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

[sparked_85]

Let me state this one more time so where all clear. There is NOTHING Calzaghe can do to beat Bernard. He can't out fight him, He can't out strength him, He can't out think him. Those tap flurries Joe has been so successful with are going to be meaningless against Hopkins. When this fight is over Calzaghe is going to go in the category of Trinidad where nobody can understand how they ever thought Calzaghe could win. I absolutely guarantee it!

LOL. This guy does go all out to be fair.

I think he probably believes he could beat Calzaghe, lol.

If Hopkins does win, this guys heart will stop, he will get sick and climax at the same time, and he will be hospitalised, no one can deal with that level of unadulterated joy.

I don't get what people get out of hating a boxer so much. It's weird.

Though I hate Ottke. lol.

[SkilledB]

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

i this was gonna be my post, took the words right out of my mouth, RJ and Taylor have had high work rates in the past but b-hop cut it short in those fights,but he still lost, but Calz is no RJJ and i personally think taylor has enough left in the tank to give Joe a run for his money. this will be a hell of a fight, calz hasnt had an opponent on hopkins level yet, we will see a great fight.

[sparked_85]

I still believe Hopkins will have to significantly increase his work rate even if he significantly reduces Joes.

Still.

Unless he wobbles him repeatedly or knocks Joe out.

[bluemax]

Being pretty good at handicapping fights I find this fight actually fairly easy to predict. Calzaghe should be the prohibited favorite to outpoint Hopkins by a pretty large margin. I fully expect Hopkins to hit Calzaghe low and to use a few elbows. Hopkins was a great fighter and even when in his prime was known for shall we say doing what ever he had to in order to win the fight. Based on Hopkins work rate history in the last 4 years or so he simply can not maintain Calzaghe's workrate and is not a hard enough puncher to turn the fight on one punch. Hopkins was known to wear down his opponents and finish them in the mid to later rounds, thats not going to happen this time unless Calzaghe gets old over night and shows up a shadow of his former self and I don't believe that's going to happen.

[TintaBoricua]

I love Hopkins...he easily comes off as a mentally tough fighter. He's not fake, it's hard to envision him being stopped or knocked out. I'm pulling for him in this one, even though I can see it with Calzaghe winning it by decision.

BTW, has Hopkins EVER been knocked DOWN in his career? Curious.

[MELLY-MEL...]

joe calzaghe ud, 8 rounds to 4.

[sparked_85]

Hopkins got knocked down by that guy in Ecuador or wherever.

But seeing as he was fighting at high altitude im sure that effects you. Which is why Ecuadors ****ty football/soccer team can beat Brazil repeatedly when playing at home.

[RichCCFC]

Sergundo Mercado knocked him down twice.

[MickyHatton]

I think Hopkins is being underrated in this fight by many people.

Let's face it, at age 43 Hopkins SHOULD be past his best, but he has little mileage in the form of wars, and he trains like a FREAK, stays healthy, goes to bed early, does constant roadwork, and has made subtle changes in his style to combat the effects of age on his body.

Against Wink he was fighting someone younger, faster, fitter and he changed his style from the Tarver match to be almost mechanically efficient with his punch output, conserving energy for the later rounds and taking the snap out of Wink's punches by taking half-steps back and spending much time moving laterally along the ropes and not standing still.

Against Calzaghe this will work because Joe's never fought a fighter like that (Lacy and Kessler were both one-dimensional plodders; Eubank was way past it and with a ton of mileage on the clock in 97), and even if he deals well with it, there's no way you can look spectacular against that style. Jermain went 2-0 against Hop and still looked quite mediocre in both of those fights because of Nard's awkwardness.

Also I get the feeling Calzaghe will suffer from the same overeagerness Hatton had in his fight with Mayweather. With so much to prove and so much expectation he'll try to establish himself early and - always -Hopkins is a very difficult man to 'establish' yourself against because he takes such little clean punches and has such a great defence.

Calzaghe's blusters of punches will do nothing to Hopkins - most of them won't even land as Hop will be on the move, and his high guard is one of the best defences in the business. Calzaghe meanwhile is vulnerable to the uppercut and straight right (perfect against southies)

Hopkins will shut Joe down

You know as much as I think JC will win this I agree with some of this post.
Calzaghe cannot expect to throw dozens of shots, get in and out of range and expect Hopkins to accept that, he is far too good.

I agree that Lacy is/was one dimensional but Kessler isn't, trust me he is an excellent fighter.

Joe's hardest test IMO came against a 'prime' Robin Reid, OK Joe broke his left hand early on but the blue print on how to beat Joe was there. Reid was counter punching yet asserting a heavy work rate.

As I say I expect JC to win but I also expect Hopkins to play a big part in the fight and I see a close UD win for Joe.

[sparked_85]

You know as much as I think JC will win this I agree with some of this post.
Calzaghe cannot expect to throw dozens of shots, get in and out of range and expect Hopkins to accept that, he is far too good.

I agree that Lacy is/was one dimensional but Kessler isn't, trust me he is an excellent fighter.

Joe's hardest test IMO came against a 'prime' Robin Reid, OK Joe broke his left hand early on but the blue print on how to beat Joe was there. Reid was counter punching yet asserting a heavy work rate.

As I say I expect JC to win but I also expect Hopkins to play a big part in the fight and I see a close UD win for Joe.

I agree with this. Robin Reid was the guy who should've beat Calzaghe. He was a very good fighter then and got almost everything right that night, and he still lost.

You need a workrate to beat Joe or the kind of power that melts peoples faces when you walk into a room. I'm not ruling out a Hopkins KO but it's ****ing doubtful, like Wigan stuffing Chelsea at stamford bridge kind of doubtful.