Comments Thread For: Bernard Hopkins: Contender Emeritus?

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  • BIGPOPPAPUMP
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    #1

    Comments Thread For: Bernard Hopkins: Contender Emeritus?

    By Cliff Rold - Atop most of the notable non-sanctioning body ratings at Light Heavyweight, two men occupy the top slots: Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. *********, SecondsOut, and the U.K.-based Boxing Monthly have Hopkins currently at the number one spot; Ring Magazine and ESPN have Dawson up top.

    One of them clearly belongs.

    The other one signed for a rematch with Roy Jones Jr. earlier this month and warrants a closer look.

    Thankfully for history buffs, and even they were among those who couldn’t get past the absurdity of Zsolt Erdei’s place as lineal champion, Erdei’s decision to return to the Light Heavyweight division after vacating his WBO belt to pursue Cruiserweight honors doesn’t undo the vacancy he left behind at 175 lbs. The sole link he had to the lineage of the crown, traced to Virgil Hill’s 1996 win over Henry Maske, was severed in November 2009.

    The popular claim to Light Heavyweight supremacy was laid to rest even earlier last year. When he elected to retire, Joe Calzaghe took the Ring Magazine title with him. That was the claim linked to Roy Jones’s unification of the WBC, WBA and IBF belts from 1997-99. It was also, in terms of talent, always the superior line of champions. Jones, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, and Bernard Hopkins all took their turns. [Click Here To Read More]
  • Mr. David
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    #2
    Good piece, Cliff, something I'd been thinking about when looking at rankings. I agree with you that Hopkins doesn't belong up top anymore. I'm not sure about Cloud, though. Should there be a point in some division's rankings where "what they've done" is balanced out by who you think is better? I tend to favor "what they've done," but I'm still not sold on Cloud.

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    • ghidra
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      #3
      Nice read.

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      • ИATAS
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        #4
        I'm sure hopkins at this point doesn't care about his ranking. I mean chad dawson's last three fights hasn't even sold 5,000 tickets. Good money elsewhere for old man hopkins

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        • Tiozzo
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          #5
          To summarize the article, we could say it's damn hard to rank the top light-heavyweights of the world because THE FIGHTS THAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAVE NOT HAPPENED. The rematch with Tarver hurt Dawson's claim at the top spot, but Hopkins has been fighting guys coming up, beat a weak Tarver and lost to Joe C., and still doesn't want to face Dawson . Erdei is a european and he's happy with beating bums over there. I think that among the best at light-heavy, Pascal belong near the top . Here is my rating :

          1. Dawson
          2. Hopkins
          3. Pascal
          4. Cloud
          5. Johnson

          And I hope Mack beats Johnson and take his spot. There are too many grandpas in the division.

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          • Lacrimosa
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            #6
            Nice article. LHW is one of the not-as-good-as-others divisions in boxing... IMO the HW division is much better.

            LHWs need their king, who, right now, can become one after Dawson-Hopkins or Dawson-Pascal fights... I don`t really count Zsolt Erdei... is there anybody who does?

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            • Dambala
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              #7
              Great article. I think Hopkins receive too much sympathy because of his age and I really admire that, I'm ok if he wants to take on soft competition until he retires but having him at the top of the division without facing a top contender or fighting at all it's disgusting. On the other hand is Erdei, he's just an embarrassment, he must fight a real contender or retire for good. Dawso is the real deal but he's really unlucky and very underappreciated.

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              • infamous larryx
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                #8
                Originally posted by ИATAS206
                I'm sure hopkins at this point doesn't care about his ranking. I mean chad dawson's last three fights hasn't even sold 5,000 tickets. Good money elsewhere for old man hopkins
                damn..everyone on here is biased when it comes to their favorite fighter..had this article been talking about anyone other than hopis..natas wouldve posted a completly differant statement...

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                • infamous larryx
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                  #9
                  hopkins can fight who he wants..but he shouldnt be ranked in the division if he isnt gonna fight others in the diviision

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                  • 2501
                    upinurgirlsguts
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                    #10
                    Dawson is the GOAT.

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