"To truly dissect Maccarinelli I had to understand Enzo Calzaghe's training philosophy, that involved studying tapes of all his fighters, including Joe.
One thing became glaringly obvious - all their camp try to touch with the first jab, lean back, then fire their combinations. However, this often leaves them terribly off balance. Hopkins has got terrific footwork, drifts to the left and counters, drifts to the right and counters, can even shoot whilst stepping backwards. He's going to rough Joe up and mug him, big time!"
Adam Booth (Trainer/Manager of David Haye), Boxing Monthly, April 2008
I like Booth and I like Haye, they have both got Haye to the point where he is better technically than anyone is Calzaghe's stable...but Calzaghe. Trying to dissect Calzaghe is something for a superior fighter/trainer, neither Haye, nor Booth are anywhere near that and frankly, they look a bit stupid for trying.
Mik, whats your prediction for the fight?
From ESPN.com...
Yet while Calzaghe had huge wins at home in Britain against Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, he has not yet had to face the pressure of a big fight night in Las Vegas, of hearing boos as well as cheers when he is introduced.
Calzaghe seems to be strong mentally, but it could be unsettling if he is made to miss and starts getting hit by punches he wasn't expecting. Lacy was a straight-ahead, wide-punching, pressure fighter, easy for Calzaghe to figure out. Kessler, while strong and technically sound, boxed in a conventional way and did not offer a lot of imagination. Calzaghe was able to overcome him with versatility.
Hopkins is different, though: a savvy, tough, crafty veteran who is an expert at shutting down his opponents. He hits hard and fast, then moves away or gets inside to maul the other man around. Suddenly, a competent boxer can find himself fighting Hopkins' fight.
That's the prediction offered by Miami trainer Pat Burns, who guided Jermain Taylor to two very close wins over Hopkins.
"I think it's a very tough fight for Calzaghe," Burns told ESPN.com. "Hopkins is very cagey, and you know Calzaghe likes to move a lot. And I don't think that's the right style to beat Hopkins. When you're moving, you're working your angles and you're staying away, and Hopkins is very hard to hit -- it's very hard to get clean shots on Hopkins.
"There's no one in professional boxing who makes adjustments throughout the fight better than Hopkins. What he shows you in the first three rounds is different than he shows you in four, five and six, and then what he shows you in the eighth and ninth are totally different, and then, when he finishes, that's something you haven't even seen. So the guy makes adjustments all the time. A 50-50 fight? I would say it's 60-40 -- with Hopkins winning."
Yup. Don't be surprised to see Joe dropped on the seat of his pants as he tries to square up and start winging shots. His balance/stance blow. His fundamentals terrible. Wings shots with his head down.
Hopkins too complete, and in too good condition. Night and day, head and shoulders better than Lacy and Kessler. With 17 fights, Lacy had no experience, and struggled with Richard Grant, Omar Sheika almost KO'd him.
I could give Joe more credit if Lacy came back after the Calzaghe fight and blew out his competition, but he came back and struggled with PREtender Peter f*cking Manfredo. Sorry. NOT impressed. And as strong as Kessler is as a Super middle, he's very one dimensional, stands flat footed straight up and down. So European.
Fellow Philadelphian Charles Brewer almost had Joe out in the 7th round of their fight, and he's an incomplete version of Hopkins (Brewer lacks the footwork, defense, balance, chin, etc of B-Hop, but has that same Philly jail-house right hand.).
I mean, Bika gives Joe a tough fight? When the F*ck has Bernard EVER struggled with soft touches the way Joe has? Short answer? He hasn't.
Joe looks good winging punches against a pug like Manfredo, but he's dealing with a completely different animal here.
Hopkins has seen the speed before - Roy, DLH, Vanderpool was a speedy big southpaw.
Joe has NEVER seen a guy with complete game the likes of Hopkins.
really good past mate! i dont agree with you but you make some very good points.
i dont see joe falling on his pants at any point during the fight i watched a re run of his fight with kessler and the dane knoced him some really good shots even late on in the fight but joe never really looked like going down. if kessler cant knock joe downwith some good punches i dont see how b-hop is gonna manage it.
also kessler biggest weapon is his straight right - joe knows that hopkins will come into the fighthoping to do some damage with his straight right as well. if joe can neutralise kesslers straight right (with counterpunching and body shots) then i dont see b-hops being much of a probem.
as for lacey well i dontthink he is psychologically ever gonna recover rom the beating he was given.
bika took joe the distance but was never gonna win and at ano point was he ever ahead of joe on the scorecards.
i think your reight that joe has never fought anyone like b-hop ut b-hop has never come across someone as adpatable as joe neither.
joe to win by TKO round 12.
________
MARIJUANA NEWS
NOT completely wrong. EXACTLY RIGHT.
Bernard throws that jail-house overhand right, and takes his head down behind it ducking through the follow through so as to avoid being countered.
Quite the opposite of squaring your body and winging body and head punches by the bunches.
You're dismissed.
