Hopkins legacy, as strong as people say?

Keep in mind its also not like there was some big time talent up at 168 either during this time.

Agreed, Hopkins fought his way to the top the old fashioned way, he earned it. He deserves it over and over to be in the Boxing Hall of Fame.

It has been said before...Hopkins should be and will be in the Hall of Fame at the end of his career. It's unfair to call him out for not moving up in weight or for not beating anybody very special. He's lost less than ten rounds in the last 5 years and controls anyone who steps up to him. The whole moving up aspect of boxing is sad in a way. If a smaller fighter moves up and beats the bigger guy, it can only be bad for the bigger guy. Say if Tito beat Hopkins, he would be god in the eyes of his fans and Hopkins would be shit and overrated for losing to a natural welter...but Hopkins absolutely blows Tito out of the water and it's not so significant because he just beat up on a smaller guy. :rolleyes: Hopkins has old school, all-time great skills. He is very technically sound and is a tough son of a bitch to boot. Whoever said he wouldn't stack up against the fighters of the 50's/60's or against the great past middles is clearly out of their element.

He's been dominant at 160, but that alone doesn't make him so "great" as ppl say...of course that the quality of opponents matters, let's see how he ends his career, that will tell if ppl will call him an "all time great"... what do you mean by the Tito-Joppy fight? Tito beat a real middle...Why Nard hasn't gone up to fight someone like Lacy/Calzague? Or even go down to fight someone like Winky? Maybe cuz his primary goal is his title defenses at 160 is the only way to make his mark at boxing history? IMO "Great Fighters" do "Great Fights"...IMO his only great fight was against Tito... against DLH we could say that he got a free ride, I don't know if Jones-Nard was a great fight cuz i havent seen it, but he lost.... I don't understand how people can knack a boxer for not moving up in weight.

He's overrated...if he never had fought Tito or DLH, just a few ppl would know about him, are his title defenses impressive? Of course...Would that alone make him a hall of famer???...He could have gone up/down in weight and make bigger fights...but he hasn't... HOPKINS OVERRATED? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Fighters have, for the last couple of decades, made it more common than it used to be, partly because it is hard to stay at the same weight for more than a couple of years, since most of them would be 20 or so pounds heavier if it were not for the effort it takes to make weight in the lighter divisions. And partly because of the ego that a great fighter must have. The really great fighters all have one thing in common - they believe they can't be beat. They don't just say it - they really believe it themselves! Of course there is a certain "pressure" to move up that is put on by the media now, which didn't really happen before the 60's, even the 70's. The media wants a fighter to keep moving up until he gets beaten up by the bigger man so they can put their media spin to the whole story - it's David vs Goliath who will win?! You see what I mean, and that is really how it goes with the press. Of course the factor that really jumps out is $$$ - the almighty dollar rules, and the general public just doesn't seem to care that much about the smaller guys - why - I don't know, because I love to watch all the divisions on the cards that I work, and the smaller guys just don't get the T.V. coverage but alot of times they are the best fight of the night....

What has Trinidad done to be in the Hall Of Fame? - I can't think of anything, everyone knows DeLaHoya beat him, including Tito. But that is for another thread, one from the past. Don't get me wrong, Trinidad is a great fighter, he isn't one of the best ever, just one of the best in the last decade or so. To me, you have to be one of the best ever to get my vote for the Hall Of Fame, alot gets made of the fighters of today, but really it is only by those who were not around to see the fighters of the past - of which many would have beaten todays' top guys...

Look, it's like this, the road to the 160lb title goes through Hopkins, and nobody has been able to get down that road in years, although many have tried. I don't care what division it is, if you are the man at the top after that many title defenses, you deserve to be in the Hall Of fame - period. Hopkins has taken on everyone who wanted to step up - and he beat them all - you cannot argue with total domination in any division, in any era....

I always admired Hopkins for staying at 160. He is an all-time great in my book and I believe that he would have been in the fight with any middleweight in history, coming out on top in most instances.

borikua Hopkins is EASILY a hall of famer. If he isn't what does that say about Trinidad? Hopkins will retire after beating the best middleweights available to him AND setting a record for middleweight title defenses.

