Bernard Hopkins is older than Chris Eubank

[Miuna]

Thats really weird

Why didnt this fight happen in 2001,? There was no1 else for Calz at that time, why didnt he cross the ocean and try to fight some1?

Also-why didnt it happen in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007? For me Calz is making himself look silly by taking it now, its not a legacy fight given how shit Hops looked last time out compared to his usual accurate self, and i expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round on workrate alone

--As for Hopkins, cant help but admire his late blooming, which is a sign of always looking for improvement, being like a fine wine etc, he looked much better against Glen Johnson than he did against Roy Jones, a precision pressure fighter there to use every shot of the book rather than a stand up boxer puncher there to be potshotted, nd since 01 upto 04-05 was the wily ring general of economy, nd then one last great performance in him against the over rated Tarver just sealed his greatness with him being underdog for the 1st time since Trinidad. Against Trinidad and Tarver he was marauding perfect right hands in while against RJ was waiting too long to get it off, though father time really caught up with him last time out

He's a much greater fighter than Calzaghe when you look at who he's been in with-- Roy Jones, John David Jackson, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Antwun Echols, Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright

Joe has late sub Eubank, Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and maybe Richie, though he got beat down by Beyer, and theres a huge huge diff between Roy Jones who gave Hops his 1st loss and Rob Reid who have Calz his 1st loss. the IBF is also one of the big 3 titles, the WBO is not

So, expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round against the 44 yr old philly legend, throwing 1500 arm punches with the inside of the glove and moving about with his hands down, a smile on his face and that gay looking style. Hes finally in his peak afterall, after wasting so many yrs with no motivation etc. But that wont make him half the fighter Hops has been over the yrs

Also, Hops was travellling the globe to take fights before he was even world champion, paying his dues etc. Calz has only just started right now

[oliverfennell]

"Travelling the globe"? What, TWICE? i.e. the same amount of times as Calzaghe.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Thats really weird

Why didnt this fight happen in 2001,? There was no1 else for Calz at that time, why didnt he cross the ocean and try to fight some1?

Also-why didnt it happen in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007? For me Calz is making himself look silly by taking it now, its not a legacy fight given how shit Hops looked last time out compared to his usual accurate self, and i expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round on workrate alone

--As for Hopkins, cant help but admire his late blooming, which is a sign of always looking for improvement, being like a fine wine etc, he looked much better against Glen Johnson than he did against Roy Jones, a precision pressure fighter there to use every shot of the book rather than a stand up boxer puncher there to be potshotted, nd since 01 upto 04-05 was the wily ring general of economy, nd then one last great performance in him against the over rated Tarver just sealed his greatness with him being underdog for the 1st time since Trinidad. Against Trinidad and Tarver he was marauding perfect right hands in while against RJ was waiting too long to get it off, though father time really caught up with him last time out

He's a much greater fighter than Calzaghe when you look at who he's been in with-- Roy Jones, John David Jackson, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Antwun Echols, Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright

Joe has late sub Eubank, Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and maybe Richie, though he got beat down by Beyer, and theres a huge huge diff between Roy Jones who gave Hops his 1st loss and Rob Reid who have Calz his 1st loss. the IBF is also one of the big 3 titles, the WBO is not

So, expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round against the 44 yr old philly legend, throwing 1500 arm punches with the inside of the glove and moving about with his hands down, a smile on his face and that gay looking style. Hes finally in his peak afterall, after wasting so many yrs with no motivation etc. But that wont make him half the fighter Hops has been over the yrs

Also, Hops was travellling the globe to take fights before he was even world champion, paying his dues etc. Calz has only just started right now

Hopkins is very lucky to have propered in an era where the middleweight division was piss weak. His best wins have been over blown up Welterweights, and a very overrated Antonio Tarver who was more interested in making movies than training for fights.

Outside of that his two fights with the talented, if a little reluctant Taylor are about as good as it gets.

Calzaghe's performance against Kessler, for me, is more impressive than anything Hopkins has done in his career.

[J]

bollox.
Trinidad beat joppy to win the wba i think middleweight title and was a massive beting favourite also he hadnt fought at welterweight for 2 years when he fought hopkins. I do wish that people wouldnt refer to that fight as hokins vs a blown up welterweight cso its nonsense.

Oscar i give you that one though but give the man some credit.

