Hate to say it but..Hopkins might do a number on Calzaghe!!!

[WelshDevilRob]

I expect Calzaghe to win as he is the better fighter regardless of age and Hopkins is just not quick enough to deal with him.

Hopkins is not in his prime but is still a very good fighter and Joe should get credit for beating him as Joe is not exactly in his prime either.

Joe on points unless they have got the judges from the 1st Lennox vs Holyfield fight in.

Joe beat Kessler and will have an easier time beating Hopkins. Hopkins still has a few tricks and is tough but Joe will simply land a lot more punches.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

agreed 100% for that, Hopkins is mediocre at best THESE DAYS and is a cheater to boot, Hopkins has done nothing but hit and hold at LightHeavy the fact that this fraud has slipped thru the cracks is just an example of how people get steeped in romance for an old fighter... Wake up!!! Taylor beat Hopkins on workrate and energy and that was like 3 years ago and Taylor as half the boxing skill of Calzaghe... Hopkins was able to resurge late in those fights because Taylor lacks stamina.. Joe does not

Calzaghe will be all over him like stink on shit for 12 rounds and people will realize that a win over a weight drained suck ass one hit wonder milk dud Tarver, and a 5 division over his natural limit fat ass Winky Wright that the officiating was questionable to begin with, arent impressive wins

So you agree with him that it will be late stoppage? This is crazy talk... Both of you! I am leaning toward Calzaghe winning due to his sheer energy and workrate... But to say he'll be stopped in friggin rediculous. His style and Calzaghes lack of power won't allow it. He's not going to be able to pile up the amount of punches that put Lacy down late. He's to good defensivly. To think this is going to be a masterclass I think is out of the question.

I will be the first to stand up and say I'm wrong but I don't see that happening.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

And Williams did not dominate Margarito

I totally agree!


Of course not. Who the hell said that? I'll slap the taste right out of their mouth. Margarito just threw an uncharacteristically fewer punches then normal... This is why he lost. This alone. Don't get it twisted

Hellooooooooooo Mcflyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you think him throwing fewer punches had something to do with the fact that Williams thru a 10000000000000000000000 punches a round and Margarito couldnt get in a groove.

Thats like a baseball team saying they would have won if the pitcher gave us good pitches to hit... wow man I just nominated you for dumbass post of the year

Call it what you will... Margarito tried to box the longer williams and straight up SAID he was going to throw fewer and win on finess...

So say what you want... It was bad decision making on Tony's part

[JT Rock]

agreed 100% for that, Hopkins is mediocre at best THESE DAYS and is a cheater to boot, Hopkins has done nothing but hit and hold at LightHeavy the fact that this fraud has slipped thru the cracks is just an example of how people get steeped in romance for an old fighter... Wake up!!! Taylor beat Hopkins on workrate and energy and that was like 3 years ago and Taylor as half the boxing skill of Calzaghe... Hopkins was able to resurge late in those fights because Taylor lacks stamina.. Joe does not

Calzaghe will be all over him like stink on shit for 12 rounds and people will realize that a win over a weight drained suck ass one hit wonder milk dud Tarver, and a 5 division over his natural limit fat ass Winky Wright that the officiating was questionable to begin with, arent impressive wins

So you agree with him that it will be late stoppage? This is crazy talk... Both of you! I am leaning toward Calzaghe winning due to his sheer energy and workrate... But to say he'll be stopped in friggin rediculous. His style and Calzaghes lack of power won't allow it. He's not going to be able to pile up the amount of punches that put Lacy down late. He's to good defensivly. To think this is going to be a masterclass I think is out of the question.

I will be the first to stand up and say I'm wrong but I don't see that happening.

