Bernard Hopkins power.

[Vendettos]

So he is brilliant, no doubt about it! He wins when he isn't supposed to, plus he has found ways to win in his 40's and prolong his career at the highest level.

He has to go down as an all time great, and I'm not even his biggest fan.

Now by the time his fight with Kovalev comes around in November, he wont have had a KO for over a decade.

Also, he's had 16 fights since his last knockout against De La Hoya in September of 2004, with 15 of them going the 12 round distance (with one NC vs Chad Dawson that lasted about a round and a half.) and he doesn't seem particularly shot from the constant long fights.

So has he lost the power he did have? Is it simply because he has been fighting very good opposition for so long? Has he developed a style the requires him to preserve energy and just forget about trying for knockouts?

What do you think it is?

[brocktonblockbust]

yes he has lost power, a good 50% I'd say.

[Master]

Considering he is nearly 50 and he is coming up from his natural weight it makes it more real what he is doing. If he was stopping people I would be very suspicious. Instead his fights are intriguing because he fight young undefeated fighters and they all end up fighting his fight. Absolutely remarkable and I do not mind that he will not KO anyone.

[Vendettos]

Considering he is nearly 50 and he is coming up from his natural weight it makes it more real what he is doing. If he was stopping people I would be very suspicious. Instead his fights are intriguing because he fight young undefeated fighters and they all end up fighting his fight. Absolutely remarkable and I do not mind that he will not KO anyone.

No doubt mate, his lack of KO's does not bother me in the slightest.

I just thought that being at his natural heavier weight and the saying "the last thing a boxer loses is his punch", that he'd still have a bit of a whack about him.

[Master]

Considering he is nearly 50 and he is coming up from his natural weight it makes it more real what he is doing. If he was stopping people I would be very suspicious. Instead his fights are intriguing because he fight young undefeated fighters and they all end up fighting his fight. Absolutely remarkable and I do not mind that he will not KO anyone.

No doubt mate, his lack of KO's does not bother me in the slightest.

I just thought that being at his natural heavier weight and the saying "the last thing a boxer loses is his punch", that he'd still have a bit of a whack about him.

He was never a huge puncher at middleweight and he certainly is not at light heavy. If he was fighting crap fighters no one would be interested but because he tests himself against the best and most dangerous fighters out there we all want to watch in anticipation he will grow old over night.

[ninjaspy3]

So he is brilliant, no doubt about it! He wins when he isn't supposed to, plus he has found ways to win in his 40's and prolong his career at the highest level.

He has to go down as an all time great, and I'm not even his biggest fan.

Now by the time his fight with Kovalev comes around in November, he wont have had a KO for over a decade.

Also, he's had 16 fights since his last knockout against De La Hoya in September of 2004, with 15 of them going the 12 round distance (with one NC vs Chad Dawson that lasted about a round and a half.) and he doesn't seem particularly shot from the constant long fights.

So has he lost the power he did have? Is it simply because he has been fighting very good opposition for so long? Has he developed a style the requires him to preserve energy and just forget about trying for knockouts?

What do you think it is?

I'm definitely no expert but if I had to guess, I would agree that he developed a style requiring him to preserve energy. I would add that perhaps the style is more efficient for providing a defense advantage and not leaving many openings. Also the advanced age may be a reason for prioritizing his stamina in this manner instead of burning it on harder punches.

[Vendettos]

Considering he is nearly 50 and he is coming up from his natural weight it makes it more real what he is doing. If he was stopping people I would be very suspicious. Instead his fights are intriguing because he fight young undefeated fighters and they all end up fighting his fight. Absolutely remarkable and I do not mind that he will not KO anyone.

No doubt mate, his lack of KO's does not bother me in the slightest.

I just thought that being at his natural heavier weight and the saying "the last thing a boxer loses is his punch", that he'd still have a bit of a whack about him.

He was never a huge puncher at middleweight and he certainly is not at light heavy. If he was fighting crap fighters no one would be interested but because he tests himself against the best and most dangerous fighters out there we all want to watch in anticipation he will grow old over night.

Well I know he wasn't the biggest puncher but at his last KO, he was at a 68% ratio. That has dropped to just 49% which is a pretty big drop for someone moving up in weight with very good fitness.

So he is brilliant, no doubt about it! He wins when he isn't supposed to, plus he has found ways to win in his 40's and prolong his career at the highest level.

He has to go down as an all time great, and I'm not even his biggest fan.

Now by the time his fight with Kovalev comes around in November, he wont have had a KO for over a decade.

Also, he's had 16 fights since his last knockout against De La Hoya in September of 2004, with 15 of them going the 12 round distance (with one NC vs Chad Dawson that lasted about a round and a half.) and he doesn't seem particularly shot from the constant long fights.

So has he lost the power he did have? Is it simply because he has been fighting very good opposition for so long? Has he developed a style the requires him to preserve energy and just forget about trying for knockouts?

What do you think it is?

I'm definitely no expert but if I had to guess, I would agree that he developed a style requiring him to preserve energy. I would add that perhaps the style is more efficient for providing a defense advantage and not leaving many openings. Also the advanced age may be a reason for prioritizing his stamina in this manner instead of burning it on harder punches.

I agree, I have to believe that this is the reason!

[Spicoli]

I've always been convinced that Bernard is a guy who gets off more on standing at the podium on stage rather than see the curtains close on his show

Basically..he likes beating people up and draining all clue of hope from an opponent. Commanding the show. I know, well DUH That's why he is still around at 50. Years ago I have no doubt he could have forced..SHOULD have forced a tko and gotten Holmes, Joppy, Taylor 1 out of there as well as a few others, instead he tortured them and it bit him on the arse with Taylor.

[p4pking]

He's bound to have lost some, and never extends himself far anymore, but he's still definitely got some pop. We're not going to see him go on the attack and get anyone out of there, but he still has the timing to really mug guys if they try the same is my take. He's fought a few genuinely tough LHW's and been able to rock them, everyone he fights respects that he does have the punch to hurt them.

[mikeeod]

Hop was a very hard puncher in his prime. He also had great stamina and a great chin, but wasn't as clever or defensively sound as he is now. I think Hop started taking something off his punches around the time he fought Allen for the second or third time, right before the Oscar fight. He started shutting down guys offense early while exerting minimum effort/energy so he could come on strong at the end for the stoppage. That did bite him vs Taylor, but I still felt he won those fights. Now he is 50, and he saves the hard shots for those times when he knows he can catch the other guy and discourage them. He doesn't throw hard as often for a few reasons: 1) to conserve energy and not exhaust himself prior to late in the fight. 2) to not leave himself open for a counter that might surprise him and stop him. 3) He likes to frustrate the opponent and play mind games, so he likes that one hard shot at the perfect time to shock the guy and then threaten him with the big shot the rest of the way... If u hear guys like Nazim who hold the mitts for him, they say he punches as hard as he ever did, just not as fast or as often. He was a great puncher in his prime though...

[bradlee180]

Yeah, he's definitely lost punching power, but he still has enough of a punch to get Light-Heavyweights' respect to keep them from trying to steamroll him.

Robert Allen fought Hopkins twice during Hopkins' prime in the late 1990s, and in 2004 they fought a 3rd time. After that 3rd fight, Allen said Hopkins doesn't hit as hard as he used to.

[Master]

Hopkins power is the same as Floyd, gone at the bigger weight.