Will Joe C. really retire after ROY???????

[MELLY-MEL...]

Great to watch, lots of action, but I think it would end up being another clinic put on by Calzaghe.....unless he waited 2 years and came into the ring an old man. If the same Calzaghe that fought the last 2 years was in the ring against Pavlik, I'm afraid we'd see our boy Kelly with a brand new mark in his no-no column, and a lopsided decision for Calzaghe. That particular brand of Calzaghe is, for all intents and purposes, unbeatable in today's boxing world and his chosen weight classes.

eh, maybe, but i am giving kelly a decent shot, but yeah i think i may have to favor joe slightly. i wanna see his fight badly, and hope it really happens.

[abadger]

You know, the more I think about it, the more I begin to believe that Pavlik may be the final solution to Hopkins. I think he might possibly stop Bernard in mid-rounds (give or take a little either way) from sheer determination. He isn't going to give Hopkins any rest, and will stay on top of him from the start of every round, throwing non-stop. If he can keep Hopkins from tying up (and Pavlik's jab should do the trick nicely) and do his usual fantastic bodywork, I think he could wear Popkins out early (he'll be begging for a break by 5) and might not want to answer the bell by the 7th or 8th at the latest. I don't know if he can actually stop Hopkins with that bodywork, but then it wouldn't surprise me if he did. Still, I'd guess it more likely that Hopkins' corner would toss in the towel. I wouldn't mind seeing Pavlik send Hopkins into retirement, honestly. I've never liked the cheating bastard. Respected his abilities, yes, liked him, no.

I don't agree here. I think rumours of Hopkins demise have been greatly exaggerated. Since Joe everyone is talking about him like he's this ancient relic ready to give up the ghost at any time, but that isn't really how it is. He was very competitive with Joe for 10 rounds, albeit that his 'competitiveness' took the form of shutting down whatever Joe was doing. A lot of fight fans are used to seeing Bernard dominating fights and assume that he no longer can, but this overlooks the fact that no-one in Bernard's whole career ever pressurised him the way Calzaghe did, not only forcing Bernard to work at a high pace, but also ruining Bernard's stand-off, lunge in style.

Pavlik is capable of pressurising Bernard, of that I have no doubt, but I'm not at all sure that he will be able to prevent Bernard from doing his own boxing in the way Calzaghe did. First of all, Pavlik clearly does not have an iron chin, and after Bernard has lunged in and caught him a couple of times with those short rights he likes, Pavlik will have to pay him respect, which will play into Bernard's hands. Second, Pavlik is no Calzaghe on the technical front, will he be able to switch it up after Bernard works out how to time that one-two attack? I'm really not sure.

All in all I think asking a boxer like Pavlik to be the first guy to stop Bernard is a bit much, he's moving up in weight and the arguments I've outlined above I think show its unlikely he'll have it all his own way. That doesn't mean he won't win, in fact I think he will, if he puts the work in he will get the decision just as Jermain Taylor did. I Just think that people are underestimating Hopkins a little and are forgetting that the guy he just lost to was the P4P #2 in the world.

[Dan...]

I would be extremely surprised if Pavlik managed to stop Bernard. You just don't stop guys like Hopkins. I think Pavlik will definately beat him though. It is simply a matter of punch output.

[Stickman]

I don't agree here. I think rumours of Hopkins demise have been greatly exaggerated. Since Joe everyone is talking about him like he's this ancient relic ready to give up the ghost at any time, but that isn't really how it is. He was very competitive with Joe for 10 rounds, albeit that his 'competitiveness' took the form of shutting down whatever Joe was doing. A lot of fight fans are used to seeing Bernard dominating fights and assume that he no longer can, but this overlooks the fact that no-one in Bernard's whole career ever pressurised him the way Calzaghe did, not only forcing Bernard to work at a high pace, but also ruining Bernard's stand-off, lunge in style.

Pavlik is capable of pressurising Bernard, of that I have no doubt, but I'm not at all sure that he will be able to prevent Bernard from doing his own boxing in the way Calzaghe did. First of all, Pavlik clearly does not have an iron chin, and after Bernard has lunged in and caught him a couple of times with those short rights he likes, Pavlik will have to pay him respect, which will play into Bernard's hands. Second, Pavlik is no Calzaghe on the technical front, will he be able to switch it up after Bernard works out how to time that one-two attack? I'm really not sure.

All in all I think asking a boxer like Pavlik to be the first guy to stop Bernard is a bit much, he's moving up in weight and the arguments I've outlined above I think show its unlikely he'll have it all his own way. That doesn't mean he won't win, in fact I think he will, if he puts the work in he will get the decision just as Jermain Taylor did. I Just think that people are underestimating Hopkins a little and are forgetting that the guy he just lost to was the P4P #2 in the world.