Leaning toward it.... Hopkins is 43 friggin years old. Its not like he is a big George Foreman who can absorb punishment.. Trust me in a fight like this I see Joe throwing all caution to the wind with his hands and letting it rip against Hopkins... If it isint a TKO than Hopkins will get beaten to an inch of stoppage in route to a Calzaghe 12 round UD

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

agreed 100% for that, Hopkins is mediocre at best THESE DAYS and is a cheater to boot, Hopkins has done nothing but hit and hold at LightHeavy the fact that this fraud has slipped thru the cracks is just an example of how people get steeped in romance for an old fighter... Wake up!!! Taylor beat Hopkins on workrate and energy and that was like 3 years ago and Taylor as half the boxing skill of Calzaghe... Hopkins was able to resurge late in those fights because Taylor lacks stamina.. Joe does not

Calzaghe will be all over him like stink on shit for 12 rounds and people will realize that a win over a weight drained suck ass one hit wonder milk dud Tarver, and a 5 division over his natural limit fat ass Winky Wright that the officiating was questionable to begin with, arent impressive wins

So you agree with him that it will be late stoppage? This is crazy talk... Both of you! I am leaning toward Calzaghe winning due to his sheer energy and workrate... But to say he'll be stopped in friggin rediculous. His style and Calzaghes lack of power won't allow it. He's not going to be able to pile up the amount of punches that put Lacy down late. He's to good defensivly. To think this is going to be a masterclass I think is out of the question.

I will be the first to stand up and say I'm wrong but I don't see that happening.

Leaning toward it.... Hopkins is 43 friggin years old. Its not like he is a big George Foreman who can absorb punishment.. Trust me in a fight like this I see Joe throwing all caution to the wind with his hands and letting it rip against Hopkins... If it isint a TKO than Hopkins will get beaten to an inch of stoppage in route to a Calzaghe 12 round UD

Huh, well I guess we'll have to see then

[X]

I really see this fight as a bit of a scuffling chess match, probably with a controversial decision at the end.

Both guys are good solid, thinking fighters, though Calzaghe does often lose his head and get involved in slugfests. He's got a very good chin and good speed though so he gets away with it.

Everybody really rates Hopkins, but he's left me a bit cold thoughout his career (sorry to all his fans). I think he is a real pro - always fit, strong and motivated and he is possibly the best 'spoiler' I have ever seen. Hopkins doesn;t win his fights by imposing his style and gameplan on the other guy - he wins by just stopping the other guys imposing his own style and gameplan on the fight, he frustrates people to death.

I don't really see Calzaghe's workrate having too much of a bearing on this, Hopkins is a master at controlling the pace of a fight and I think both guys will still be standing there at the end, possibly not too tired and possibly without much damage having been done to them. They are both seasoned pros who know how to fight and survive adversity in the ring.

I actually think it will be a boring fight. I'd lean towards Calzaghe simply because he is younger and is a very very slick boxer when he wants to be. Having said that, I would not be too surprised to see Hopkins nick it .... he;s the hometown fighter, he will flurry and steal rounds etc.

[LondonBB]

...


what i honestly expect is for calzaghe to punch hopkins arms a few times, and hopkins to land a jab or straight, over and over for 12 rds


i seriously think calzaghe is HORRIBLE, i dont think hes ever fought anyone with even decent defense, i think that kessler being highly rated to make calzaghe look good even tho kessler only beat like beyer (whos about to get fucked up by a 43 year old roy jones) is a joke


i expect hopkins to have NO trouble, i expect calzaghe to look AWFUL, and if he doesnt get hurt i think he will look worse, his father will have no clue what to tell him, and maybe finally this can all be over, if rees loses on saturday, which SHOULD happen, and calzaghe gets dominated like he should maybe this will all stop...



but i dont think it will...



i think what will happen is people will begin to say that hopkins is the best of all time and "OH DID YOU SEE THAT, CALZAGHE MADE IT SEVEN ROUNDS WITH THE GREAT HOPKINS!!!"


its like when paul williams dominated margarito, the margarito hype should have died down, but instead it became 'paul williams must be top 10 p4p if he can beat margarito'




anyway if hopkins does dominate calzaghe let it not be forgotten that a 43 year old man dominated him

So presumabely if this does NOT happen, lets say calzaghe SCHOOLS hopkins or DOMINATES the fight...totally out mastering the 'chess master'...then you will ADMIT that calzaghe is a great fighter WITHOUT MAKING EXCUSES?

