bernard hopkins cannot beat chad dawson.

[Grand Champ]

DAwson over B-Hop? Get outta here..! Hopkins is too much of a handfull for Dawson..! He would ruin Dawsons rhytm completely and counter him through amazing ring generalship, defence and experience..! Dawson would be frustrated as hell and that would be the end of him - B-Hop by a big UD.

[IMDAZED]

I think Hopkins would just do like he did to Kelly and shut Dawson down every time Chad tries to get a rhythm going. Chad would look to throw combos and all Bernard would have to do is feint to set Dawson back to square one. He does that, and picks his spots in between all night to earn a decision.

Nice point madvillian. I still favor Dawson though...not by much. Here's why:

Much has been made over Hopkins' being green when he was 28 (huh?) but defensively, he was excellent even then. He consistently blocked Jones' combinations while making others miss altogether.

What Jones did, however, was throw combos anyway. Hell, they looked nice. And he also switched speeds on single shots (like the straight right) where his quickness advantage would come into play.

I think Dawson can do the same. Throw the combos anyway. Pump the jab. He won't be very effective but he can outwork Hops.

[AntonTheMeh]

Dawson was not impressive against Tarver, Hopkins was. Dawson fights like a less skilled Winky wright, Hopkins would ruin him. They should go for it.

tarver was coming down from heavy for his fantasy fight with rocky.the tarver dawson beat, put the beats on woods.

[AntonTheMeh]

DAwson over B-Hop? Get outta here..! Hopkins is too much of a handfull for Dawson..! He would ruin Dawsons rhytm completely and counter him through amazing ring generalship, defence and experience..! Dawson would be frustrated as hell and that would be the end of him - B-Hop by a big UD.

you point out everything you think hop would do, and nothing about anything dawson would do, i wonder why??????????????

[Madvillain]

Nice point madvillian. I still favor Dawson though...not by much. Here's why:

Much has been made over Hopkins' being green when he was 28 (huh?) but defensively, he was excellent even then. He consistently blocked Jones' combinations while making others miss altogether.

What Jones did, however, was throw combos anyway. Hell, they looked nice. And he also switched speeds on single shots (like the straight right) where his quickness advantage would come into play.

I think Dawson can do the same. Throw the combos anyway. Pump the jab. He won't be very effective but he can outwork Hops.

You might be right on that. It really all depends on if Hopkins can get Dawson to bite everytime by feinting or if Chad will try to brave through it instead of what might be the natural reaction of going to defending himself.

Hopkins is one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. He's the only guy I know whose defense consists of bending to a 90° angle, look at the floor, cover himself, and walk backwards. His defense won't allow him to get hurt by Chad.

[Grand Champ]

you point out everything you think hop would do, and nothing about anything dawson would do, i wonder why??????????????

That's because he wouldn't do ****..! Just standing there like a frustrated Tarver cuz he can't land ****. When he attacks, Hopkins would be out of reach, when he would be wondering how to land a punch, hopkins would be in his face (probably throwing a headbutt or two in there just for good measures).

[IMDAZED]

You might be right on that. It really all depends on if Hopkins can get Dawson to bite everytime by feinting or if Chad will try to brave through it instead of what might be the natural reaction of going to defending himself.

Hopkins is one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. He's the only guy I know whose defense consists of bending to a 90° angle, look at the floor, covering himself, and walking backwards. His defense won't allow him to get hurt by Chad.

Yeah seriously. What can you say about Hopkins? His defense is just...scary. Even at this age.

You know something? People don't believe it but Hopkins really HAS slipped. It shows in his punch output, his offense, his approach. I remember even fighters talking about it as far back as the Joppy/Eastman fights. But his defense is so incredible that it's kept him alive, and allowed him to tailor the rest of the game to suit. But one other key ingredient is his brain. As long as his mind is still sharp, he'll always have the right game plan. But, eventually, it'll get tougher and tougher for the "Executioner" to execute.

[Grand Champ]

You also need to remember that nobody have ever convincingly beaten Bernard since 1993.. 2 close matches against Taylor when he started out too late and a SD to Calzaghe. He's a beast in the ring even at 43

[The_Visitation]

I disagree.

Dawson is talented but has never faced anyone as skilled as Hopkins. Hopkins defense, footwork, ring smarts, right hand and counters will trouble Dawson.

I think Hopkins power and dirty tactics could trouble Dawson also.

What he said. B-Hop by convincing UD.

[Madvillain]

Yeah seriously. What can you say about Hopkins? His defense is just...scary. Even at this age.

You know something? People don't believe it but Hopkins really HAS slipped. It shows in his punch output, his offense, his approach. I remember even fighters talking about it as far back as the Joppy/Eastman fights. But his defense is so incredible that it's kept him alive, and allowed him to tailor the rest of the game to suit. But one other key ingredient is his brain. As long as his mind is still sharp, he'll always have the right game plan. But, eventually, it'll get tougher and tougher for the "Executioner" to execute.

You're absolutely right. I was trying to think back to something Manny Stewart had said was the key to beating him, and it kept playing in my head at "Outlast him" but that didn't make any sense to me because Hopkins can go all week due to his stellar defense. But what you just said filled in the blank from that memory. They key to beating him isn't "Outlast him" it's "Outwork him".

The old saying is actually true in this case. When you're fighting Bernard, the best defense is a good offense. Keep him from throwing punches and don't get discouraged that you're not hurting him. Don't look for the knockout, settle for a decision.

You get a gold star bro.