Hopkins title defenses at MW,, Which were the best ones

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Hopkins had 20 title defenses at MW and is considered the best champ since hagler,,,

I know people will say tito was his best defense, but outside of that, which ones were legit defenses, and which ones were garbage...

[IronDanHamza]

Echols, Allen, Holmes, Eastman, Joppy, Johnson.

They're more or less the only good ones.

[The Surgeon]

Echols, Allen, Holmes, Eastman, Joppy, Johnson.

They're more or less the only good ones.

And "good" is all they were too.

Hopkins' real legacy is in his longevity i think

[IronDanHamza]

And "good" is all they were too.

Hopkins' real legacy is in his longevity i think

The Trinidad fight is obviously his defining moment along with being the oldest Champion ever.

Hopkins started his career later than the average fighter so he was always likely to go on longer. Not many fighters are in their prime at 35 years of age like Hopkins was. Martinez is another example of someone who started late and also bloomed late because of it.

He's done some good work above 160 and managed to defy the odds which counts for him too.

I'm not overly impressed with wins like Winky Wright, Pavlik, Pascal and most definitely Cloud.

They're all decent wins and for some reason the public seemed to think he'd lose these fights but I don't consider them overly good wins. IMO.

[joseph5620]

The Trinidad fight is obviously his defining moment along with being the oldest Champion ever.

Hopkins started his career later than the average fighter so he was always likely to go on longer. Not many fighters are in their prime at 35 years of age like Hopkins was. Martinez is another example of someone who started late and also bloomed late because of it.

He's done some good work above 160 and managed to defy the odds which counts for him too.

I'm not overly impressed with wins like Winky Wright, Pavlik, Pascal and most definitely Cloud.

They're all decent wins and for some reason the public seemed to think he'd lose these fights but I don't consider them overly good wins. IMO.

I understand what youre saying, but his age makes those wins impressive. He's beating top fighters well into his 40's. I believe many thought he would lose because at his age, logic says he should lose.

[IronDanHamza]

I understand what youre saying, but his age makes those wins impressive. He's beating top fighters well into his 40's. I believe many thought he would lose because at his age, logic says he should lose.

The wins are impressive but I don't think beating Winky Wright and Pavlik at 170 lbs is all that impressive whether you are 25, 35 or 45.

I don't think beating Pascal and Cloud is that impressive either.

It is impressive for his age but like I said, I don't consider them as impressive as others.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

The wins are impressive but I don't think beating Winky Wright and Pavlik at 170 lbs is all that impressive whether you are 25, 35 or 45.

I don't think beating Pascal and Cloud is that impressive either.

It is impressive for his age but like I said, I don't consider them as impressive as others.

I give credit to the pavlik and pascal fights,,,

and winky,,, yes it was up in weight but hopkins was the first guy to beat up winky,, which is a very hard thing to do,,,,

pavlik was on a roll and had just beaten taylor at 168,,,, hopkins abused him

pascal win will look alot better down the road,,, pascal is no ATG but he was the best in the division at the time hopkins beat him, so i give him props for that....

[IronDanHamza]

I give credit to the pavlik and pascal fights,,,

and winky,,, yes it was up in weight but hopkins was the first guy to beat up winky,, which is a very hard thing to do,,,,

pavlik was on a roll and had just beaten taylor at 168,,,, hopkins abused him

pascal win will look alot better down the road,,, pascal is no ATG but he was the best in the division at the time hopkins beat him, so i give him props for that....

I give credit for all of the fights. I just don't think they're that impressive.

Winky Wright's a Jr MW. He has absolutely no business at 170 lbs.

Pavlik was a good win most definitely, his fight with Taylor was at a catchweight of 166, both weighed 164. Pavlik also doesn't belong at 170 lbs but to a lesser extent than Wright. Definitely a good win, one of his best. Pavlik is the fight Calzaghe should have taken. People wanted the Pavlik fight. Can't complain about it.

Pascal, again, good win, decent win but Pascal simply isn't that good so despite Hopkins being 46 I still don't think it's that impressive. I had asbolutely no doubts that Hopkins would easily beat Pascal.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

What did you guys think of the simon brown defense and mercado fights,,,,,

what guys should hopkins have fought--in a perfect world

[IronDanHamza]

What did you guys think of the simon brown defense and mercado fights,,,,,

what guys should hopkins have fought--in a perfect world

Simon Brown was a joke of a fight.

Mercado was decent.

Hopkins fought every single contender there was to fight. He didn't duck anybody.

The likes of Echols, Allen, Eastman, Holmes etc were the top MW contenders of his era.

The problem is, it's a very very weak MW era.

I, and most others, would have much rather Hopkins moved up to 168 where the talent was as opposed to defending his title against not so great opposition 20 times.