[STP]

John David Jackson had seen better days, he was at his best against Chris Pyatt in about '89. Glencoffe Johnson was nobody until the Roy Jones Jr fight, and lost to guys Calzaghe would have (and did) obliterated like Woods and Sheika. Charles Brewer beat Echols up and was robbed in that fight. Trinidad and Oscar were blown-up little guys. Tarver was struggling with the weight, past his best and not all that good anyway. Winky Wright isn't really top notch! He lost to Harry Simon and his reputation is based on a win over an over-the-hill Trinidad, two wins over blown-up little guy Mosley and a draw with Taylor.

Brewer, Woodhall, Reid, Mitchell and Kessler are competent enough, and knocking Christopher Livingstone Eubank down in a heap in 15 seconds was fornicating special. Hopkins hasn't done anything to really rival beating a man who had 22 world title fights - most of which over 12 rounds in front of 20,000+ people - while you've had only 22 fights total, barely been beyond one or two rounds, and hardly fought in front of more than 200 people. And Eubank was the game's greatest showman, Calzaghe was a shy lad from the valley's. That was special.

[jonp]

Hopkins first loss wasnt vs Jones either.

[oliverfennell]

Winky Wright isn't really top notch! He lost to Harry Simon and his reputation is based on a win over an over-the-hill Trinidad and a draw with Taylor.

And two wins over Shane Mosley.

[STP]

Oh yeah and two wins over blown-up lightweight Shane Mosley. Forgot that.

[rhino222]

errrr..calzaghe did not lose to reid. perhaps in your head he did !!

[fist]

Thats really weird

Why didnt this fight happen in 2001,? There was no1 else for Calz at that time, why didnt he cross the ocean and try to fight some1?

Also-why didnt it happen in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007? For me Calz is making himself look silly by taking it now, its not a legacy fight given how shit Hops looked last time out compared to his usual accurate self, and i expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round on workrate alone

--As for Hopkins, cant help but admire his late blooming, which is a sign of always looking for improvement, being like a fine wine etc, he looked much better against Glen Johnson than he did against Roy Jones, a precision pressure fighter there to use every shot of the book rather than a stand up boxer puncher there to be potshotted, nd since 01 upto 04-05 was the wily ring general of economy, nd then one last great performance in him against the over rated Tarver just sealed his greatness with him being underdog for the 1st time since Trinidad. Against Trinidad and Tarver he was marauding perfect right hands in while against RJ was waiting too long to get it off, though father time really caught up with him last time out

He's a much greater fighter than Calzaghe when you look at who he's been in with-- Roy Jones, John David Jackson, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Antwun Echols, Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright

Joe has late sub Eubank, Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and maybe Richie, though he got beat down by Beyer, and theres a huge huge diff between Roy Jones who gave Hops his 1st loss and Rob Reid who have Calz his 1st loss. the IBF is also one of the big 3 titles, the WBO is not

So, expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round against the 44 yr old philly legend, throwing 1500 arm punches with the inside of the glove and moving about with his hands down, a smile on his face and that gay looking style. Hes finally in his peak afterall, after wasting so many yrs with no motivation etc. But that wont make him half the fighter Hops has been over the yrs

Also, Hops was travellling the globe to take fights before he was even world champion, paying his dues etc. Calz has only just started right now

What a pathetic innacurate post. Absolute stupidity. And quite embarrasing to attempt to crticise Calzaghe's greatest assets, which are admired by some of the best pros and ex-pros around. As a fighter, he has proved that there is no one better than him at SMW. Undisputed. He fights with pace, with fury, with heart. He can change his style in the midst of battle and has a great chin. His movement and relentless attacking make him exciting to watch.

Hopkins is for me, one of the most boring over-rated fighters around. I never ever rated him. And he simply is not in the same league as Joe, who in my opinion should stay at SMW and defend. Hopkins adds nothing. And never would have. IN beating the younger, stronger Kessler, Joe showed immense talent. He took some heavy wacks and showed flexibility in mixing up his style and pace. Kessler could not get to him and by the end of the fight, eye closed up, bloodied and probably still hurting from the body punch in the 8th, it was clear to him and viewers that even with Joe's brittle hands he can cause damage. Doesnt have the power like he did when he knocked Euban down, one of the best chins in the game and who laughs at the idea of Joe being a slapper.

Hopkins is way out of his league here.

The most embarrasing thing for you is that its actually a fact that Hopkins dodged Calzaghe. They had an agreement and Hopkins broke it.

[Syntax Error]

Thats really weird

Why didnt this fight happen in 2001,? There was no1 else for Calz at that time, why didnt he cross the ocean and try to fight some1?

