Technical analysis of Bhop's style and his waterloos.

[SplitSecond]

There was the young bernard, the MW champion bernard that dominated for over a decade and the post 40 year old Bernard. They are not all the same fighter.

Are you saying this (see video below) is the same guy that lost to Taylor?

seems like the same bhop to me
obviously he's gonna fight a little differently considering johnson was'nt a counter-puncher, not as fast and at that point out on his legs asking to just be whailed on compared to taylor who was a fast counter-puncher

[Toney616]

Bhop's style typically mirrors a slick boxer/counter-puncher with an extremely high boxing IQ, coupled with a strong mentality but with a somewhat non-exceptional physical gifts.

The latter will be discussed together with Hopkin's waterloos.

Bhop is a quintessential counter-puncher. He utilizes a lot of movement bordering on "running", he gives his opponents defensive angles which are somewhat hard to crack, and he utilizes tactics which are at best questionable and he isnt adamant to use it whenever, wherever. He doesn't have an exceptional jab but makes up for it by being a well-versed counterpuncher. He stays behind a low workrate of 30-40 puncher per round so as not to expose himself needlessly.

It's also due to his style why he has achieved success for so long where other fighters falter at his age. He doesnt get hit very often, he fights in a "boring" style which stifles his opponents whilst ensuring that HE DOES ENOUGH TO WIN.

Hopkins is also very smart in recognizing his own limitations thus timely selections of opponents which are best suited to his style; namely smaller opponents or slower if not just as fast as BHOP.

With that said BHOP is indeed a true great in that he demonstrates that you don't have to be the most athletic boxer, nor the fastest, nor the most powerful in order to succeed in such a brutal sport.

Now on to Bhop's waterloos.

1. BHOP cannot handle guys who are BIGGER than him and FASTER than him. He can handle one but he cannot handle BOTH.

a. Roy Jones in his prime is just too much for Bhop and I think everybody here agrees that prime for prime Jones outclasses Bhop any way you look at it.

b. Taylor beat him twice by starting fast early and building enough early rounds to ensure a close UD victory. At that time Taylor at MW was bigger and faster than Bhop. Full credit to Bhop for taking the fight even though guys like Taylor are his matchup problems.

c. Calzaghe literally SLAPPED Hopkins around using in-out movement of feet, southpaw angles and combinations.

Out of the three notable guys that Hopkins fought, Calzaghe stood out as the most glaring example of Hopkins weaknesses.

Calzaghe down in the 1st and lost the 2nd seized control of the fight utilizing a style very similar to Pac. in-out movement, combinations and southpaw angles overwhelmed Hopkins which forced him to fake injuries to buy time since Calzaghe was SLAPPING the heck out of him nonstop.
'
It is also the reason why Hopkins will never fight Dawson since the latter is an even bigger version of Calzaghe with arguably more power and a very good jab.

Guys like Pascal plays right into the hands of Hopkins style and in the rematch expect more of the same with Pascal maybe getting a few shots in while Hopkins takes control early midway rounds.

Dawson will beat the **** out of Bhop. Too much style disadvantage.

Great post.

[Toney616]

There was the young bernard, the MW champion bernard that dominated for over a decade and the post 40 year old Bernard. They are not all the same fighter.

Are you saying this (see video below) is the same guy that lost to Taylor?

Johnson was a limited 1d fighter, like Pavlik and Tito, that is why Hopkins looked great against them. In my opinion he would always struggle against a guy like Calzaghe who threw fast combinations, with a high workrate

[Pu$$yKiller]

Speed is what Hopkins does not like, and speed in boxing is usually better than power.

However speed alone can not defeat Hopkins, you need to make him not be able to punch first and then use his body movement to make you miss.

If you slow down, he can win those rounds using his smart boxing IQ.

Some boxers simply do not know how the 3 mins went, but Hopkins knows when and what to do, but can he do it is the question. He knows if his punches are better than the other guys, and when they are weak and he works out there shots.

That being said, Pascal is a limited guy in some respects.

[them_apples]

Bhop's style typically mirrors a slick boxer/counter-puncher with an extremely high boxing IQ, coupled with a strong mentality but with a somewhat non-exceptional physical gifts.

The latter will be discussed together with Hopkin's waterloos.

