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abadger, terrific posts, the most factual, well put posts I think I've seen on this board in my few months here.
I concur with every single point in your answers to the thread starters questions/statements, and theyre not overly biased like many posts on this fight.
The only thing I'd re-iterate, is how mentally strong Calzaghe is, which people don't seem to recognise and think Hopkins is mentally stronger. OK prison time is a big thing in a persons life, very hitting to hear about also. I'm not wanting to draw comparisons, but Joes over come his own hardships in life, is mentally strong and deterined too, from other events in his life, allbeit not as immediately as hard hitting or easily described. Take a look at the video doc of Joe at 19 years old. Degsy made the great point of a reason for it's grimey, moody feel.
"They were if you were Welsh, with recession, Mining dissappearing from the area, unemployment....Boxing would seem the ideal way to break out of the area (although Joe still lives there)."
This is all very true, I'm half welsh, always lived in London, have family members in South Wales, some of which from mining communities at that time. There often was a gloomy, grey atmosphere, or a least a lack of hope for job and financial security, the economy, which can't be judged unless experienced, I feel I've only experienced 5% of what it was like, by going there since, hearing from relatives and seeing the effects that time had on communities. It's often also mis interpreted, and produces great, strong, and creative people. Gloomy weather, moods, business, working conditions and more, are sometimes cited reasons for a lot of good deep music coming out of the UK, it's the atmosphere that inspires. Couple that with what Degsby even touches on as to Newbridge at that time, then it's effecs on some peoples personality, creativeness, dedication, determination, can be multiplied.
The gloomy dingey Newbridge gym has given reason and focus to many good men and sports men spanning over a decade. It's taken Joe to where he is today, aided Bradley Pryce in moving on from his alcohol abuse, focusing on changing and bettering himself as a man and sports man. It's given reason to every boxer in that gym and many untold stories, with Enzo a inspirational father esk figure in there. Meanwhile he moans the boys don't pay up all the time, it's colder in there than outside, the walls are grubby, facilities not what you'd expect at this level.
Rarely do you see training video's from a professional sportsmen, running in the cold, in a tracksuit, through valleys, streets, and housing estates, or stood beside a sub standard, professional gym. It's quite Rocky esk imo and very inspirational.
It's why Joe's so mentally strong and tough, in different ways. He's also over come injuries, even during fights had to persevere having gotten over food poisoning, injured elbows, hands, divorce, he's battled on, and is still the same old local Joe going to the same local barber.
Watch enough documentaries and you get an insight into his pyschology, for me, no way is he any less mentally strong or determinded than Hopkins, no way. If anything he's more so massively, just in a more introverted unspoken ways like perhaps Cotto (another talking up slightly more recently).
Joe is going in hard for this, he won't stall like Woods, he's going to war, he'll take whatever Bernards got, hits, elbows, headbutts, will get up and battle on, and come through this, one way or another. Every documentary, previous fight, and his history shows that's what he'll do. Not that I have many points, but yes, I will bet all of them on Joe :-)
I concur with every single point in your answers to the thread starters questions/statements, and theyre not overly biased like many posts on this fight.
The only thing I'd re-iterate, is how mentally strong Calzaghe is, which people don't seem to recognise and think Hopkins is mentally stronger. OK prison time is a big thing in a persons life, very hitting to hear about also. I'm not wanting to draw comparisons, but Joes over come his own hardships in life, is mentally strong and deterined too, from other events in his life, allbeit not as immediately as hard hitting or easily described. Take a look at the video doc of Joe at 19 years old. Degsy made the great point of a reason for it's grimey, moody feel.
"They were if you were Welsh, with recession, Mining dissappearing from the area, unemployment....Boxing would seem the ideal way to break out of the area (although Joe still lives there)."
This is all very true, I'm half welsh, always lived in London, have family members in South Wales, some of which from mining communities at that time. There often was a gloomy, grey atmosphere, or a least a lack of hope for job and financial security, the economy, which can't be judged unless experienced, I feel I've only experienced 5% of what it was like, by going there since, hearing from relatives and seeing the effects that time had on communities. It's often also mis interpreted, and produces great, strong, and creative people. Gloomy weather, moods, business, working conditions and more, are sometimes cited reasons for a lot of good deep music coming out of the UK, it's the atmosphere that inspires. Couple that with what Degsby even touches on as to Newbridge at that time, then it's effecs on some peoples personality, creativeness, dedication, determination, can be multiplied.
The gloomy dingey Newbridge gym has given reason and focus to many good men and sports men spanning over a decade. It's taken Joe to where he is today, aided Bradley Pryce in moving on from his alcohol abuse, focusing on changing and bettering himself as a man and sports man. It's given reason to every boxer in that gym and many untold stories, with Enzo a inspirational father esk figure in there. Meanwhile he moans the boys don't pay up all the time, it's colder in there than outside, the walls are grubby, facilities not what you'd expect at this level.
Rarely do you see training video's from a professional sportsmen, running in the cold, in a tracksuit, through valleys, streets, and housing estates, or stood beside a sub standard, professional gym. It's quite Rocky esk imo and very inspirational.
It's why Joe's so mentally strong and tough, in different ways. He's also over come injuries, even during fights had to persevere having gotten over food poisoning, injured elbows, hands, divorce, he's battled on, and is still the same old local Joe going to the same local barber.
Watch enough documentaries and you get an insight into his pyschology, for me, no way is he any less mentally strong or determinded than Hopkins, no way. If anything he's more so massively, just in a more introverted unspoken ways like perhaps Cotto (another talking up slightly more recently).
Joe is going in hard for this, he won't stall like Woods, he's going to war, he'll take whatever Bernards got, hits, elbows, headbutts, will get up and battle on, and come through this, one way or another. Every documentary, previous fight, and his history shows that's what he'll do. Not that I have many points, but yes, I will bet all of them on Joe :-)
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