Hopkins' last fight this Saturday - big defeat!

[forcefraser]

Kovalev v Berbeitev. It's the way forward, it's the new black.

[whiskey]

Fat Git - Kovalev won every round and two of them were 10-8 rounds. Hopkins landed absolutely nothing and was completely routed. But I get the feeling you weren't impressed ?

Nope!

And your thoughts on Hopkins 106-120 performance?

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Fat Git - Kovalev won every round and two of them were 10-8 rounds. Hopkins landed absolutely nothing and was completely routed. But I get the feeling you weren't impressed ?

Nope!

And your thoughts on Hopkins 106-120 performance?

My thoughts?

There were a lot of times in the fight that Kovalev looked perplexed, he won it, he won it handily, no argument from me on that one - it just puts paid to 'wrecking machine' Kovalev and the hype train which was going towards 'anytheeng ee eets, ee destroys' Hopkins was a sorely over the hill, smaller and 19 years older opponent but still lasted the distance and made Kovalev miss and left him looking clueless a load of times.

If you are happy with it Gomez then that's OK. I am too old to be boarding on another hype train - see you when it derails choo choo!

[rossij8]

I was impressed by both boxers. Kovalev has discipline and intelligence and is very powerful, rangy and strong. Hopkins seemed to know from early on that it would be too hard an ask; he didn't look for a way out and tried his level best. Kovalev will knock out far younger men (in their primes) with similar punches. I thought Hopkins may get stopped in the 12th and was willing him through. He didn't look like a man who'd been in a fight afterwards.

Both men showed class and dignity in the post fight interviews.

This ^
Hopkins did well - what an athlete
Krusher is a young, elite up and coming fighter

[Bard of Boxrec]

There were a lot of times in the fight that Kovalev looked perplexed, he won it, he won it handily, no argument from me on that one - it just puts paid to 'wrecking machine' Kovalev and the hype train which was going towards 'anytheeng ee eets, ee destroys' Hopkins was a sorely over the hill, smaller and 19 years older opponent but still lasted the distance and made Kovalev miss and left him looking clueless a load of times.

If you are happy with it Gomez then that's OK. I am too old to be boarding on another hype train - see you when it derails choo choo!

You've got to be trolling.

[handsofstone]

Hopkins face in the photo there is class

[Cyclops]

For all the stylistic ugliness he brings at times, I get the feeling B-Hop will be remembered a lot more fondly than Mayweather in years to come, simply because he's challenged himself so much more.

I think of him more fondly now. He's pretty much fought everyone. Ultimately, no matter what he said before, he knew he was in deep here and he learned that from the first round in he was going to have to find something special, which he didn't do. But he was brave even if he was mostly in survival mode. He has earned all the respect he has. I think, in terms of respect, Bernard cannot be denied and historically he is a much more significant fighter than Floyd. Floyd is what's wrong with boxing. Hopkins is one thing that's right.

[Rexob]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

[rossij8]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

Clev tried to go to toe to toe and got out powered - think the power took him by surprise as Krusher was still relatively unknown

A few fights on, his power is expected - as an opponent you will enter the ring with different tactics and mindset

Respect to Hopkins though - unbelievable

[Junker]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

Some of the comments on this thread are amazing.

Hopkins lasted the distance because after feeling Kovalev's power in the first round he basically decided to run away / cover up for the whole fight. He fought like a journeyman whose only concern is getting to the final bell. That's ok, there's skill and craft in that, fair play but you can't win in that way. Despite that he was still in trouble on several occasions and should have been stopped in the last round.

Cleverly got done by Kovalev because he actually tried to take him on and win the fight. Most people who actually fight Kovalev will get the same result.

Even Hopkins said afterwards that Kovalev is the real deal and will have a long reign.

Did someone above say Kov looked 'clueless'? Unbelievable...