Bhop is a quintessential counter-puncher. He utilizes a lot of movement bordering on "running", he gives his opponents defensive angles which are somewhat hard to crack, and he utilizes tactics which are at best questionable and he isnt adamant to use it whenever, wherever. He doesn't have an exceptional jab but makes up for it by being a well-versed counterpuncher. He stays behind a low workrate of 30-40 puncher per round so as not to expose himself needlessly.

It's also due to his style why he has achieved success for so long where other fighters falter at his age. He doesnt get hit very often, he fights in a "boring" style which stifles his opponents whilst ensuring that HE DOES ENOUGH TO WIN.

Hopkins is also very smart in recognizing his own limitations thus timely selections of opponents which are best suited to his style; namely smaller opponents or slower if not just as fast as BHOP.

With that said BHOP is indeed a true great in that he demonstrates that you don't have to be the most athletic boxer, nor the fastest, nor the most powerful in order to succeed in such a brutal sport.

Now on to Bhop's waterloos.

1. BHOP cannot handle guys who are BIGGER than him and FASTER than him. He can handle one but he cannot handle BOTH.

a. Roy Jones in his prime is just too much for Bhop and I think everybody here agrees that prime for prime Jones outclasses Bhop any way you look at it.

b. Taylor beat him twice by starting fast early and building enough early rounds to ensure a close UD victory. At that time Taylor at MW was bigger and faster than Bhop. Full credit to Bhop for taking the fight even though guys like Taylor are his matchup problems.

c. Calzaghe literally SLAPPED Hopkins around using in-out movement of feet, southpaw angles and combinations.

Out of the three notable guys that Hopkins fought, Calzaghe stood out as the most glaring example of Hopkins weaknesses.

Calzaghe down in the 1st and lost the 2nd seized control of the fight utilizing a style very similar to Pac. in-out movement, combinations and southpaw angles overwhelmed Hopkins which forced him to fake injuries to buy time since Calzaghe was SLAPPING the heck out of him nonstop.
'
It is also the reason why Hopkins will never fight Dawson since the latter is an even bigger version of Calzaghe with arguably more power and a very good jab.

Guys like Pascal plays right into the hands of Hopkins style and in the rematch expect more of the same with Pascal maybe getting a few shots in while Hopkins takes control early midway rounds.

Dawson will beat the **** out of Bhop. Too much style disadvantage.

pff he beat Calzaghe

I agree he cant handle someone whos bigger and faster though. although prime Bhop at middleweight, there not to many people besides Jones who were actually quicker than him.

I disagree with Dawson wooping Bhop though. It could go both ways. Jermain Taylor at his peak was quick as hell..faster than Dawson, one of the quickest MW's ive seen in a long time. He was from Emanuel stewards training camp and had great boxing skill as well. I will say though Pavlik ruined him and stamina seemed to be his only real issue, his chin was even decent.

[SplitSecond]

hopkins changing his style after the roy fight is a myth

[ИATAS]

seems like the same bhop to me
obviously he's gonna fight a little differently considering johnson was'nt a counter-puncher, not as fast and at that point out on his legs asking to just be whailed on compared to taylor who was a fast counter-puncher

You need your eyes checked if you think that looks like the same bhop compared to the post 40 year old bhop.

[SplitSecond]

You need your eyes checked if you think that looks like the same bhop compared to the post 40 year old bhop.

besides workrate whats the difference? how did he fight against pavlik?

[_original_]

Prime for prime Roy Jones would've outclassed Hopkins?

That's hard to say because it's so hard to pinpoint Hopkins' "prime" exactly. Around '01 when the rematch was publicly demanded, it's hard to say who would've won so all we can do is speculate. Let's also keep in mind Hopkins was not the same fighter Jones had beaten (and I will say Jones is the only one IMO to have arguably beaten Hopkins). Plus Hopkins destroyed two fighters that destroyed Jones respectably. I don't see Jones beating the Hopkins that beat Tito, I really don't to be honest I don't care what version of Jones.

[djtmal]

[QUOTE=Joartcc7;9829487]Hopkins is also very smart in recognizing his own limitations thus timely selections of opponents which are best suited to his style; namely smaller opponents or slower if not just as fast as BHOP.

QUOTE]

this is all you need to know...