Originally posted by Dye
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The reason Berto over 43 year old Mayweather is not nearly as impressive as Calzaghe over 43 year old Hopkins is this:
Mayweather is a reflexes fighter. You can't tell me that you think his level of technique (which really isn't even ATG stuff) is going to keep him undefeated. When those reflexes go, he is going to have a similar downhill freefall that Roy Jones did before he switched his style up to a Winky Wright-type style. Jones doesn't even look all that great (once again not ATG stuff) when he uses the Wright style, but it has him beating people who are lower on the totem pole.
Hopkins on the other hand does not need to be young to do what he does. He avoids punishment, and throws the counter straight right hand beautifully. Him being 43 years old really only hurt him in that he wasn't super active, but by the end of the fight, his money punch (the straight right) wasn't landing almost at all. I don't think a younger Hopkins would have done any better against Calzaghe if he makes the same adjustment he did midway through the fight.
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