Or will you simply sweep the victory aside and say ''ah, but hopkins was past it, we all knew that''?

Then if calzaghe fights pavlik and you predict a pavlik ko or calzaghe by one of pavliks big shots, but instead calzaghe batters him up big time, will you say ''ah, but pavlik is too young and inexperienced, we all knew that''?

Then when everyone is hyping dawson up (lets say because hes just beaten johnson/woods) and hes the 'new thing', (aka jeff lacy) then he faces calzaghe and suprise suprise you predict...that dawson will beat calzaghe (by this time if hes alreday beaten pavlik, lacy, hopkins, kessler and eubank, you would have thought people would learn by now though). Instead of dawson winning he gets totally out boxed by the 'weak powered, non 'straight punching', slapper' joe calzaghe...then youll say 'ah, but we all know that dawson was just another lacy, he was hyped up too much and wasnt experienced enough?''

So...which band are you in? Should your prediction be wrong about this fight, are you willing to at least be open minded and accept THERE IS A POSSIBILITY that joe (as much as it pains people of this idea) could indeed be the greatest boxer of this generation, better than hopkins or mayweather (depending of course on future results)...or are u in the band that would just dismiss it instantly and try to make excuses for the wins over mitchell, reid, eubank, lacy, kessler, hopkins, pavlik and dawson

To me, if calzaghe beats the next big 3 fighters in the states, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES, he is what he says he is, he is simply the best in the world bar none.

If he loses, i'll say that he was a great fighter but not the best, he avoided america because he was scared of it and he also was protected by his promoter. I'LL BE THE FIRST TO SAY IM WRONG...But the question is...

SHOULD YOU BE WRONG, WILL YOU PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND NOT MAKE ANY EXCUSES?

V interesting thread this has become.

[Shamrock]

This could be the fight that age catches up with Hopkins.

I don't think Joe will throw caution to the winds and let his hands go more than usual. Joe's too smart for that. He'll throw a LOT of punches. A lot of them will be the pitty patty fast combinations that annoy the hell out of me but will frustrate Hopkins.

I really hope I'm wrong but I think the fight will not be exciting - it will be facinating though. Joe by decision with both fighters at least warned several times for infringements if not penalised points.

[LondonBB]

Has the thought crossed anyones minds yet that it might not be hopkins who will dictate the tempo of the fight?

That perhaps calzaghe has the ringcraft and ability to dictate the pace of the fight and to make hopkins fight the way he wants. To me it seems that calzaghe can counter, fight at distance, infight/scrap...he was the one who started dictating the pace and fight in the kessler fight. He has shown it many times before.

I think people are underrestimating calzaghe's own ability to dictate the pace and style of fight.

Of course hopkins is fantastic at doing this, BUT if youve watched calzaghe's fights over the years like i have, then you know that calzaghe dictates his fights.

As for 'non straight punching, ive got to say that is the most stupid comments ive ever heard about calzaghe.

Do you know who else didnt use many straight punches, his name was MIKE TYSON.

Sorry guys, he threw many straight punches against kessler and lacy. In his career his always shown good jabs and right crosses, the calzaghe jab is a brilliant jab...i dont know what planet you guys are on.

You cant just look at the manfredo fight, manfredo didnt throw one punch in that fight, he was simply getting hammered by all sorts of punches and just covered up, he couldnt even take his gloves away from his face it was ridiculous.

[LondonBB]

This could be the fight that age catches up with Hopkins.

I don't think Joe will throw caution to the winds and let his hands go more than usual. Joe's too smart for that. He'll throw a LOT of punches. A lot of them will be the pitty patty fast combinations that annoy the hell out of me but will frustrate Hopkins.

I really hope I'm wrong but I think the fight will not be exciting - it will be facinating though. Joe by decision with both fighters at least warned several times for infringements if not penalised points.