"To truly dissect Maccarinelli I had to understand Enzo Calzaghe's training philosophy, that involved studying tapes of all his fighters, including Joe.
One thing became glaringly obvious - all their camp try to touch with the first jab, lean back, then fire their combinations. However, this often leaves them terribly off balance. Hopkins has got terrific footwork, drifts to the left and counters, drifts to the right and counters, can even shoot whilst stepping backwards. He's going to rough Joe up and mug him, big time!"
Yup. Don't be surprised to see Joe dropped on the seat of his pants as he tries to square up and start winging shots. His balance/stance blow. His fundamentals terrible. Wings shots with his head down.
Hopkins too complete, and in too good condition. Night and day, head and shoulders better than Lacy and Kessler. With 17 fights, Lacy had no experience, and struggled with Richard Grant, Omar Sheika almost KO'd him.
I could give Joe more credit if Lacy came back after the Calzaghe fight and blew out his competition, but he came back and struggled with PREtender Peter f*cking Manfredo. Sorry. NOT impressed. And as strong as Kessler is as a Super middle, he's very one dimensional, stands flat footed straight up and down. So European.
Fellow Philadelphian Charles Brewer almost had Joe out in the 7th round of their fight, and he's an incomplete version of Hopkins (Brewer lacks the footwork, defense, balance, chin, etc of B-Hop, but has that same Philly jail-house right hand.).
I mean, Bika gives Joe a tough fight? When the F*ck has Bernard EVER struggled with soft touches the way Joe has? Short answer? He hasn't.
Joe looks good winging punches against a pug like Manfredo, but he's dealing with a completely different animal here.
Hopkins has seen the speed before - Roy, DLH, Vanderpool was a speedy big southpaw.
Joe has NEVER seen a guy with complete game the likes of Hopkins.
Excuse me whats silly about that? Haye has fought a higher calibre of opposition much earlier in career and unified the division.
Haye also knoccked out the Linear champ in his own back yard.. when did calzaghe ever do that?
Haye is on a par with Calzaghe. The 21 defences don't impress me much. don't get me wrong Calzaghe is a great fighter but Haye is way ahead of where Joe was after 23 fights
Aye, the Cruiserweight and SMW divisions are really comparable in terms of quality aren't they.
All this is is Booth taking another shot against Enzo Calzaghe in the running fued between them. As Mik so eloquently noted, if Booth really believes this is the key to beating Joe Calzaghe then Haye's going to have some real problems when he comes up against anyone who he can't bang out in a couple of rounds and has any class about him.
History tells us that Calzaghe adjusts in fights and doesn't make the same mistake twice. I can't see Hopkins finding a flaw and getting a KO out of it, because that'd be the only way Booth would have a point.
Dont be silly.
He did win things earlier but that was due to Calzaghe being with Warren, Joes fault partly.
But a decade of dominance and him still being undefeated puts Calzaghe much higher than Haye.
Longevity goes a long way in boxing Haye has yet to prove he has that.
No fucking shit!
Joe fucked it up sticking with Warren, should have jumped ship like Ricky.
This is smart from Haye's camp, he needs more of the fans in the UK and insulting Calzaghe isn't going to help at all.
I'd rather see Haye carry on fighting the best and calling out the best competition out there, then see him trying to be a household name.
Excuse me whats silly about that? Haye has fought a higher calibre of opposition much earlier in career and unified the division.
Haye also knoccked out the Linear champ in his own back yard.. when did calzaghe ever do that?
Haye is on a par with Calzaghe. The 21 defences don't impress me much. don't get me wrong Calzaghe is a great fighter but Haye is way ahead of where Joe was after 23 fights
The truth will set you free.
Dont be so very silly.
Excuse me whats silly about that? Haye has fought a higher calibre of opposition much earlier in career and unified the division.
Haye also knoccked out the Linear champ in his own back yard.. when did calzaghe ever do that?
Haye is on a par with Calzaghe. The 21 defences don't impress me much. don't get me wrong Calzaghe is a great fighter but Haye is way ahead of where Joe was after 23 fights
no im not
im just saying its possible and if he is he is not in the wrong for it
So what you're saying is that it's fine to side with someone purely because of skin colour and not at all because of any actual connection or relationship in any way shape or form besides that? Just because they should team up and stick together against another person due to a difference of skin colour, in this case a white person?
C'mon mate, you can't be serious in playing this can you? Pushing for some race arguments? :confused:
These guys have no connection whatsoever, live on different sides of the world, have probably never even met or talked, most likely come from massively differing backgrounds and cultures and yet you don't think it's wrong to be siding simply due to the same hue of skin? Because they have more melanin in their skin than Calzaghe? That really is their only connection.
I actually find that quite sad. :(
Even if this quote came from David himself it's well known the acrimony that existed in the build-up to his fight with Maccarinelli. Sure Haye may say that Hopkins would win but nobody said "Ahahaha even Junior Witter isn't backing Hatton and he's from THE SAME COUNTRY!!11lolonetwolol". Haye doesn't like the Calzaghes.