The Hopkins who beat Tarver would have beaten Kovalev.

That version of Hopkins was unstoppable. This version is between a loss against JT and Calzaghe. Close decisions but he struggled. Hopkins is an ATG but never was an unbeatable freak, but more a freak of durability. Kov is a beast and a bad match up for Hopkins who was even back then a too patient and unactive fighter to beat Kov.

That version of Hopkins was unstoppable. Unstoppable? He lost to Jermain Taylor in the fight before Tarver.

Sergey is the better boxer. Philly got taken to school that night as Kovalev pissed in the Garcia's faces. Philly is nothing but a bunch of sore losers but credit to Bhop, he was humbled and gave Sergery nothing but respect. Thread starter is a troll alt racist.

Kovalev's combination of boxing skill and unreal power give him the win over any version of Hopkins. Vintage Hopkins may have been able to win a round or two doe. I give him dat.

Hopkins of any ERA is to weak for Kovalev just get over the loss Hopkins stated he felt like he was hitting a cruiserweight. I suspect Hopkins would lose to him at any point in his career as he was never a speed merchant and was never a rugged infighter type. With the weight many fighters sweat off 15 pounds through water loss Hopkins would always be at a severe strength disadvantage and skills wise wouldn't have much of an edge off of Kovalev.

Kovalev couldn't beat Boone the first time around He could and did - close but clear win.... hard to find much detail on the fight but best accounts say that Kovalev dominated the first 4, gassed badly and got KDd in the 5th and just about hung on through the 6th. Unlike the Ward fight though Deezol has never (to my knowledge) contested the result - furthermore the fight was in Boones hometown at a time when Sergei was a literal nobody - there's no reason to suspect preferential judging for Kovalev.

I think the Hopkins who schooled Tarver would have beaten Kovalev. Maybe not 12-0 Sergey, but probably something like 8-4. Hopkins of any ERA is to weak for Kovalev just get over the loss

I think Kovalev beats any version of Hopkins. He's a bad style match up just like Taylor and Dawson.

Hopkins couldn't beat Jermain Taylor or Chad Dawson. They both fought a better version of Hopkins than Kovalev did. Kovalev couldn't beat Boone the first time around

I agree that Hopkins that fought tarver beats kovalev But the one that fought Dawson and pascal gets beat by kovalev If Hopkins was under 40 and went to light heavy to fight kova , Hopkins wins I disagree. kovalev would have been all wrong for any version of hopkins. too strong and his boxing ability is underrated. jeez,,,how many losses does hopkins have and some people seem to think hes better than hagler

I agree that Hopkins that fought tarver beats kovalev But the one that fought Dawson and pascal gets beat by kovalev If Hopkins was under 40 and went to light heavy to fight kova , Hopkins wins

Pascal 1 would have been enough, he could at least initiate the action, afterwards everything went down hill.

Kovalev's own trainer said the middleweight version beats kovalev p4p

That version of Hopkins was unstoppable. oh please dude. hops could look great against certain styles but there's been plenty of guys who beat him and it wouldnt have turned out any differently that night

Hopkins couldn't beat Jermain Taylor or Chad Dawson. They both fought a better version of Hopkins than Kovalev did.

That version of Hopkins was unstoppable. Haha stop man, Hopkins is not the greatest ever, solid fighter but very beatable.

That version of Hopkins was unstoppable.

I think the Hopkins who schooled Tarver would have beaten Kovalev. Maybe not 12-0 Sergey, but probably something like 8-4. would have been closer but I just think kovalev was too big and strong for hopkins regardless of age

Maybe, but I still think he would have underestimated how athletic Kovalev is. A Hopkins of that vintage had similar issues with JT's athleticism until after 6 rounds or so..Sergei is not as raw as JT so the margin for error in the 2nd half of the fight would still be very small, whereas with JT the chances increased. His assessment of Kovalev seemed to be where he went wrong in his approach to the matchup. I don't think that would have changed even back then.

Quite possibly. If he did win, I agree that it wouldn't be a whitewash.