Do you think that Hopkins fought....

Being defensive and counterpunching is as legitimate a style as any other, a boxer is entitled to fight any way he wants to, within the rules, if he thinks he can win doing it, as Hopkins has many times before. Yoy are right that the guy forcing the action gets the benefit of the doubt, Calzaghe did, but that doesn't make Hopkins's style illegitimate. The counterpunching boxer takes a calculated risk that he can win the fight that way, even in the face of a more aggressive opponent. Hopkins backed himself, but he backed wrong. IMO it doesn't take anything away from a remarkable performance. Someone had to lose. hopkins has turned into a light heavyweight version of ruiz over the last several years. he needs to retire so he can give us boxing fans a break. his style is dreadful to watch and he's also a poor sport. I cant believe all the crying he was doing after the fight when it was obvious he lost

Do you think that Hopkins fought like a real champ against Joe??? What did you make of him? I know he done well for a 43 year old man, But he ran like a big girl all night long!! He did pretty well. If he won at least 5 rounds taking the 10-8 round into account, it could have easly been a draw. When Hopkins put Joe on his ass in that 1st round, the Katsaidis-Casamayor fight immidately came to mind.

Hopkins holding and lack of offense is what kept him in the fight, neutralize Joe's faster busier hands and drag him into an ugly low worrkate fight. This worked to some extent but Joe figured out his counter punches and ended up frustrating him instead. If Hopkins turned his hands loose he would have probably got busted up like Lacy, the last guy that pushed the fight against Joe. Even a great puncher like Kessler who likes to sit back and jab had trouble matching Joe punch for punch and ended up getting busted up. Hopkins did all he could do, pull a Bika as most expected. Joe was clearly not hurt after the flash knockdown and Hopkins knew this, the guy has been around for awhile he may talk shit but he knows what he's doing.

It's called BOXING, not FIGHTING...it's just the way boxing is now nobody appreciates what real tacticians bring to the table because of moronic idiot fans like yourself. LMFAO!!! You call that boxing? Stick to Soccer if you think that's a tactician!

I agree with the bolded, but really it was just one time immediately after the long 10th round pause. That's why I say Hops gave it away; if he had fought like that for longer he had a good chance of winning. I disagree with the first few sentences: the fact that it is "his style" doesn't make it right. It is not as legitimate as any other style. The guy forcing the action rightfully gets the benefit of the doubt. Fighters should be expected to fight, not box negatively like Hopkins did Being defensive and counterpunching is as legitimate a style as any other, a boxer is entitled to fight any way he wants to, within the rules, if he thinks he can win doing it, as Hopkins has many times before. Yoy are right that the guy forcing the action gets the benefit of the doubt, Calzaghe did, but that doesn't make Hopkins's style illegitimate. The counterpunching boxer takes a calculated risk that he can win the fight that way, even in the face of a more aggressive opponent. Hopkins backed himself, but he backed wrong. IMO it doesn't take anything away from a remarkable performance. Someone had to lose. ________ Amc Rebel

It's called BOXING, not FIGHTING...it's just the way boxing is now nobody appreciates what real tacticians bring to the table because of moronic idiot fans like yourself. Mayweather boxes, Tarver Boxes, Roy boxes......Hopkins ran (used latteral movement) threw one punch and hugged....... I may be a moronic idiot, but that is beside the point. Hopkins fought too negatively to warrant the victory. I scored the fight the way Chuck Giampa, Harold Lederman, and Cliff Rold did. 116-111 for Calzaghe, even though I thought Hopkins LOOKED like the better boxer. I don't give style points. You have to engage the other guy or you lose. Failing to throw combinations or flurries, be it from lack of stamina or fear of getting hit, gets you a loss. Exactly......

It's called BOXING, not FIGHTING...it's just the way boxing is now nobody appreciates what real tacticians bring to the table because of moronic idiot fans like yourself. I may be a moronic idiot, but that is beside the point. Hopkins fought too negatively to warrant the victory. I scored the fight the way Chuck Giampa, Harold Lederman, and Cliff Rold did. 116-111 for Calzaghe, even though I thought Hopkins LOOKED like the better boxer. I don't give style points. You have to engage the other guy or you lose. Failing to throw combinations or flurries, be it from lack of stamina or fear of getting hit, gets you a loss.

I thought he fought well enough to definetly prove hes one of the all time best fighters ever to be competitive at 43 years old like that!!

