BHOP offers to fight Paul Williams

[terrorsid]

Future hall of famer Bernard Hopkins told Boxingtalk.com, "First of all, I think it's unfortunate and this is the second time that Pavlik has canceled a fight over the hand injury. Somebody had to know something before they officially cut it off. You work so hard to do a fight. You know all about that with negotiations and you get that done to where you're at the point of announcing a fight in NYC and you pull out. This isn't the first time this happened, but it seems odd that this happened and Paul Williams is out of a major fight for this year. I have an interest in promoting good fights and making good fights, so I'm working on both ends and I have a solution to come up with that could change the sadness into happiness. Either way I win, because I feel like I accomplished making the Pavlik-Williams fight happen and if Paul Williams wants to fight at 170 like he told you so many times, I'm here and ready. I'm four or five months away from being 45

[kingfrnk]

I really doubt this will happen. i would rather see bhop retire off a win.

[Kel]

Fuck it why not

[terrorsid]

If this fight happens i'd go for Williams his punch output is crazy and i believe that hopkins will struggle at his age. Williams reach, punch output and footwork would wear him down. Not saying Hopkins doesn't stand a chance i just dont see it.

[blegit]

I appreciate BHop's willingness to keep the fight fans happy. We need more people willing to make interesting matchups throughout the year. Especially after all these pulled out fights this year. I think BHop wins but PWill will make for an intriguing fight.

[killersheep]

I'm sure people will bring up the Quintana/Williams I fight. I don't think you will ever see The Punisher be so one dimensional with his punch selection again. He learned a lot from that fight and his punches come from all directions now. This is a really tall (no pun intended) order for B-hop, he definately has the knowledge we'll see if he gets old before this fight.

[Spicoli]

Haa Hopkins turning the screws on Pavlik.Think he'll live up to his post fight words about Pav improving...."Don't make me come looking for you with a baseball bat".Starting to think those words are ringing in Kellys ears to this day >>>>

Hopkins vs. Williams.What the hell...why not.Good one.Hopkins via exploitive spanking.Especially if/when Williams gives up his height and wades in windmill style.

[BoomBoom]

I love B-hop "Im four months away form 45" haha if there is anyone who thinksthat age is only a number, it Hopkins. Hes clearly angling for Paul to take the bate and accept the challenge. Interesting fight if it happens.

[markb018]

Kudos to B-Hop... Paul should take it and if Paul won it would boost more than Pavlik. It's a big name for him, don't know if I want to see Paul that high in weight but if he can't get a decent fight then I am all for it. I wouldnt go as far to write off Hopkins, but I am rooting for Paul and think he will take it UD, probably look like the Winky fight. Though Hopkins has proved me wrong before

[BoxingGorilla]

I'm not feeling this one.


Unless it's free!

[Dadi Astthorsson]

Incredibly risky fight, but Williams is still relatively green. Is there really something Carlos Quintana can do that a larger, more skilled Hopkins can't do with better defense? Hopkins has several ways to win, Williams has one very good one: volume punching. It will also be a lot harder for Williams not to underestimate the old man after his great win against Wright. Williams has never fought at a 170 pounds. One of the hallmarks of a great fighter is to never enter a fight you can't win. This is not the same as picking fights you are guaranteed to win, but where if you perform to your best ability you have a fair chance to win the fight. The Japanese call this ability "mikiri" or "to see with cutting insight." B-Hop knows what he's doing.

Fighting Paul Williams is not a legacy fight right now. If Hopkins beats Williams, it will be remembered as a win against a dangerous fighter from a lower weight. But to us who are in the know RIGHT NOW, we can look at it in a different way, because we know and will always remember what a freakish, tough SOB Paul Williams is and was. If anything we will at least remember Hopkins had a lot of balls taking this fight, win, lose or draw.

One last thing, if Hopkins keeps stacking up solid wins (guys like RJJr, Kessler, Glen Johnson), perhaps culminating in a win against Dawson or Adamek will it be enough to erase the Calzaghe defeat (disputable as that one is)? I think he's already erased the Taylor defeats, but that owes a lot to Taylor doing a nosedive career-wise. I mean erase in the sense of, yeah he's lost, but look at what he's done since. What would satisfy you?

[amat]

People would be CRAZY to overlook BHop here and make Paul Williams out to be more then he really is. I like Williams I have actually liked Williams from the very beginning way before he beat Margarito and even after the Quintana fight but please Hopkins was the LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT champion. He has been a middleweight his whole career and now he's especially big, he's shown that he can still be strong enough to win rounds and he exposes every little hole a fighter has. This is Williams in with a bigger guy, I don't think the mindset would be there to throw so many punches and be so reckless.

You say ignore the Quintana fight but I just can't, sure he's improved but this is Bernard Hopkins, who for at least one night last October(I think) everyone thought was the baddest mfer on the planet with his dismantling of Pavlik.

Say what you want about Williams tremendous output and his reach that's longer then Muhammad Ali's, Bernard Hopkins is physically stronger then Williams and my guess is that it's just not by a little. At 57 years old, give Hopkins an edge and he'll take advantage of it at least enough to win 5 rounds and make people believe you won 2 more after the fight. Seriously though this guy is out of fights with Taylor, Tarver, Calzaghe, and Pavlik and this is Bernard Hopkins trying to bait a welterweight into the ring. Ask Winky Wright how Hopkins fights guys who don't carry the weight like he does, he throws them around and roughs them up and fights dirty, takes them out of their element.

I'm a big Paul Williams fan but his biggest attribute is the physical advantages he enjoys over everyone at or near his weight class. At some point he's going to see those physical advantages only take him so far up the weight divisions.

If Paul gets baited into this he better hope B Hop gets arthritis or something and that age catches up to him because he would be in for a long night. Seriously it's Hopkins this is EXACTLY what he did with Pavlik you could say he used Pavlik's confidence against him and worked him. I remember the day this was signed how many people were taking the same positions as they are now.

This would be a great fight but a win for B-Hop imo. Fight Pavlik please and then go back to 154 and concern yourself with the guy below you not above you. That's what I want him to do, he says he can fight at 147 now and we know he can make 154, I'd like to see him take advantage of that while he still can without diminishing his skills.

[Master]

BHop is a sly old dog, Williams will wait for Pav to get fit. Bhop does no one a service but himself.

[TheMacMagician]

I've listened to a great interview with Williams a few moths back, and if he is to be believed i reckon he'd be up for this. He even said in the interview that he'd love to fight Joe Calzaghe, so i reckon he'd take on B-Hop. Its a big jump. I'd say if Hopkins has the power to put Calzaghe on his bum, all be it flash, he stops Williams..... The only fight I wanna see B-Hop take are against Dawson or Adamek...... Personally I think Williams should work on cementing a light middle / middle place just for now....

[RP33]

I think BHOP wins this.. With that said, this would be the UGLIEST fight, possibly EVER!.. BHOP will have to tie up Williams non stop so that he doesn't wear himself out.. Williams will not be able to find a rythm and eventually i think BHOP will start to pot shot some points.. If BHOP doesn't get disqualified or get 2-3 points taken away from him for holding, then he wins a UD.