mark IMO. He can beat Calzaghe many ways by clinching and slowing Calzaghe's work rate down. Make it a rough tough fight which lesser fighters like Reid, Bika, had great success by frustrating Calzaghe making him lose his concentration and not allowing him to set the pace. And he can also use his best punch to good use aka the right hand which is Calzaghe's biggest weakness and that is one of Hopkins strong points. Im not saying Hopkins will win but he has a much better than than what your giving him.

to compare the BIka fight from you shocks me.

you know a lot about calzagh and his career, you know enough to know guys like Calzaghe seldom put on great showings against guys like bika... any fighter who goes into the ring with a guy they have already beat never shines.

Reid... that was what? almos 10 years ago ice... a fight calzaghe went into the ring with a broke hand, no pad work, no sparring for an already green fighter; he went into that with fittness and nothing more and you know that lol...

ther overhand right and the stright right is a weakness to EVERY southpaw

Im not comparing the Bika fight i used that as example how Calzaghe has struggled in the past in rough tough fights. So what if the Reid fight was 10 years ago its not like Calzaghe has got any better since then, in fact he has got a little worse since that fight because at least he still had power back then now he has virtually no KO power like he used to. Im not really buying all them excuses Preme it was just Reid had the style to trouble him, ok maybe Calzaghe wasn't 100 percent i'll admit that but it was still Reid giving him trouble end of. Yes i know the right hand is Southpaw's biggest weakness but fighters do adjust and can stop that from happening, from what i've seen in Calzaghe's fights he has no answer for the right hand at all, even Richie Woodhall hit him multiple times with right hands.

Im not putting Calzaghe down i was just giving my two cents on how Hopkins could win because i felt Miles was vastly underrating Hopkins.