Reality thread here "Bhop vs Calzaghe" No delusional post!!!

[STEELHEAD]

Calzaghe Hopkins has the potential to actually be a decent fight, but I would say that it would be a decent fight for 12 if Hopkins had a better work rate, but he doesnt and hasnt in years.
Honestly lets look at Hopkins losses, all of which came to the hands of guys who had a high work rate good handspeed decent power and good boxing skills. Jones and Taylor had Hopkins puzzled with speed & good combonation punching.
While Hopkins for the most part is a counter puncher. fighters who throw combonations the way Jones did and Taylor did, those guys, give a counter puncher problems all night becuase a counter puncher is only effective when they is throwing one or two shots not three or four the way Calzaghe does and has done.
though Hopkins is undefeated against south paws none of them had what Joe does, Winky a cautious counter puncher himself was able to make the fight close enough to build a case for himself, the fight was close but damn Winky is also smaller and up there in age himself a lot of wear on them tires as ATLAS would say.
Tarver however was a good win for Nard but to be honest with you Tarver wasnt himself that night, that isnt Hopkins fault that is Antonios fault if he had trouble making weight he has no one to blame, and if this was the case which I beleive it was it might send a false sense of security to Bernard going into this fight.
I really dont see How Hopkins is going to win here, in all honesty Joe just seems to have ever tool needed to beat Hopkins. if Hopkins should find a way to win this will lable Hopkins IMO as the best middleweight ever but can we call him that if this fight is taking place at lt Heavy?
in order for Hopkins to win this fight I think he has to fight Joe the way he did Echols in their rematch, he has to make this a rough street fight, but can he get away with that? I mean we know he has the skills and know how in order to do so but does he still have it today? has he somehow slipped into his grandpa slippers and robe over night? a close win over Winky doesnt say much neither does beating a weight drained Tarver, in the mean time Joe has been busy with the younger guys lately and has dominated them all.
in all reality if you are a true fan of this sport you know that Hopkins is not the man expected to win here based on logic, however based on what he has been able to do in the past make him a live guy.
but no way going into this fight is Hopkins the favored to win, I dont see that and if so the only reason he is favored is due to biasedness which happens in the sport.
one more week and I beleive Hopkins announces his retirement!

dam good post. agree with your assumptions.

http://www.bodoglife.com/sports-betting/boxing.jsp

[Bhopreign]

Wow then perhaps you missed those fights Mr Bhopreign, of course to you they didnt but look at who gave Bhop his losses

What do you considere a high workrate? Jones nor Taylor threw that many punches.

[warp1432]

You lost me early, because neither Jones nor Taylor have high work rates and especially not against Hopkins they didnt.

Exactly. Winky had a higher work rate against Hopkins then Taylor did...Bernard was just to inactive in the early rounds. Speed throws him off, but not high workrates.

that is Antonios fault if he had trouble making weight

Which is even suspect in the first place. Tarver had to lose fat for Hopkins and he had like 8 weeks to do so. I think it's more of an excuse then anything, just like how tarver's "steaks were poisoned"

It's not even really sure if Tarver was really 200 plus pounds anyway. There's a pic of him looking kinda fat during the "weigh in" during Rocky 6, but we don't know how much he weighed and he could have easily lost that during camp.

[RichCCFC]

Calzaghe is the favourite and rightfully so but the fight could go either way and it is easy to make a case for either fighter. In terms of competitiveness it should be engrossing but I'm not expecting a classic and it could get really messy in places.

I agree with this post.

Why can't everyone be so civil? You got Bhopreign going on about how Calzaghe has never fought anyone and Hopkins is going to destroy him and then you got xfiles ****ting all over Calzaghe not giving him an ounce of credit at all.

It's a close fight to call, get over it.

[Technical_Skill]

Here i can see what you mean.

My head says calzaghe has too much output for hopkins,

but i have a feeling says calzaghe doesnt understand what he is facing, hopkins its so boxing clever its unreal, he tends to find a way to neturalise a fighters strengths, and impose his own strengths on them.

If it goes into a boxing chess match, im gonna go with hopkins.

If the fight is at pace and more instinctive, it should be calzaghe.

[Johnny Rebel]

Why do people think that Calzaghe is going to fight Hopkins like Jirov fought Toney?

Calzaghe has never stood straight in front of any of his opponents and just winged punches non-stop leaving himself open to be countered all night like Jirov did.

Joe is going to come in at many different angles and also punch from them, while continuously moving like he always does.

Also people saying Hatton and Woods losses having an effect on the Calzaghe/Hopkins outcome is ridiculous. Those losses will have as much effect as Lacy's loss to Joe, none!

Calzaghe is going to win and you can take that to the bank.

[Bhopreign]

I agree with this post.

Why can't everyone be so civil? You got Bhopreign going on about how Calzaghe has never fought anyone and Hopkins is going to destroy him and then you got xfiles ****ting all over Calzaghe not giving him an ounce of credit at all.

It's a close fight to call, get over it.

Where did I say Calzaghe never fought anyone? Hate when people say things that dont exist.

[FRKO]

i mean tito was a guy who throws down and fights and he couldnt do it to hops.

calz will come in swinging wild

Tito was too small, though. Look at him! A fighter who's pretty much useless over 154. No way was he ever gonna beat Hopkins.

You really think Calzaghe is gonna come out swinging like a moron? He won't, I guarantee it. He will choose his shots more carefully, box with precision and great movement.

[FRKO]

You lost me early, because neither Jones nor Taylor have high work rates and especially not against Hopkins they didnt.

They have great speed, not high work rates.

[Technical_Skill]

Joe is going to come in at many different angles and also punch from them, while continuously moving like he always does.

Here's the problem, he comes in unbalanced because he jumps in and out firing multiple shots. When he comes in he doesnt do a great job of protecting himself either, he relies alot on reflexes. He is one fighter that i think is very susceptible to being 'timed out'. Timing beats speed if used correctly. (Like quintana timed out a high output paul williams with the left hand)

I hope calzaghe understand hopkins is very good at reading anything incoming from long or short distance, i think he'll look to parry calzaghe and inject with clinches, right hands and body shots whenever calzaghe tries to get off combinations.

I think it could turn into a chess match if and when calzaghe realises he cant hit bernard like the others and begins to out-think himself. Thats one way i see him losing the fight.