BoxRec

I don't see this going well for Bernard.

Kovalev hits like a heavyweight.

Bernard has never lost to a guy who isn't fast but he's also never fought a guy who punches this hard.

At 50 it's not the best time to fight a guy who hits harder than anyone you've ever fought.

Kovalev is one of the best bodypunchers in the game, BHOP has not faced a guy who can punch like Kovalev but I don't know if Hopkins has ever fought a guy who hits the body like him either, this imho does not fare well for him, those old ribs haven't been checked in a long time.

Hopkins is going to need to move a lot more than he did his last 2 fights. Kovalev can be outboxed but Bernard needs to stay out of range constantly and obviously hold when he jumps in with his own single shots. I can see Hop frustrating him at points for sure. I'm just not sure he can stand up to this power when Kovalev actually does land. He hits like a mule. I don't think Kovalev will land a
ton but I'm sure when he does land it will be hard and eye catching.

Can't wait for this.

Well, Kovalev tripped and went down when his Caparello stepped on his foot, so he must be an overhyped, one-dimensional, easy to hit slugger that BHOP will expose.

But seriously, I'm confident that Kovalev takes this. Not only does he have the great power, he has the timing, mobile power, and punch diversity to offset Hopkins' movement and perhaps superior speed. Hopkins picks his spots well and is fairly accurate, so I imagine he'll have his moments, but I don't see him winning.

Bernard still has a few months to withdraw :(

I remember how no one gave Hopkins a chance to upset Kelly Pavlik, who had a great power and great workrate, just like Kovalev. Some people thought Kelly could literally kill Bernard. Of course, Hopkins is 6 years older now than he was when he faced Pavlik, but I think it's stupid to write him off completely.

Right, the Pavlik-Hopkins example is brought up all the time, but Hopkins is older and not fighting Pavlik.

It reminds me a bit of the continual mention of Lacy-Calzaghe when a favored fighter ttravels to the UK, though admittedly it's more relevant.

Comparing Kovalev to Pavlik is not very smart too. Kovalev has a much higher ring IQ. Besides, Pavlik fought at 170 catch weight where his power was nothing like Kovalev's at 175. On the other hand, 170 is a very comfortable weight for BHop.

Pavlik is a friggin middleweight.

Kovalev is a light heavy who hits like a heavy.

Kovalev also cuts off the ring MUCH better than Pavlik.

Only a boxing novice would compare the 2.

Kovalev will beat him up and hopkins will give an excuse and quit..similar to first dawson fight..

bigznyc wrote:Kovalev will beat him up and hopkins will give an excuse and quit..similar to first dawson fight..

... or he will be smarter this time and will quit BEFORE the fight. Maybe it is just a trick to have Adonis agree to his terms (3:1 purse split).

ikorolev wrote:

bigznyc wrote:Kovalev will beat him up and hopkins will give an excuse and quit..similar to first dawson fight..

... or he will be smarter this time and will quit BEFORE the fight. Maybe it is just a trick to have Adonis agree to his terms (3:1 purse split).

Agree. I think this sounds too good to be true. Hopkins vs. Kovalev in November. Perhaps Hopkins will have second thoughts. There is no way Hopkins beats Kovalev.

Could Kovalev's trip make Hopkins more confident though? Some people are treating that as if Kovalev was legitimately hurt by a non-puncher, and maybe Hopkins is sensing vulnerability from it too.

crusader wrote:Could Kovalev's trip make Hopkins more confident though? Some people are treating that as if Kovalev was legitimately hurt by a non-puncher, and maybe Hopkins is sensing vulnerability from it too.

No. He's been in the game long enough to know that. Now he may play it up to the media in the lead up to the fight, but that's another story.

If Hops pulls this off, I will be amazed.

I believed he had a good chance at Pavlik. I believed he had a good chance at Cloud. But Kovalev is a whole nother beast. I'm not sure Bernard could take this guy if he was prime. Kovalev is not your regular power puncher. He is an intelligent power puncher. Not only do I think Bernard is going to lose this fight, but he will have to make this the dirtiest fight he has ever fought just to make it to the final round.

Just by listening to Hopkins interview tonight he's trying to sell this fight on his past accomplishments. I did this, I did that, I'm a alien. Against Kovalev all that stuff gets thrown out the window. I really wonder though after seeing what Hopkins saw tonight if he will actually go thru with this..

Curious to see how they will line this fight.

Guessing Kovalev will be somewhere in the -250 range.

BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

hulkmaniac wrote:BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

Or Hopkins realizes there's no point in sticking around and fighting guys like Murat and Shumenov over and over. He's 50 damn yrs old. He's in a no lose situation in this fight. If he loses so what - he's 50. If he wins, it's amazing.

From what I've seen Hopkins was better off going after Adonis. He seems to be more offensively limited than Kovalev.

hulkmaniac wrote:BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

He fought Dawson twice.

diddy wrote:

hulkmaniac wrote:BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

He fought Dawson twice.

He did but the few years prior to that he was clearly ducking him. He finally fought Dawson because it was a mandatory defense of the lineal titles. Plus Pascal exposed Dawson's mental weakness so Hopkins thought he can try his hand at that.

diddy wrote:

hulkmaniac wrote:BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

Or Hopkins realizes there's no point in sticking around and fighting guys like Murat and Shumenov over and over. He's 50 damn yrs old. He's in a no lose situation in this fight. If he loses so what - he's 50. If he wins, it's amazing.

From what I've seen Hopkins was better off going after Adonis. He seems to be more offensively limited than Kovalev.

Stevenson in Montreal will also be a bigger paycheck. *shrugs*

All the crooked in-house judges and referees in Las Vegas won't be able to save Hopkins.

hulkmaniac wrote:BHop chose this fight for a reason, he sees weaknesses he can exploit. Just like he did Pascal, Cloud, Murat, etc. He avoided Dawson because it was a stylistic nightmare for him.

I agree 100%. Some people think Kovalev's biggest weakness is his chin since he was knocked down by Darnell Boone and now by feather-fisted Blake Caparello, was knocked out by Abbos Atoev in the amateurs and was knocked down (with headgear on) by Gennady Golovkin in sparring. But I'm 100% sure Kovalev's style, not his chin, is the reason why Hopkins wants to fight him. Bernard definitely sees some weaknesses in his style, but I'm not sure he can exploit them at 50. 5-6 years ago I would definitely bet on Hopkins to school Kovalev, but now Kovalev has a good chance to beat him. Still, people who give Hopkins zero chances in this fight, can be surprised on November 8

knocked down (with headgear on) by Gennady Golovkin in sparring.

What's the evidence of this? I'm very skeptical of sparring tales.