If Calzaghe fought at MW Hop would never have been champ

[S A M U R A I]

One of those fights could have gone either way. Fact is almost all of press row scored it for a 43 year old man.

Was Mackie Shilstone telling the truth when he said Hopkins has the body of a 28 year-old athlete, or should 'Nard ask for a refund?

The fact is, that 43 year-old man was pound for pound #3 in the world at the time. Hoipkins, as we all know is a freak of nature, therefore using his age to accent your point doesn't really work. No offense, Bully. The fact is Hopkins is still good, as proven by the following fight in which he destroyed Kelly Pavlik. All of a sudden he's back on top, people are saying he schools Dawson, where the **** is Joe Calzaghe, Bernard deserves a rematch, he'll teach Joe a lesson! And so on...

But anyway. Bernard Hopkins is still a great fighter. I'd pick him to beat pretty much anyone around his weight class, including Adamek at Cruiserweight.



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[lparm]

Like who barely anyone had that for Oscar, whereas almost all in press row had it for Hopkins.

I guess the most important question is, how did the judges score it?

[Chase8400]

Late replacement for Thomas Tate!

I rest mine.

Branko Sobot
Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra
Rick Thornberry
Richie Woodhall
Will McIntyre
Charles Brewer
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Mger Mkrtchyan
Byron Mitchell
Kabary Salem
Evans Ashira
Peter Manfredo Jr

Still resting? All title fights in physical prime.

Excuses?

I'm not trying to dog you guys, but I don't see anything on his record that makes me think he did anything notable besides beat a good but old/limited fighter in Eubank while Jones and Hopkins were the king and prince of boxing at or around Joes weight.

[street bully]

Was Mackie Shilstone telling the truth when he said Hopkins has the body of a 28 year-old athlete, or should 'Nard ask for a refund?

The fact is, that 43 year-old man was pound for pound #3 in the world at the time. Hoipkins, as we all know is a freak of nature, therefore using his age to accent your point doesn't really work. No offense, Bully. The fact is Hopkins is still good, as proven by the following fight in which he destroyed Kelly Pavlik. All of a sudden he's back on top, people are saying he schools Dawson, where the **** is Joe Calzaghe, Bernard deserves a rematch, he'll teach Joe a lesson! And so on...

But anyway. Bernard Hopkins is still a great fighter. I'd pick him to beat pretty much anyone around his weight class, including Adamek at Cruiserweight.

Joe is a great talent, and I always give him his props, but to say is he was a middleweight Hopkins would never be champ is asinine.

[Chase8400]

So I guess the aging Calzaghe was prime in that fight then huh? It was 2 older guys and the better guy won and he did it in this country without any question of hometown judges.

Joe never showed any signs mentally or physically that indicated him not being at his very best all the way up until his last fight. That's a weak ass argument. Vitali is every bit as good or better than he ever was @ 38 smart fellow.

Seriously, I gotta ask. Are you taking the piss on here for fun, because i've almost never seen a thread seem so much like it, and not be it before, if you aren't.

[S A M U R A I]

When did Calzaghe's prime end? Nobody would say it ended when he took apart Kessler...

Maybe Bernard just made him look old?

Nobody seems to know when Calzaghe's prime was. You could say it was when he took Lacy apart (2006) but at that point his hands had been smashed up for a few years, so to say he was at his physical prime would be arguable. The injuries go back as far as age 14.

I think he matured in the ring late in his career -- in 2006 he was mentally very sharp and could still take a good punch, but his physical prime and the point at which he was hitting hardest came earlier on, closer to the time he fought Eubank (1997).

There's no clear point at which you could say he had reached his prime. One thing, though: By 2007, after fighting Kessler, I think Joe had achieved everything (and more) that he wanted to achieve as a fighter. In my opinion, this is an important time in the life of a fighter because their drive and hunger decline.

As for Bernard making him look old, well you could say he did. On the other hand, both Calzaghe and Hopkins made each other look like garbage, and I feel it would be the same every time they fought, no matter how many times. Each style nullifies the other, it's just bad chemistry! Put it this way, I have never seen either of them look so bad in any other fight -- they bring out the worst in each other.



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[S A M U R A I]

How was Calzaghe not in his prime? Everyone said he was at his best from Lacy-Kessler, and then when Hopkins makes him look bad he is suddenly past prime, only to look great in his next fight? Calzaghe peaked in his 30s and was 36. At that age Hopkins beat Tito down and was considered prime.

Don't forget hopkins started later as a pro. Joe was boxing from a very early age.



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[S A M U R A I]

Joe never showed any signs mentally or physically that indicated him not being at his very best all the way up until his last fight. That's a weak ass argument. Vitali is every bit as good or better than he ever was @ 38 smart fellow.

Seriously, I gotta ask. Are you taking the piss on here for fun, because i've almost never seen a thread seem so much like it, and not be it before, if you aren't.

Man, you gotta be kidding? Joe can't punch for **** in the Hopkins fight for starters -- his hands are wrecked. Isn't this obvious? He was OK in the Jones fight until his left broke in the 7th round.You can't seriously say he was at his best.



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[street bully]

Don't forget hopkins started later as a pro. Joe was boxing from a very early age.

This is true, a lot of this had to do with him being in prison though, and not being able to continue his career, other than beating on inmates. However, while Calzaghe might have hit a bit harder, but I don't think anyone would consider him a puncher he was no where near as good then as he is now. He didn't even throw nearly as many combos then and did get hit quite a bit. Fact is todays Calzaghe would have destroyed the version of Eubank he fought back then, whereas he was taken into the trenches in that fight and passed out afterward. If anything the shoe shine style he adapted was the best thing to happen for him, and IMO he reached his peak in 2005 and it lasted until he retired in 2009. This is when he started pulling away from the competition and performing on the level of greats.

[starjammer]

Man, you gotta be kidding? Joe can't punch for **** in the Hopkins fight for starters -- his hands are wrecked. Isn't this obvious? He was OK in the Jones fight until his left broke in the 7th round.You can't seriously say he was at his best.

Must have been mad frustrating for him fighting with hands like that - its like they were made of chalk or something towards end of his career.

People say he never had damaged hands, well...

2001 - These were some thudding slaps I'll tell you