A short interview in french that i translated translated in english. (may have some mistakes)
Jeff Jeffrey Emond: Hello Mr. Hopkins! How are you?
Bernard Hopkins: Well thank you!
JEJ: You faced Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev. Who will win between these two warriors to you?
BH: We must look at the style of the two boxers before deciding on a fight, it's not just comparing pugilists sheets that can determine the outcome of a confrontation. Experts give Kovalev winner because of its fearsome firepower and he hits hard, I know something. However, these same experts underestimate Pascal. I think Jean will win over Kovy.
JEJ: Why?
BH: Pascal's style is far from orthodox. The unpredictability of Quebecers will confuse Kovalev early in the fight. Jean is not the kind of traditional boxer who sends one or two jab followed by a right hand. It draws much of his idol, Roy Jones Jr by sending a quick right hand before launching any jab. In addition, he learned a lot from both duels with me. Jean now can rhythm himself in a fight, as we saw against Lucian Bute. Pascal is now at the top of his game.
Another fact that many neglect: There was a lot of animosity between me and Pascal during our confrontations, which is not the case today. However, Jean do not hate Kovalev, he will be more adept at controlling his emotions during the fight.
JEJ: A lot of people might say that your prediction is influenced by your bitterness due to the result of your duel against Kovalev last November?
BH: Absolutely not. You will see that Pascal will complicate Kovalev life on the evening of March 14th.
Source : themainfight.com
And Kovalev is bigger, stronger, hits harder, and is more technically sound, while Pascal is 7 years older. So what exactly does Froch/Pascal have to do with anything?
I agree, English boxing fans overrate Froch.
... Of course there is "a very real possibility that Pascal can win"... Everybody has a chance of winning a fight before it starts...
... But, normally, Pascal gets sparked badly...
There is a very real possibility that Pascal can win, its what makes this such a good fight. Pascal has good skills, decent pop of his own and has fought at the highest level several times before. The issue is his gas tank, Kovalev's power and Kovs own good skill set.
Just like you were supposed to do, right ?
Let's go out on a ridiculous limb here and predict that after Kovalev wins in very impressive fashion, Bhop proclaims Adonis Stevenson will beat Kovalev when they fight ??? :crazy::crazy::crazy:
Be careful what you say about Bhop guys !!!!!!!!
After I posted a thread about a aging Bhop stepping up and fighting the best in his division (Kovalev) reminding me of a aging Sugar Ray Leonard stepping up against the best in his division Terrible Terry Norris, that Bhop was going to lose to the best (Kovalev) just like Sugar Ray Leonard did to Norris....
After I wrote that thread, they removed my thread and turned me RED forever...... If I cared I would have asked why they turned me RED when I AM a Bhop fan and was admiring his bravery for stepping in with Kovalev..... Of course I was right and Kovalev dominated Bhop.... But they painted me Red anyway.... I now wear it as a badge of freedom of opinion, a correct opinion as it turned out.
So they can keep me Red, it's a punishment for not agreeing with their opinions. Not Blatant slander as I thought Being painted Red would be..... So watch your opinions unless you just don't care about potential consequences in speaking your objective opinion. Evidently, Like Me... ( Unless they are Cub Fans? In that case I completely understand !!!)
Hopkins just makes this prediction so he can act a bit more shocked when Kovalev wins handidly.
"Kovalev came out and surprised me, he truly is the king of the Light Heavyweight Divison."
I literally can't see Pascal do anything with Kovalev.
Kovalev does everything better than Pascal.
Pascal is with Memo and squatting and benching 8 plates so u never know.
Are people forgetting that Pascal hung with Froch over 12 rounds? Kovalev is definitely the favorite but don't be surprised if Pascal wins.
And Kovalev is bigger, stronger, hits harder, and is more technically sound, while Pascal is 7 years older. So what exactly does Froch/Pascal have to do with anything?
So Kov is the favorite because his firepower and how hard he hits and that Hopkins knows something. What does he know that he couldn't execute during the fight? It was obvious Sergey is more than just a puncher by the fact that he pretty much shut out Bernard. If he really knew something he would've been able to do something about it during the fight. He didn't mention anything about Kovalev's boxing skills. Hopkins does sound a bit bitter to me in the way he came off regarding Kov.