[Rexob]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

Clev tried to go to toe to toe and got out powered - think the power took him by surprise as Krusher was still relatively unknown

A few fights on, his power is expected - as an opponent you may enter the ring with a different mindset

Respect to Hopkins though - unbelievable

So Cleverly would of won if he had boxed him? I doubt it very much.

[handsofstone]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

Agree with everything apart from the Cleverly bit,Nathan stood up to some heavy shots from Kovalev before being dropped,Hopkins done great in avoiding most of Sergey's bombs and for that he should be applauded but you seen how Hopkins reacted in the last when Kovalev finally started landing the big'uns,also Bernard didnt bitch and foul as much as i predicted,its just a shame that Hopkins didnt try and go for it more because even at 49 he still has a few tricks up his sleeve,he actually caught Kovalev with a decent full blooded punch or 2 that just bounced of the chin of Kovalev

I think Cleverly is well underated due to the standard of opposition he faced as champ,his CV when he was British,Commonwealth,European and WBO Interim champ was solid despite not having beaten an actual defending champ its a pity it declined when he was a world champ

I like Nathan,he's as game as they come,good chin,terrific engine,experienced over 12 rounds,not a KO artist but has power to be respected,if he can beat Bellew again hopefully his career can regain momentum

Whether it be in 4 rounds,1 round or 12 rounds,getting KO'd by Sergey Kovalev is no disgrace,he has that kind of power

[rossij8]

Hopkins took some bad punches and stood up to them all night pretty, much hard old fooker. 49 and still in there after 12 rounds!! different class!! Total respect for Hopkins, TRUE GREAT!
and Just shows how shite Cleverly really is and in his prime, getting totally wiped out by kovalev!

Clev tried to go to toe to toe and got out powered - think the power took him by surprise as Krusher was still relatively unknown

A few fights on, his power is expected - as an opponent you may enter the ring with a different mindset

Respect to Hopkins though - unbelievable

So Cleverly would of won if he had boxed him? I doubt it very much.

I didn't say that, but I can defo say Clev isn't shite

[Boxerbeetle]

So Cleverly would of won if he had boxed him? I doubt it very much.

I didn't say that, but I can defo say Clev isn't shite

Exactly. I don't think anyone's saying Cleverly would have beaten Kovalev, no matter what tactics he employed, but he certainly would have lasted longer if he'd focussed 99% of his energy on purely surviving like Hopkins did.

[palooka]

Kovalev is not just a rage filled slugger; he looks for his punches and places them well; he has good timing and variety, he cuts the ring off really well. I hope he gets a bout with Adonis, that will be interesting and exciting.

Hopkins couldn't risk his usual, 'slip a shot and throw a big right hand counter' tactic, Kovalev looks to have a powerful jab - Hopkins was very wary. He seemed to open up more after the halfway point; I imagine he felt Kovalev would tire from missing and be more open. Kovalev didn't seem to tire - he was too much of everything for Bernard but going the distance with Kovalev may be a real achievement when the Russian retires - I reckon he'll paste some very good fighters.

I thought the referee did pretty well and I'm glad he allowed Hopkins to get through to the final bell.

[stujones]

I think Hopkins in his post fight press conference summed it up brilliantly. It was like a Middleweight against a Cruiserweight. The size, more so than the skill or age beat Hopkins.

If you notice Hopkins' reign at Light Heavyweight, when he's gotton older he's generally beaten guys who look like bulked up super middles themselves.

A big beast of a Light Heavy like Kovolev and a man much taller in Dawson beat him clearly. Still think Bhop would be favoured against Braehmer (if he wants to stick at Light Heavy) and I would favour him against Stevenson also (infact his resilience against Kovolev has made me more confident of that pick than before the fight).... however, if Hopkins wants to fight again, lets see him at Super Middle and Carl Froch achieve his last vegas dream.

Impressive performance from Kovolev alright, great stuff. However, I can see what Fat Git is also saying to a degree - in essence a good man beat a good little man last night. Lets not quite call him P4P number 1 just yet. Chad Dawson looked pretty impressive against Hopkins also and looked what happened there.