I just think the timing is right, mostly. Hopkins was badly spent during the Calzaghe fight. He didn't show it, but his acting job when he faked the low blow to get the rest was deserving of a damned academy award, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities to think that he was hiding how tired he really was. Remember he's what....44 now? And I don't care how fit he is, he ain't keeping up with someone Pavlik's age who's in peak condition. Also, Pavlik is much bigger than Hopkins, and I think he could muscle him around a little if Hopkins did manage to clench and wear him out that much quicker.

As for Hopkins hurting Pavlik....he probably will catch him a few times, but remember; Hopkins' work rate is nearly non-existant these days, and I just don't see him throwing much, and even if that weren't the case....Hopkins has NEVER been a big puncher, whatever the blinded fanbase may think. Add to that Pavlik's reach advantage, great jab, superb bodywork (Kelly's work ethic is second to none, and easily on par with Calzaghe's) and I begin to think Hopkins may very well have reached the end of his road in that beanpole from PA. I sure hope so. I think I'll probably even put a $50 bill on the kid to win by TKO before the starting bell of the 10th, just to see if I can get in a long-odds win this year. I didn't get to bet on Cotto/Marg, and couldn't get the odds I wanted on Calzaghe/Kessler. The last time I hit big with great odds was when I picked Winky to turn Tito into a clown for 12 and take a wide UD. Made an embarassingly large amount of cash on that fight. Makes me all warm and fuzzy just remembering it.

[fightnews55]

I don't agree here. I think rumours of Hopkins demise have been greatly exaggerated. Since Joe everyone is talking about him like he's this ancient relic ready to give up the ghost at any time, but that isn't really how it is. He was very competitive with Joe for 10 rounds, albeit that his 'competitiveness' took the form of shutting down whatever Joe was doing. A lot of fight fans are used to seeing Bernard dominating fights and assume that he no longer can, but this overlooks the fact that no-one in Bernard's whole career ever pressurised him the way Calzaghe did, not only forcing Bernard to work at a high pace, but also ruining Bernard's stand-off, lunge in style.

Pavlik is capable of pressurising Bernard, of that I have no doubt, but I'm not at all sure that he will be able to prevent Bernard from doing his own boxing in the way Calzaghe did. First of all, Pavlik clearly does not have an iron chin, and after Bernard has lunged in and caught him a couple of times with those short rights he likes, Pavlik will have to pay him respect, which will play into Bernard's hands. Second, Pavlik is no Calzaghe on the technical front, will he be able to switch it up after Bernard works out how to time that one-two attack? I'm really not sure.

All in all I think asking a boxer like Pavlik to be the first guy to stop Bernard is a bit much, he's moving up in weight and the arguments I've outlined above I think show its unlikely he'll have it all his own way. That doesn't mean he won't win, in fact I think he will, if he puts the work in he will get the decision just as Jermain Taylor did. I Just think that people are underestimating Hopkins a little and are forgetting that the guy he just lost to was the P4P #2 in the world.

That's because you're a nut hugger.

[Gojira]

once joe and ricky retire im going to change my username. ill look a right noob if i dont.

[alt-mellow]

thoughts, discuss, and vote.

if he does.. hes dumb.... now its the time for him to make millions! not that he hastnt make them... but at least he got 3 more big big paydays

[Miyagi]

i dont think so. there are other good fights where he can make lots of money after jones.

[TruJoker1]

No he won't retire! He won't be able to go out on the ass whipping Jone's is going to put on him. He can't go out like that.

[Kris Silver]

I think it's a lot more likely that Calzaghe will retire then people realise or like to think. He's planned for a few years now to retire round about this time. Infact the last couple of years he's pretty much aimed to retire on his 46th fight, which is coming up. Although he does contradict himself and say he might fight on which gives some people hope, I think you have to look at it from a different angle. First, he's not Mayweather or Lacy, i.e he's not as blazay about talking and sticking to retirement as they are, so don't use being conditioned by others behaviour and not sticking to retirement, as a benchmark for someone else.

He's quite likely just holding onto his belt, and leaving it as an option to no retire and fight on. Doesn't mean he will however, just that he may aswell leave his options open and keep the belt a little longer. Overall and especially lately, his language and words have suggested he's serious about retiring. He's not scared of Pavlik and has talked of fighting him purely for that reason, he knows he can beat him. You don't talk of fighting someone quite seriously at times if your scared of them, so forget that one guys, or the ducking malarky, it's just sad.

As for speculation on whethere he'd fight on based on his next performance, well it's just that, speculation.

It might be easy to say if he fights and wins well against Roy he's more likely to fight on because he's performing well still.

However, recently he's actually said he wants to go out on a top performance, so if he doesn't produce that against Roy it's then he's more likely to fight on. So the opposite to what you might think.

He's suggested he's concerned he's getting more injuries, cuts now so might stop if either of those things happen or he feels he's slipped significantly more.

So it works both ways. It's easy to say these things are contradictory, but it's based on his performance level on the night itself (not necessarily a parameter of his level ongoing) that's the largest factor. Plus his motivation which he can't predict. He wants an ideal top performance to go out on. He may well get it and Roy Jones in NY on the fight he planned as he's last, at 36 is very suitable to retire on, respectably.