Aint it funny? :cool: Though i aint going to hold that loss against him, he was green it was only 4 rounds and i bet that loss helped him a whole lot. Yeah it helped him a lot, it was a clear message!! DONT FIGHT AT LIGHT HEAVY NARD!! :D Maybe thats why he wont fight the bigger guys anymore

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Hopkins legacy is based on dominating the 160 pound division but yet all he has fought are mandatories. He has never moved up in weight staying at the 160 pound limit except for his first pro fight, which he lost. He beat up DLH who gained 30 pounds from his starting division and now ring magazine are talking about immortality. He beat up tito (pretty bad yeah) who was also from the lower weight classes. Now he is a legend, he has beaten noone of any significance. Roy Jones who is constantly slammed for fight cops and Garbage men fought the mandatories has fought at Heavyweight and he dominated ruiz after round 1. He also beat Hopkins with a broken hand. I dont think Hopkins deserves any of the praise lavished on him today. That broken hand excuse is pure bullshit by Roy. Hopkins' place among the top 5 Middleweights of all time is set in stone. He's fought the best avaliable to him. Its alot like the situation Tyson was in when he was a kid. Its not so much who he is beating, but how he is beating them. Bernard Hopkins has maybe lost 4 rounds in the past 5 years he's been so dominate. Funny how no one talked about Tito being small when he destroyed Joppy huh. Its just an excuse haters like to throw in.

Its hard to believe that Nard got beat by Clinton Mitchell!! :confused: Click here for Clinton Mitchell's fight record Aint it funny? :cool: Though i aint going to hold that loss against him, he was green it was only 4 rounds and i bet that loss helped him a whole lot.

Hopkins legacy is based on dominating the 160 pound division but yet all he has fought are mandatories. He has never moved up in weight staying at the 160 pound limit except for his first pro fight, which he lost. He beat up DLH who gained 30 pounds from his starting division and now ring magazine are talking about immortality. He beat up tito (pretty bad yeah) who was also from the lower weight classes. Now he is a legend, he has beaten noone of any significance. Roy Jones who is constantly slammed for fight cops and Garbage men fought the mandatories has fought at Heavyweight and he dominated ruiz after round 1. He also beat Hopkins with a broken hand. I dont think Hopkins deserves any of the praise lavished on him today. I fully agree with your statement.

yes his legacy is as strong as people say. 19 title defenses. dont really care that he never moved up in weight...that's not what it's all about. he dominated his weight division.PERIOD. His record speaks for itself. And he is a brilliant fighter with exceptional boxing skills. Agreed. Its all about consistancy. Both DLH and Mosley moved up but look what they got out of it. Nothing (excpet for Oscar's 30 mil) They looked shitty at a higher weight. Larry said it best that people should stick to their own weight class. Now we hear DLH is moving back down to 147. Moving up in weight should't be a prerequisite for carving your name in boxing history. Hopkins did what he had to do. Defended his title 19 times and hasn't lost in 11 years. He deserves respect.

It's fucking crap that people praise Hopkins and says Jones fought nobody. Jones got belt's in four divisions. Hopkins stayed at supermiddel. Roy beat Hopkins, toney, hill, tarver easily. Hopkins beat De la hoya. Hopkins legacy should be nothing compared to Jones.

Its hard to believe that Nard got beat by Clinton Mitchell!! :confused: Click here for Clinton Mitchell's fight record

Bernard Hopkins is great fighter and great story, he went from thug to inmate to million dollar prize fighter. Hopkins turned his life around made a great amount of money and has boxing hall of fame credentials. Like Pedro Fernandez from ring talk.com said 20 defenses against grandmother is impressive. :D

Hopkins legacy is based on dominating the 160 pound division but yet all he has fought are mandatories. He has never moved up in weight staying at the 160 pound limit except for his first pro fight, which he lost. He beat up DLH who gained 30 pounds from his starting division and now ring magazine are talking about immortality. He beat up tito (pretty bad yeah) who was also from the lower weight classes. Now he is a legend, he has beaten noone of any significance. Roy Jones who is constantly slammed for fight cops and Garbage men fought the mandatories has fought at Heavyweight and he dominated ruiz after round 1. He also beat Hopkins with a broken hand. I dont think Hopkins deserves any of the praise lavished on him today. I give Hopkins the credit he deserves, he's beaten all the mandatorys and dominated the middle's for years!! The only beef i have with Hopkins is that he called a lot of the champions from heavier weights like Toney, Calzaghe, Jones etc out and then refused to negotiate. But he was more than happy to negotiate with the smaller champions like DLH and Tito. IMO Hopkins is a great champ at middle but i'll alway remember him for talking his way out of fights with bigger men.