What if age catches up with joe mate?

Joe is 36 now, is there a chance that his stamina and speed might dwindle a bit?

I mean wasnt it around this age where jones was at his peak when he beat ruiz and tarver the first time round...then fought tarver again and got ko'd All of a sudden, within 6 months jones was declared as being 'past it' and the excuses rolled in 'ah, its not that spectacular because jones was past it by this time' (despite beating tarver 6 months before and supposedly being in his prime).

So what if calzaghe suddenly becomes 'past it' in the 6 months between fighting kessler and hopkins?

Well, if hopkins wins, i wont start screaming 'but calzaghe was past it', il say that hopkins is a better fighter than calzaghe.'

Garunteed though that if calzaghe wins...the excuse is already lined up...infact its lined up against any of the american champs that calzaghe is poised to face, hopkins/pavlik/dawson etc they will all have their 'excuse' should calzaghe demolish them.

[WelshDevilRob]

...


what i honestly expect is for calzaghe to punch hopkins arms a few times, and hopkins to land a jab or straight, over and over for 12 rds


i seriously think calzaghe is HORRIBLE, i dont think hes ever fought anyone with even decent defense, i think that kessler being highly rated to make calzaghe look good even tho kessler only beat like beyer (whos about to get fucked up by a 43 year old roy jones) is a joke


i expect hopkins to have NO trouble, i expect calzaghe to look AWFUL, and if he doesnt get hurt i think he will look worse, his father will have no clue what to tell him, and maybe finally this can all be over, if rees loses on saturday, which SHOULD happen, and calzaghe gets dominated like he should maybe this will all stop...



but i dont think it will...



i think what will happen is people will begin to say that hopkins is the best of all time and "OH DID YOU SEE THAT, CALZAGHE MADE IT SEVEN ROUNDS WITH THE GREAT HOPKINS!!!"


its like when paul williams dominated margarito, the margarito hype should have died down, but instead it became 'paul williams must be top 10 p4p if he can beat margarito'




anyway if hopkins does dominate calzaghe let it not be forgotten that a 43 year old man dominated him

So presumabely if this does NOT happen, lets say calzaghe SCHOOLS hopkins or DOMINATES the fight...totally out mastering the 'chess master'...then you will ADMIT that calzaghe is a great fighter WITHOUT MAKING EXCUSES?

Or will you simply sweep the victory aside and say ''ah, but hopkins was past it, we all knew that''?

Then if calzaghe fights pavlik and you predict a pavlik ko or calzaghe by one of pavliks big shots, but instead calzaghe batters him up big time, will you say ''ah, but pavlik is too young and inexperienced, we all knew that''?

Then when everyone is hyping dawson up (lets say because hes just beaten johnson/woods) and hes the 'new thing', (aka jeff lacy) then he faces calzaghe and suprise suprise you predict...that dawson will beat calzaghe (by this time if hes alreday beaten pavlik, lacy, hopkins, kessler and eubank, you would have thought people would learn by now though). Instead of dawson winning he gets totally out boxed by the 'weak powered, non 'straight punching', slapper' joe calzaghe...then youll say 'ah, but we all know that dawson was just another lacy, he was hyped up too much and wasnt experienced enough?''

So...which band are you in? Should your prediction be wrong about this fight, are you willing to at least be open minded and accept THERE IS A POSSIBILITY that joe (as much as it pains people of this idea) could indeed be the greatest boxer of this generation, better than hopkins or mayweather (depending of course on future results)...or are u in the band that would just dismiss it instantly and try to make excuses for the wins over mitchell, reid, eubank, lacy, kessler, hopkins, pavlik and dawson

To me, if calzaghe beats the next big 3 fighters in the states, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES, he is what he says he is, he is simply the best in the world bar none.

If he loses, i'll say that he was a great fighter but not the best, he avoided america because he was scared of it and he also was protected by his promoter. I'LL BE THE FIRST TO SAY IM WRONG...But the question is...