[SMALL AXE1]

Bernard was lost in there and totally dominated.

Krushed.

[Coco]

It was one sided but Kovalev seem one dimensional and had no idea at times what to do next, a lot different from his knocking the shite out of Clev by hitting him on his arms.

Hopkins made him miss plenty of times and apart from the few times where he got caught - Hopkins was in no real trouble (even in the last round where he did take some meaty shots but that it should have been stopped?) - he was in the end of the day a 50 year old middleweight but proved something in that Kovalev isn't this destructible wrecking machine that folds anything it hits. He can be beaten and will be with someone in a younger body but with the same smarts as Hopkins.

NB: I thought Hopkins might be able to turn it back, but that was based on me not rating Kovalev all that highly rather than thinking Hopkins can keep going any longer, hopefully, this is where he gets off the ride.

Good post

[Kilburn]

IMO had Cleverly "boxed" more against Kovalev he still wouldn't have made it into the second half.

Hopkins toughness level is leagues beyond our domestic guys.

[Broomhall]

IMO had Cleverly "boxed" more against Kovalev he still wouldn't have made it into the second half.

Hopkins toughness level is leagues beyond our domestic guys.

Yup amazing when you think about it that Hopkins could probably still win be good enough to win British and European and most other national light heavy titles at 50 years old!

Whatever your views are-and Hopkins-does attract strong opinions- surely that is an incredible thing. What an amazing athlete.

[Andrew]

Kovalev v Berbeitev. It's the way forward, it's the new black.

Mehkonsev who won gold in 2012 is with top rank too. He needs to be fast tracked think he has won all pro fights say by KO. He must have thought Kovalev in the amatuers at some point being same nationality weight and similar age.

[observer1]

Fat Git - Kovalev won every round and two of them were 10-8 rounds. Hopkins landed absolutely nothing and was completely routed. But I get the feeling you weren't impressed ?

Nope!

He wasn't completely "routed". Hopkins simply couldn't keep up with a bigger and faster opponent.

BHop's been getting hit clean since Pascal (Tarvoris, Shumenov and Murat) - Kovalev is simply much bigger.

No disrespect to BHOP, but as crafty as he is - he is still 50 years old and will struggle against size and speed which is why it was a similar bout to the Chad Dawson fight except for a brieg moment in Round 7 and the dying seconds of Round 12.

It was a good win for Kovalev, but let's not pretend he was without his shortcomings. A Younger Hopkins or an Andre Ward would give Kovalev a much tougher time.

Hopkins should retire or have one last "farewell" bout. Kovalev should set his sights on Stevenson, Pascal, Ward or Berbeitev.

[crusader]

Kovalev was clueless?

120-106 isn't a rout?

Some of the comments here especially Fat Git's and Coco's considering they picked Hopkins to school or drown Kovalev yet have given the latter no credit for winning every round, dropping Hopkins, and hurting him. I think someone has set unreasonably high standards if they don't see that type of performance against a unified champion who schooled a top ten opponent a few months earlier as showing that Kovalev isn't simply a hype job. Which people in the division are definitely better than Hopkins or even Clev?

[hurlock]

Kov showed how heavy he hit as Hopkins just adopted journeyman survival tactics & who can blame him!! Kov has knocked men out with jabs even to the body!!! Hopkins was gone in the last round & I felt sorry for him

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

There were a lot of times in the fight that Kovalev looked perplexed, he won it, he won it handily, no argument from me on that one - it just puts paid to 'wrecking machine' Kovalev and the hype train which was going towards 'anytheeng ee eets, ee destroys' Hopkins was a sorely over the hill, smaller and 19 years older opponent but still lasted the distance and made Kovalev miss and left him looking clueless a load of times.

If you are happy with it Gomez then that's OK. I am too old to be boarding on another hype train - see you when it derails choo choo!

You've got to be trolling.

No, why would I be?