Fuck All The Talk, Who Wins? July 14, 2002

Its long but a good read. Actually, I dont even know if that date falls on a Saturday but thats right around the time the RJ-Hopkins fight wouldve been made. Weve made threads about who ducked who but we never talk about who wouldve won. Hopkins had just dominated Tito. Then there was all the talk about this fight. To hype it even more, HBO had the double Header with both guys fighting on the same night. That date was Feb. 02 and RJ fought Glen Kelly while Hopkins fought Carl Daniels. Hopkins won every round and KO Daniels in the 10th. RJ also won every round and KO Kelly in the 7th with that behind the back chicken punch or whatever the fuck it was called. At that time RJ was a little on the downside but still fighting at a super high level. This was before he went to HW and beat Ruiz so you know he was really good. Also at this time Hopkins was in his prime, although it was just about to end. Hopkins was at 160 and RJ was at 175 so they were going to fight at the catchweight of 168. The question on most peoples mind was that RJ was the #1 fighter in the game and if he already beat Hopkins at 160 then how was Hopkins going to beat him now when RJ is much bigger? However, that may not have been the reality. RJ was a little big by then but he still wasnt having too much trouble making 175. Therefore I think he couldve went down to 168 fairly comfortbly. Most people picking RJ said that Hopkins had no chance because RJ would be even stronger at that weight and for the 1st time in a long time he would be fighting against a smaller man and could go all out. Alot of people questioned if Hopkins would be that good after moving up. Fast forward to 07 and weve seen Hopkins go straight to 175 and look pretty damn good. He's aged since 02 and with that comes some weight but I think its safe to say that judging by what we know now, he wouldve been pretty good at 168. Also, Hopkins is the taller guy at 6'1 so I think it wouldve been good for him. At that time RJ was the #1 guy in the game. Super speed and made everyone look foolish. He nearly seemed unbeatable by anyone his size. Most people just couldnt picture it happening. However, I thought Hopkins was super underrated in that aspect. I had never seen the original RJ-Hopkins fight but like alot of other people, I got my hands on it after Hopkins beat Tito and I was shocked by what I saw. I had always heard that RJ beat him fairly easy but I saw differently. I think RJ won but that was by far the hardest fight Ive ever seen RJ in. I had never seen anyone come that close to him. He usually made a fool out of everyone but Hopkins was right there with him and that Hopkins was pretty raw. RJ was definatly not in his prime either though. By time 02 got here Hopkins was in his prime and a monster. I loved the way he just physically bitched Keith Holmes. Then he dominated Tito. I still say to this day that a prime Hopkins wouldve gave Hagler hell and I think he couldve beat him. Thats how much of a tough street cat Hopkins was and he fought like the old timers. He still does but he just doesnt have that same everything. He's lost some in every catagory. To me, this fight is super hard to pick and both guys are my boys. I would pretty much pick RJ against anyone but knowing what I know now about Hopkins fighting at 175, I think he wouldve beat RJ at 168. I think he is the only guy in this era around those weight classes that even come close to RJ and I think he has the style to beat him. Tarver caught a past his prime RJ. If RJ had fought him before he moved up then he wouldve killed Tarver. I also think RJ knew that X would give him trouble. I dont think he believed that Hopkins could beat him but he knew that it would be harder then any other fight he had. He even said before there was talk of a rematch, that Hopkins was his hardest fight ever. Alot of people forget how good RJ was and alot of people see Hopkins now and forget how good he was in his prime but they were 2 of the greatest ever and that fight wouldve been special. We deserved to see it. There have been alot of fights in this era or the last era that we missed but this is the biggest one to me. I think it wouldve been one of the biggest hyped fights ever and one of the best as both guys wouldve brought it. It would definatly be close and I could even see a draw.