Is Bernard Hopkins a legend?

[larryx]

LOL, Hopkins is nothing more than a big fat joke who "claimed" his legacy by fighting blown up, overrated welterweights...

overated welterweights...you have no credibility on this forum you said hatton exsposed a man with over 60 fights

[KESSLER]

No.
BostonGuy, Howard Moon, JL FightFan, Left Hook Tua, Low Blow Armo, Police Mon!



Haters

[RAESAAD]

Wow.....I'm shocked at the poll results. I certainly think B-Hop was/is a great fighter and respect what he's accomplished.....especially since moving to LHW at 40 plus years old, but I just don't see him as legendary nor do I think he'll be talked about 30-40 years from now as a legendary of a fighter.

[Xplosivo]

-Currently ranked pound 4 pound #4 at age 44.

-Longest-ever reign as World Middleweight Champion (undefeated for 12 years between 1993 and 2005).

-Most title defenses as World Middleweight Champion (20).

-Oldest fighter in history to hold the World Middleweight Title.

-First man to unify the middleweight division since Marvin Hagler.

-Only man in history in any weight class to own WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, and Ring Belts together.

-Named 2001 Fighter of the Year by the BWAA, The Ring, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame

-The Ring magazine's pound 4 pound fighter in 2002 and 2004.

-In the Ring Magazine's top 10 pound 4 pound rankings for 9 years (1999-2009, did not make list in 2005).

-Two weight class champion (middle, light heavy)

-First man to beat (only man to ever KO) undefeated Glen Johnson

-At age 41 moved up from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight and dominated Antonio Tarver (4-1 underdog).

-At age 43 dominated the 17 year younger undisputed, undefeated middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (4-1 underdog).

-First man to KO/beat undefeated Tito Trinidad (6-1 underdog).

-First man to KO Oscar de la hoya.

-Fastest KO In World Middleweight Title Bout, twenty-four seconds (fastest knockout ever in an IBF title bout, and second fastest in a middleweight title bout.

Notable opponents: Kelly Pavlik, Joe Calzaghe, Winky Wright, Antonio Tarver, Jermain Taylor, Howard Eastman, Oscar De La Hoya, Robert Allen, William Joppy, Felix Trinidad, Keith Holmes, Antwun Echols, Glen Johnson, Roy Jones Jr

Add:

All loses were close and controversial except Jones Jr. while all wins were clear

Fought atleast 5 future Hall of Famer (Oscar,Tito,Roy,Calzaghe,Wright)+ 3 who have a chance to make it in the future (Pavlik, Taylor, Tarver)

Never been KO'd/Badly hurt

[Owlzfan84]

A boxing legend based on resume, absolutely. But honestly I never cared for any of his fights. the man has to be the most boring, ugly fighter i've ever seen. Sure he's had some great wins, a great resume, and he's a no brain hall of famer. You'd have to be the dumbest person on earth not to vote him in. but with that said, i never quite understood why people said he was crafty or so technical. He's a safety first fighter and a dirty one at that.

Hatton gets flamed all the time for holding, but Hopkins holds more then Hatton. Not to mention he headbutts as much as Evander holyfield. I've never been in aw over him like others. He doesnt do anything out of the ordinary and personally i never paid to watch him fight. He just doesnt bring any excitement factor in any of his fights. Its just hold, backup, potshot and hold some more.

I dont know, guess what i'm trying to say is, i'm never going to look back at old videos of Hopkins like i would for others.

[Scott9945]

I repeat... please dont utter Calzaghe's name in the same breath as Bhop.

Its extremelly disrespectful and is a sin.

Sorry, but Calzaghe won every fight he was in and he fought Hopkins as well. Both of them have had outstanding careers. Give both of them their due credit.

[cptroyce]

I never was a big fan of Hopkins and I'm not really sure why..but one cannot take away his accomplishments. His stats are there as are his skills..he made Pavlik look like a "school girl".

Absolutely one of the great ones.

[larryx]

Wow.....I'm shocked at the poll results. I certainly think B-Hop was/is a great fighter and respect what he's accomplished.....especially since moving to LHW at 40 plus years old, but I just don't see him as legendary nor do I think he'll be talked about 30-40 years from now as a legendary of a fighter.

**** yes he will..he have kids and introduce them to boxing..they know hopkins so why wouldnt he be talked about in 30-40 years???

[ИATAS]

Hatton gets flamed all the time for holding, but Hopkins holds more then Hatton. Not to mention he headbutts as much as Evander holyfield. I've never been in aw over him like others. He doesnt do anything out of the ordinary and personally i never paid to watch him fight. He just doesnt bring any excitement factor in any of his fights. Its just hold, backup, potshot and hold some more.
.

It defense of hopkins, he only started clinching/holding once he was old and had to alter his style. Look up videos of hopkins in the 90's, or even early 2000's. He was a monster.

[Trim0]

what's up with that idiotic ref?