Expect to see a physically "big" Bernard Hopkins against Calzaghe

[xfiles]

Have you ever seen a punch slow down Calzaghe?
Have you ever seen Calzaghe get hit with a big shot, then sit down on his punches and go for his opponents jugular straight away?

We realise what Hopkins is good at, but we also realise what Calzaghe is good at, i see no reason to think Calzaghe will get hurt and start fighting cautiously. It's never happened.

Btw Calzaghe doesn't just "swarm", that makes it sound like he just windmills in. Calzaghe gets in and out quickly throwing accurate punches from a variety of angles, and he mixes up his attacks. Lets not make JC sound like an idiot, he is a wise veteran in his own right.

Yes, he's gone after lesser fighters. And Kessler stopped him in his tracks a few times. Look for Hopkins to finish the job.

[xfiles]

You'll have to remind me, what round was that? I don't recall seeing Calzaghe slow down at any point in that fight.

That's because you where to busy pulling your pud!

[xfiles]

Wait a minute. You said "i would easily roll his amateur-ish slaps........... and trade him one crisp uppercut......... that would be all it would take to persuade him from escelating the situation any further."

What are you saying, that you -- a nobody on a message board -- could **** Joe Calzaghe up with one uppercut? If so, surely you'd be a megastar?

The only thing he would have to worry about is you jumping on his back and trying to claw his eyes out like a good little girlfriend!

[xfiles]

You mentioned that Hopkins was the best fighter that Joe has faced. Well lets see how he compares to the fighters that Hopkins has faced.

Jones - Hopkins. Hopkins lost. Granted Calzaggie isnt as good as Jones, hes still lb/lb.
Taylor - Hopkins. He couldnt beat him 2x. Calzaggie is a much better fighter than Taylor.

Where was this defensive genius when he was fighting Taylor? He's seriously over rated in his boxing skills. Sure hes good, but its not like he's unbeatable or impossible to hit.

Taylor didn't hit him. It was quite the opposite. Taylor is the guy who took all the shots. Regardless, this has no bearing on Hopkins kicking Calzaghe's ass. If you think it does then your a moron. Plain and simple.

[xfiles]

Think that Hopkins will be around the size he was for Tarver, with lots of emphasis on cardio in his training.

For Hopkins to win think that he has to be able to muscle Calzaghe on the inside & wear him down as the fight goes on, but still quick enough for those short rushes that he loves to do, as well as landing the right hand counter.

Lacy isn't a good comparison - he was big & strong, but Calzaghe was able to throw him around like he did because of his better balance & smarts.

Hopkins is probably the only fighter's around that can probably edge Calzaghe in smarts & experience on the inside, & that's where he has to win the fight.

Getting on the inside when he needs to with the quick rush, muscle & frustrate him when there, mix it up with the quick right or occaissional combo to vary things, & a fair bit of lateral movement.

Still favour Calzaghe, but of any fighter around, Hopkins is the guy who can come up with the best gameplan & prepare incredibly well for it.

Should be interesting.

Actually, I feel that Hopkins will win this fight on the outside with hard right hands and then being gone for the return flurries. Lead right hands off the break as well.

[xfiles]

One thing that puts Hopkins in my top 10 all time favorites is his dedication to the sport. You can say what you wan't, how he appreciates the sport, and the dedication to training that follows, this man doesn't take his calling for granted. Typical throwback bad ass.


Despite how he looks, If Bernard comes to fight fully engergized and comfortable...I really don't see how Joe would deal with Hopkins right hand and style. I do think Hopkins should let his hands go more, because if he doesn't let them go enough, and if he lets it go to the scorecards, I see Calzaghe gettin the D reguardless, especially after whats takin place with all the racsim accusation. If Hopkins comes out on his toes, avoiding, and countering, and leading. He should eventually crack Joe.


Only thing dangerous about Joe, is that out of all those slapping shots, 1 out of 4 of em have the potential to be stingers.

Your right, But on Joes stingers it's more like 1 out of 5 every 5-10 combinations.

[hardmanbrit]

Thoughts? Yeah, big muscles don't help you to win fights.

Really?

And here was me thinking that Klitschko's strength, and reach, were the only reasons he was dominating the Heavyweight division.

[OmnipotentFloyd]

APRIL 19 = EXECUTION DAY

Well I was originally gonna comment on this threads main topic but couldnt get by my man Elvins post. Sportin the fedora and ****.

[deuce_drop]

timing kills speed......................hopkins had and still has great timing......

it's not going to be easy, but i am predicting that hopkins wins this fight with his timing and ability to dictate the pace, as well as pin point his shots, and good body work on the inside.........

[ИATAS]

Hopkins never hurt Tarver ,has anybody actually seen this fight ?

Hopkins had Tarver down but he was 'nt really hurt ,people act like Hopkins handed Tarver an ass whooping when in reallity there were very very little punches thrown in the whole fight Hopkins threw next to nothing but Tarver threw even less thats why he got the decision

Ok, if not hurt then he Stunned Tarver on multiple occasions, plus the KD. Whatever he did, he made Tarver respect his power which made Tarver extremely cautious and timid (even more so then usual) and I think this was a direct result of his power training. I mean, look how physically impressive Hopkins appeared for that fight compared to Winky. There is an obvious difference there. Also, add to that Mackie Shilstone's comments about how the game plan was to physically hurt Tarver and to "break his jaw" lead me to believe this was a major emphasis in the game plan.

And to say hopkins got the decision because Tarver threw less is not giving the credit b-hop deserves for absolutely dominating Tarver for 12 rounds. Not in the same fashion as lets say Calzaghe vs Lacy, but it was a completely one sided event and Hopkins landed plenty of hard shots that stunned (or hurt) Tarver.