B-Hop: The Mask Is Back

[Preme]

[youtube]Nqqfc850QJo[/youtube]

[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.

[Gandalf]

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.

I thought you was more mature than that Miles ?? why do you have to disrespect me like that ?? i gave you facts mixed in with my opinion i didn't disrespect Calzaghe or you so why come out with that ??

No disrespect intended. Sorry, if it seemed that way. I had read your post and disagreed with your opinion and use of the FACTS as it were. It was late and though I really wanted to get stuck in and give a good argument back I was bound by the ticking of the clock. I was out of time and gave the curt response I did. Chin up, Ice, it really was not intended to be any slur upon your character. More a frustration with being a busy dude and not having enough time for this kind of fun stuff.

First off, I disagree with your analysis of Kessler. Kessler was a supremely confident and technically competent fighter and most importantly willing to mix it up with Calzaghe. I would be very surprised to see Hopkins mix anything up until the late rounds when he knows he has to do something. I think of the Taylor fights as being the last ones where Hopkins hadnt handpicked his opponent. Both fighters had their flaws but Hopkins just wasnt able to be busy enough to win a great number of those rounds. Taylor is hardly a serious workhorse. And then we compare the Taylor output to that of Calzaghe. Hopkins can try and look cute on those old legs but that isnt going to win rounds and Calzaghe will nail him. Repeatedly. As Hopkins gets more desperate then the more opportunities Calzaghe will find.

Im not underestimating Hopkins far from it. Ive always picked Hopkins to win his fights. I thought he won the first Taylor fight. I picked him to beat Winky and Tarver. But this is the one opponent that I always thought could give Hopkins a nightmare and Hopkins at the age of 43 has picked the wrong time to try and do it. He should have signed up for this half a decade ago. Calzaghe may not have the power he once had but his boxing has evolved sublimely. Hopkins too did improve a lot after Jones Jr but he is now facing the law of diminishing returns. Taylor made it close twice. Winky way outside his comfort zone made a fight of it. Now we have Calzaghe who is in his comfort zone and pretty much at his best. The odds point to a convincing Calzaghe win.

Calzaghe will need to win convincingly and Im sure he intends to do just that. Stopping Hopkins might seem unreasonable but its a possibility that he could be TKO'd. If it goes to the cards it really wont be close. Hopkins has to hope his right hand gets lucky!

[RP33]

I think Calzaghe will def make b-hop look bad in the early rounds, and in spurts throughout the fight.. calzaghe is too quick and active and will get in and out fine.. but as soon as he stays in close, then he is vulnerable to some sharp short shots from hopkins..

my favorite ending to this fight would be if calzaghe goes into a slapping rage, you know, one like the combo that got him the TKO against Manfredo, and hopkins rears back and hits him in the jaw like he hit tarver.. sending joe to the ground, just to get up for Hop to finish him off.. man, if that happens i'll have the biggest smile on my face..

i really think that this is a tough fight to predict because of hopkins craftiness in the ring.. i think the easiest prediction would be to say that joe will outwork hopkins and stay on the outside and win a UD by 4 rounds, but i can easily see that not happening..

i'd say 60/40 odds in calzaghe's favor.. but i want hop to win like there is no tomorrow.

[Galaxy]

I think Hopkins wins. Even at 43 Hopkins will be the best opponent Joe has ever faced IMO.

[Majesty]

he wore his mask for the Taylor rematch too.

[GAME]

Good debate ICB and Miles.

You both make good points that I agree with but the most determining factor IMO is that if Hopkins couldnt deal with Taylors pace after two attempts afew years ago I dont think he can do any better vs Joe .

[bambamdaddio]

May be the mask is back....because he knows he's gonna need it....

Joe all the way, he has too much of everything, footwork, speed, agility, work rate, versatility, toughness and years...

This is a fight that J.C can't wait for...this is commercially his ticket to Legacyville...B.H wont stop Joe's fight plan with the rough shit, because Joe will not allow him to...

[NUCLEAR BULL]

i think we should remember that hopkins has taken tough fights before, the taylor fight he didn't need to have, he could have fought others but went for it, some say because he dislikes taylors promoter and wanted to settle a score but the fact is he fought taylor. he then went for tarver, i remember clearly not many giveing b-hop any chance saying tarver will ko him...........then not many gave him a chance against winky, people thought winky would be to good for him over 12 rounds. he now takes an even tougher fight in joe, say what you want no one can claim his last 5 fights have been easy choices and all in his 40's

others ( and i wont say his name ) have spent there carrear in a more comfortzone taking talior made opponets in large

i think joe will be to much but much respect to hopkins for taking it