something i noticed about Benard Hopkins

something i noticed about Benard Hopkins i know he is renowned for saying i take away my oponents best weapon but i got to thinking and i came to this conclusion see if you agree there is a huge difference between taking away your oponents best weapon rather than trying to avoid your oponents best weapoon and IMO this was born out when Cotto faced Margarito he tried to avoid Margarito's best weapon rather than take away his best weapon now i realise this is easier said the done but dont you feel Hopkins has the right philosophy and Cotto had the wrong one against Margarito it would be a damn near impossible for Cotto to beat Margarito even if he was to put him on the backfoot where he is nullified but if was to stand any chance what so ever to beat Margarito he would HAVE to back him up to take away his advantages and even then it would still be damn hard i just feel Hopkins gets it right tactically because he takes away his oponents advantages rather than tries to avoid them ,fair enough i know Taylor beat him but on the whole i think tactically he gets it spot on and that is why he has had longevity amongst other things Trinidad is a perfect example for me Hopkins took away his advantages completely and then Ko'ed him whether you like Hopkins as a person or not the guy is a throw back fighter who is a very good ring technician im not huge fan but i respect what he can do

Comments (20)

Scott9945

To be as competative as he is a such a high level, at the age of 43. Shows how intelligent Hopkins is. He fights boring, so people dislike him a bit, but he fights clever. Knowing he doesn't have the stamina he used to :boxing: Actually I dislike him more than a bit. Most of his fights are unwatchable to me. But he is amazing performer who hasn't been truly trounced even once is his career.

17y ago

T97

i cant beleave it a thread where hopkins is not getting trashed!!!!!!!!!!classic True, It's rare, Maybe Terrible put all the Hop haters on ignore to stop them from ruining this thread :lol1:

17y ago

MANGLER

Hopkins usually wins based on what his opponents can't do rather than anything spectacular he does himself. He just takes you outta your game and counters you to death. B-Hop is a tactical genius.

17y ago

potatoes

And Pav's style has got to be the easiest to figure out when you have took on the likes of Trinidad,Winky,Calzaghe His straight forward no special effects... To me has old as Bernard is this is a fight he could win Yeah, I agree. Unless Pavlik knocks him out, there is a good chance that Hopkins will beat him on points. Pavlik is really just a one dimensional tall slugger with no more than basics boxing skills. A willy old pro like Hopkins should be able to figure him out.

17y ago

Spiegelo

Bernard can fight till he's damn near 50 and still never truly be beaten. That's what I love about Bernard. He'll never be beaten up in the ring and clearly lose. Too smart, he always makes it his type of fight. I almost wanna hold off on my highlight video because I know Pav is gonna walk into some highlight worthy punches and regardless to how likely it is he will win, he will definitely find himself very frustrated for large portions of early rounds.

17y ago

T97

Hopkins is as ring smart and resourceful as any fighter I've ever seen. To be as competative as he is a such a high level, at the age of 43. Shows how intelligent Hopkins is. He fights boring, so people dislike him a bit, but he fights clever. Knowing he doesn't have the stamina he used to :boxing:

17y ago

Scott9945

Yeap, very true, One of Joes biggest assets is his Workrate. Hopkins cut it in half. Titos best asset was his power, Hopkins avoided his shots and broke him down etc, Hopkins is a tactical genious IMO. Even if he strays into illegal tactics from time to time, he is very clever. Hopkins is as ring smart and resourceful as any fighter I've ever seen.

17y ago

Don_Johnson

But Tito is a Welterweight. was a welterweight, he couldn't make 147 anymore the guying was walking around at 170 dude. He was favored to beat hopkins too, He had already got a belt at 160 and defeated william joppy.

17y ago

AntonTheMeh

in a way what he did was an indication that that's where his thinking was.

17y ago

AntonTheMeh

some good points especially about Hopkins fucking up his rythm Oscar showed him the way their i feel Cotto definetly did not get enough of Margarito respect by pushing foward more and keeping him honest and he payed for itexactly. Excellent point. I've seen a lot of great posts from you! Keep it up man:boxing: thanks man, the thing is a fight vs gomez in my opinion was what messed up his psyche. cotto can box there's no doubt about that, but that fight made him forget the fighter he truly is.

17y ago

Antonio

Hopkins just uses every trick in the book. He clinches, hits on the hip, low blows inside, leads with his head on every lead punch, uses his head in clinches, hits on the break, hits while clinching. He does ALL of this in every fight.

17y ago

Dynamite_Kid

true in a way, but tito's problem was lack of activity and hop fucking his rhythm up.there's a reason hopkins didn't go toe to toe with trinidad, when in my opinion he could have taken tito's best punch and and thrown back.as far as cotto, he forgot his bread and butter i can't stress this enough, he spent way to much time fighting backwards, and not digging in and taking away margarito's space, if he did most of marga's punches would be smothered by marga. cotto really needs to learn how to block punches with his hands his upper body movement is average. some good points especially about Hopkins fucking up his rythm Oscar showed him the way their i feel Cotto definetly did not get enough of Margarito respect by pushing foward more and keeping him honest and he payed for it

17y ago

The_Gully_Gad

i think Pavlik may have a better chance at pinning Hopkins down because he has a good jab and he has long arms however if that Jab does not have the desired effect Hopkins is going to tee of on Pavlik with right hands and keep switching the angles to avoid the right hand i see Pavlik winning but i think Hopkins will cause him plenty of problems but he is to old to win the fight IMO no stamina to sustain his good work Pavlik uses relentless aggression as a tactic in some fights Miranda etc but he does stand off and Box aswell depending on who he is fighting Lockett ,Taylor 2 so i think Pavlik and Jack Loew know what there doing tactially aswell not as much as B Hop but they are not naive Yeh thats a good point you brought up that Old B-Hop hasnt got the stamina to sustain what he wants to do in the ring. And with Pav none stop coming forward its gonna wear Hopkins down.. I think Hop is gonna try and make it a dog fight thats his only way really of tryin to knock Pav off what his gotta do and drag the fight out and try and nick it that way...

17y ago

Dynamite_Kid

Yeh Hopkins is the Don when it comes to taking away his opponents gameplans and strengths and making them fight his fight... This is what Pavlic has gotta be careful off. Pav's a Bad muthaF**ka and all but if your not careful you will find old B-Hop has robbed you out of the fight... i think Pavlik may have a better chance at pinning Hopkins down because he has a good jab and he has long arms however if that Jab does not have the desired effect Hopkins is going to tee of on Pavlik with right hands and keep switching the angles to avoid the right hand i see Pavlik winning but i think Hopkins will cause him plenty of problems but he is to old to win the fight IMO no stamina to sustain his good work Pavlik uses relentless aggression as a tactic in some fights Miranda etc but he does stand off and Box aswell depending on who he is fighting Lockett ,Taylor 2 so i think Pavlik and Jack Loew know what there doing tactially aswell not as much as B Hop but they are not naive

17y ago

AntonTheMeh

17y ago

The_Gully_Gad

17y ago

Silencers

I agree. Hopkins is very good at taking away his opponents' weapons.

17y ago

jrazor

say what u want but Hopkins did beat jermain taylor & joke-cal-slappy...

17y ago

1g5a22