Hopkins was excellent IMO. His running in the fight has been exaggerated. Boxing defensively and counterpunching is his game and it is just as legitimate a style as any other. There were several occasions towards the end of the fight when Bernard was even mixing it with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring and looking like he got the better of it. I think a lot of people, fans on both sides have tended to see the fight and fighters they were expecting to see, based on judgements they had already made. I think the fight was close as hell, and for Hopkins to be making it that way at 43, is really a magnificent achievement. I agree with the bolded, but really it was just one time immediately after the long 10th round pause. That's why I say Hops gave it away; if he had fought like that for longer he had a good chance of winning. I disagree with the first few sentences: the fact that it is "his style" doesn't make it right. It is not as legitimate as any other style. The guy forcing the action rightfully gets the benefit of the doubt. Fighters should be expected to fight, not box negatively like Hopkins did

Hopkins is damn near fifty years old, he did his best and lost point blank, maybe 5-10 years ago he would have busted joes ass easily, but his old ass can't launch an effective attack anymore, he can only wait for his opponents to make mistakes... Hopkins pissed me off with this fight though because he could have won but that one punch and hold sh*t just didn't cut it...

hopkins fought great, he made joe look ordinary. i wasn't too surprised why people thought joe would win so easily because of his amazing past performances. the fight was close that i thought hopkins won. calzaghe's punches just seemed ineffective to me and hopkins seemed to be landing the better shots and moved well, hopkins wasn't running, he was doing a thing called lateral movement.

Do you think that Hopkins fought like a real champ against Joe??? What did you make of him? I know he done well for a 43 year old man, But he ran like a big girl all night long!! Like Joe said, Hopkins didn't try to win the fight and wouldnt let Joe win it either, he made it a boring fight, I enjoyed a lot more the fight vs Kessler.

Hopkins could've won and possibly KO'd Joe if he just let his hands go and was a bit more aggresive. Its seemed as if he was conserving all his energy, so that he could land a well placed shot here and there. Hopkins was clearly the stronger man in that fight. Joe had nothing that could've hurt Hopkins. I understand he is 43, but for a 43yr old man that runs 5miles a day, he surely could've threw more than 15-20 punches a round. His inactivity is what cost him the fight.

Hopkins was excellent IMO. His running in the fight has been exaggerated. Boxing defensively and counterpunching is his game and it is just as legitimate a style as any other. There were several occasions towards the end of the fight when Bernard was even mixing it with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring and looking like he got the better of it. I think a lot of people, fans on both sides have tended to see the fight and fighters they were expecting to see, based on judgements they had already made. I think the fight was close as hell, and for Hopkins to be making it that way at 43, is really a magnificent achievement. Good point on that.

Good point on this one.

Think about it if he was staying away I guess them slaps must hurt???

"abadge" Hopkins was excellent IMO. His running in the fight has been exaggerated. Boxing defensively and counterpunching is his game and it is just as legitimate a style as any other. There were several occasions towards the end of the fight when Bernard was even mixing it with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring and looking like he got the better of it. I think a lot of people, fans on both sides have tended to see the fight and fighters they were expecting to see, based on judgements they had already made. I think the fight was close as hell, and for Hopkins to be making it that way at 43, is really a magnificent achievement. Fare Comment m8!! Thanks, I try. ________ Synthetic Weed

I thought Hopkins looked good in places but nowhere near busy enough. Before the fight he said Joe slaps, and I agree, he does slap because his hands are totally screwed, so I wonder why was Hopkins afraid to do anything other than throw a right hand, rush head first at Joe and then hold? This happened all night, and it was not good to watch. Ugliest fight I've seen in ages, and that's pretty much all down to Bernard.

I think he gave it away. He could have beaten Joe if he had the courage to exchange. But he didn't. Hopkins has the skill but not the heart I honestly feel like B-hop fought the best fight he could have at this stage in his career. I mean he is 43... I think it's shocking that he was able to beat Winky, Tarver and bang with JT. Just based on the quality of opponents he faces I wouldnt question his heart

"abadge" Hopkins was excellent IMO. His running in the fight has been exaggerated. Boxing defensively and counterpunching is his game and it is just as legitimate a style as any other. There were several occasions towards the end of the fight when Bernard was even mixing it with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring and looking like he got the better of it. I think a lot of people, fans on both sides have tended to see the fight and fighters they were expecting to see, based on judgements they had already made. I think the fight was close as hell, and for Hopkins to be making it that way at 43, is really a magnificent achievement. Fare Comment m8!!