Is Hopkins now better than the Hopkins that fought Taylor?

[Larry the boss]

Is the Hopkins that fought Pascal better than the 1 that fought Jermain Taylor?

[daggum]

how can he be better after that savage beating calzaghe put on him?

[gayfish]

how can you be this dumb seriously?

[GreatestIam]

healthier and undrained... so ya he's better

[Mr. Philadel]

JT gets beat up by B.Hop today....making 160 was becoming a problem for B.Hop....he's a dude who prides himself on staying in shape so he'll NEVER admit it.....he fought good enough to win the first fight imo.....I can't stand the way he fought the rematch...just so dam stubborn...smh....with JT you have to take chances....those chances have been proven to pay off...IMO. B.Hop wasn't strong enough to fight the fight needed....you have to grind JT down...and NOONE in the game grinds cats down better than a prime B.Hop....so IMO, B.Hop today, is MUCH stronger, which makes him better imo

[King Jaffe Joffer]

Now that hes on peds he is

[NinjaMan!]

Is the Hopkins that fought Pascal better than the 1 that fought Jermain Taylor?

hes not better he just out grew 160. he wasnt at his best making 160 at that time

[slicksouthpaw16]

I guess he out grew 175 when he was decisioned by Calzaghe and will out grow it again in 2 weeks when he loses to Dawson as well. Styles makes fights. Taylor was a boxer by nature who fought young. He threw flurries, used his feet, countered a little bit, jabbed ect and that is Hopkins kryptonite. He doesn't react well to a bigger (or at least the same size) boxers that has speed and good fundamentals because it gives him too much to think about. Hes at his best when hes exposing a flawed fighter that has either a dominant hand that he can neutralize or horrible defense. I mean he looks great doing it and i root for him a lot, but he didn't have that luxury against good boxers such as Jones, Jermaine, Joe and he won't have it against Dawson.

He moved to light heavyweight because he seen one of those flaws in Tarver and the division was absolute crap at the time. Hopkins was always the type that kept himself in tip top shape and in all of his middleweight fights, I've never seen him show any physical signs of weight drain.

[Mr. Philadel]

I guess he out grew 175 when he was decisioned by Calzaghe and will out grow it again in 2 weeks when he loses to Dawson as well. Styles makes fights. Taylor was a boxer by nature who fought young. He threw flurries, used his feet, countered a little bit, jabbed ect and that is Hopkins kryptonite. He doesn't react well to a bigger (or at least the same size) boxers that has speed and good fundamentals because it gives him too much to think about. Hes at his best when hes exposing a flawed fighter that has either a dominant hand that he can neutralize or horrible defense. I mean he looks great doing it and i root for him a lot, but he didn't have that luxury against good boxers such as Jones, Jermaine, Joe and he won't have it against Dawson.

He moved to light heavyweight because he seen one of those flaws in Tarver and the division was absolute crap at the time. Hopkins was always the type that kept himself in tip top shape and in all of his middleweight fights, I've never seen him show any physical signs of weight drain.

regardless of our different opinions on this one...you one of the dudes I respect alot on here...always dropping ***els!!....I understand your point completely about the big dude with solid skills...there's some truth to that....it is what it is....but Chad is a one handed fighter...take away his lead hand and then what?!?....this is right down B.Hop's lane....Chad is too right hand dominat...you know it, I know it so of course Team Hopkins knows this....Chad throwing 80-90 punches around sounds good....but we all know he aint built like that...Chad is not one of the best conditioned dude in the division...he tends to take too many breaks and fades late imo.....halla back Slick....I know you got a hot rebutal

[Brother Jay]

Is the Hopkins that fought Pascal better than the 1 that fought Jermain Taylor?

This is another shallow thread.

At Hopkins' age, fighters don't get "better". In fact, most pro fighters don't "get" better after their first 5 or 6 years as a pro. Lennox Lewis is one of those exceptions ONLY due to the fact that he stopped fighting and started living behind his jab and constantly clinching on the inside. I think his last fight against Vitali was literally the first time in years I saw him fight.

Hopkins isn't any better than he was against Taylor.

Styles make fights. Pascal is not the offensive type of fighter that Taylor was before he fell apart. Pascal only rose to fame because Dawson fought tentatively against him and made a late rally that just wasn't enough.

That fight opened up a 2 fight deal for Hopkins to shine in, as his style is exactly the kind of style that can make most non-slick boxers look like asss. We saw that against Pavlik.

Hopkins has always had an awkward style because he rarely if ever commits. He has no real punching power, but he is the epitome of tenacity.

Hopkins' skills have not changed and therefore have not improved.

Hopkins' approach to boxing has not changed and therefore has not improved.

The only thing that has changed is Hopkins has finally after more than 18 years in the sport found the willingness to move out of his division and face better challenges. He stayed at MW for many years avoiding any real challenge other than blown up WWs.

He really breathed new life into his career by stepping his game up.

His willingness is the only aspect in which Hopkins is "better".