Also-why didnt it happen in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007? For me Calz is making himself look silly by taking it now, its not a legacy fight given how shit Hops looked last time out compared to his usual accurate self, and i expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round on workrate alone

--As for Hopkins, cant help but admire his late blooming, which is a sign of always looking for improvement, being like a fine wine etc, he looked much better against Glen Johnson than he did against Roy Jones, a precision pressure fighter there to use every shot of the book rather than a stand up boxer puncher there to be potshotted, nd since 01 upto 04-05 was the wily ring general of economy, nd then one last great performance in him against the over rated Tarver just sealed his greatness with him being underdog for the 1st time since Trinidad. Against Trinidad and Tarver he was marauding perfect right hands in while against RJ was waiting too long to get it off, though father time really caught up with him last time out

He's a much greater fighter than Calzaghe when you look at who he's been in with-- Roy Jones, John David Jackson, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Antwun Echols, Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright

Joe has late sub Eubank, Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and maybe Richie, though he got beat down by Beyer, and theres a huge huge diff between Roy Jones who gave Hops his 1st loss and Rob Reid who have Calz his 1st loss. the IBF is also one of the big 3 titles, the WBO is not

So, expect Calz to win nearly every min of every round against the 44 yr old philly legend, throwing 1500 arm punches with the inside of the glove and moving about with his hands down, a smile on his face and that gay looking style. Hes finally in his peak afterall, after wasting so many yrs with no motivation etc. But that wont make him half the fighter Hops has been over the yrs

Also, Hops was travellling the globe to take fights before he was even world champion, paying his dues etc. Calz has only just started right now

Calzaghe was not a name in 2001 & had little or no marquee value outside of the UK.

Add in the fact that he probably never had a passport & that he probably didn't know what those enormous noisy things hat float in the sky & use a lot of fuel were for, meant he obviously never had the desire to showcase his considerable talents abroad & make a name for himself.

[jamesmcdonnell]

bollox.
Trinidad beat joppy to win the wba i think middleweight title and was a massive beting favourite also he hadnt fought at welterweight for 2 years when he fought hopkins. I do wish that people wouldnt refer to that fight as hokins vs a blown up welterweight cso its nonsense.

Oscar i give you that one though but give the man some credit.

Joppy was a mediocre middleweight champion J and was only a belt holder because the division was so weak.

Hopkins would have been a contender in Hagler's era, competitive with anhyone in any era, but I think there's a lot of champions who would have been too good for him.

[STP]

Howard Eastman was handling Joppy with ease, he just gave away the first six rounds.

[jamesmcdonnell]

No he wasn't. Joppy was nailing him every time he tried to open up, the only reason Howard did well later on is because Joppy tired.

Joppy was nothing special, but he was better than Eastman even if he was only a caretaker belt holder.

[stujones]

I don't often get narked when people disagree with a "controvesial" decision - but that fight does. Joppy won fair and that was including the flashest of KD in the dying seconds scoring that round 10-8.

[Southpaw Stylist]

I'm surprised that people are denigrating Hopkins in this thread.

I can't wait until Hopkins beats JC.

[Syntax Error]

I'm surprised that people are denigrating Hopkins in this thread.

I can't wait until Hopkins beats JC.

Hopkins will never beat Calzaghe.

Hopkins has not looked good in over 3 years & he certainly isn't going to beat the world's finest super middleweight (even at light heavyweight), unless he can get a hometown decision; which if that happens, Calzaghe will misplace his passport (again) & never travel far overseas to fight again.

[DavidPayne]

What doe any of the sanctioning bodies, casino's, promoters gain by stiffing the marketable, sellable upwardly mobile Joe Calzaghe in a fight with the 43 year old, boring to watch, Hopkins?

Calzaghe is the go forward product here isn't he?

I suppose Golden Boy has most to gain, but propping up Hop with a shitty points win is not going to improve Hop's marketability at 43 is it?

[Wales]

Hopkins has not looked good in over 3 years .

I thought he looked good against tarver.

[J]

bollox.
Trinidad beat joppy to win the wba i think middleweight title and was a massive beting favourite also he hadnt fought at welterweight for 2 years when he fought hopkins. I do wish that people wouldnt refer to that fight as hokins vs a blown up welterweight cso its nonsense.

Oscar i give you that one though but give the man some credit.

Joppy was a mediocre middleweight champion J and was only a belt holder because the division was so weak.

Hopkins would have been a contender in Hagler's era, competitive with anhyone in any era, but I think there's a lot of champions who would have been too good for him.

agreed but my point being trinindad wasnt a welterweight by this time and hasdnt been for two years so lets not say hopkins best win was against an overblown welter cos its not true.