SHOULD YOU BE WRONG, WILL YOU PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND NOT MAKE ANY EXCUSES?

V interesting thread this has become.

Great post LondonBB

People seem to think that Calzaghe is in his prime despite him being 35 and his hands not solid like they used to be. Hopkins would have lost this fight years ago thats why he wouldn't get in the ring.


The trouble with some posters is that they have completely ignored JC for years and only saw him fight when he thrashed Jeff Lacy and now they are suddenly experts.

[Shamrock]

This could be the fight that age catches up with Hopkins.

I don't think Joe will throw caution to the winds and let his hands go more than usual. Joe's too smart for that. He'll throw a LOT of punches. A lot of them will be the pitty patty fast combinations that annoy the hell out of me but will frustrate Hopkins.

I really hope I'm wrong but I think the fight will not be exciting - it will be facinating though. Joe by decision with both fighters at least warned several times for infringements if not penalised points.

What if age catches up with joe mate?

Joe is 36 now, is there a chance that his stamina and speed might dwindle a bit?

I mean wasnt it around this age where jones was at his peak when he beat ruiz and tarver the first time round...then fought tarver again and got ko'd All of a sudden, within 6 months jones was declared as being 'past it' and the excuses rolled in 'ah, its not that spectacular because jones was past it by this time' (despite beating tarver 6 months before and supposedly being in his prime).

So what if calzaghe suddenly becomes 'past it' in the 6 months between fighting kessler and hopkins?

Well, if hopkins wins, i wont start screaming 'but calzaghe was past it', il say that hopkins is a better fighter than calzaghe.'

Garunteed though that if calzaghe wins...the excuse is already lined up...infact its lined up against any of the american champs that calzaghe is poised to face, hopkins/pavlik/dawson etc they will all have their 'excuse' should calzaghe demolish them.

I'm not trying to detract from what would be a fantastic win for Calzaghe. If age does appear to catch up with Hopkins in this fight a lot of it will be because of the tactics and style of fight that Joe adopts.

I notice a subtle undertone that you think if Joe wins he's not going to get the respect he deserves from our American friends . Thta's been a fact of boxing since I started following the sport 20+ years ago (god I feel old).

[Gandalf]

Hopkins has no chance. Seriously, the guy last fought when? And before that when? And before that TWICE had his hands full with Taylor who is now off of 2 defeats in a row himself. And Hopkins is now how old??

Hopkins has finally made a false move and he is going to pay dearly. I wouldnt be surprised to see him stopped or more likely quit in his corner after one buzzsaw attack too many.

Hopkins is much better than Lacy but unfortunately is just too old and doesnt have the output to be competitive enough to win. He sure isnt gonna stop Calzaghe and sure isnt gonna do enough to win on the cards.

I see Hopkins being overcome by the immensity of what Calzaghe will bring. Joe always rises for the biggest fights and this time he is going to the States to do it. Hopkins will be embarrassed towards the end.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

This could be the fight that age catches up with Hopkins.

I don't think Joe will throw caution to the winds and let his hands go more than usual. Joe's too smart for that. He'll throw a LOT of punches. A lot of them will be the pitty patty fast combinations that annoy the hell out of me but will frustrate Hopkins.

I really hope I'm wrong but I think the fight will not be exciting - it will be facinating though. Joe by decision with both fighters at least warned several times for infringements if not penalised points.

Why do you have Brian Boitano in your sig?

[The Fightfan]

I can't really believe this is being posted as much as it has been.To me this is an easy fight.What it all boils down to is punches.Calzaghe throws a shitload of them and Hopkins doesn't.Another thing their fighting in Wales the only way Hopkins wins is if he triple's what he has thrown in the past and that isn't so.He has to hit Joe with something to keep him off of him and he hasn't thrown deadly punches since the 90's.Defense and countering can only get you so far and that will not happen against a punching machine like Joe. Calzaghe by a ridiculous desicion.Sorry Hopkins but this will not be your night.