Comments Thread For: Adonis Stevenson: Bernard Hopkins, He Can Be Next!

[Risen]

Asked about Hopkins: "Do my fans want Hopkins?!"

Asked about Kovalev: "Al Haymon will negotiate."

Superduck at his best. The Crusher wants some duck stew.

[BoxingJunkie]

Asked about Hopkins: "Do my fans want Hopkins?!"

Asked about Kovalev: "Al Haymon will negotiate."

I guessed you missed the part where he said, "I don't have any problem with Kovalev." Suppose that wasn't good enough for you.

[BoxingFan82]

Stevenson arguably took more punishment in this one fight than Bernard has taken in the past decade. And Bernard has never been as fatigued as Stevenson was tonight.

Stevenson is a likable fighter and he'll always have a puncher's chance, but all of the fans who seemed to be banking on the notion that Stevenson would walk right through Hopkins should be reconsidering that based on what Fonfara was able to do. Fonfara deserves a ton of respect for his performance, but Hopkins is on a different level and he won't allow Stevenson to hit him with some of the punches Stevenson was able to land on Fonfara consistently tonight.

If the Hopkins fight gets made (Stevenson wasn't exactly begging for it when Jim Gray asked), you can be sure that Stevenson's failure to knock Fonfara out and his inability to go 12 rounds without gassing out will weigh heavily on his mind. Bernard Hopkins feasts on that sort of doubt before the opening bell rings.

[BoxingJunkie]

Hopkins is too masterful in the ring and no way he gets hit with those Stephenson bombs. Bhop makes Stephenson look very amateur-ish should the fight happen.

Hopkins is very crafty but Stevenson will not fight Hopkins the same way he fought Fonfara tonight. He will simply box more and rely less on the power.

[BoxingFan82]

I guessed you missed the part where he said, "I don't have any problem with Kovalev." Suppose that wasn't good enough for you.

The only problem is the Kovalev fight doesn't seem viable now given the network situation. I guess nobody reminded Stevenson of the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it" before he decided to pursue the Hopkins path.

Fighting a living legend like Bernard Hopkins probably looks a lot less appealing to Stevenson now given that he gassed out and almost got knocked out by a guy like Fonfara who, as game as he might be, is nowhere near as experienced and skilled.

[Ringlife]

I give Fanfara a lot of credit for hanging in there against Stevenson. B Hop vs Stevenson next.

[kingfaze19]

Hopkins will wash him out the ring, it will be a clinic, he has horrible conditioning and doesn't have the skills to land clean on B Hop. All that power won't mean a thing, he'll be punching air all night. Can't wait.

[BoxingFan82]

Hopkins is very crafty but Stevenson will not fight Hopkins the same way he fought Fonfara tonight. He will simply box more and rely less on the power.

This is foolishness.

Stevenson is a good boxer, but power is a huge part of his game. If he makes a conscious effort to de-emphasize his power and try to outbox the most experienced boxer he has ever faced, Bernard will easily control the pace of the fight and make Stevenson look like an amateur.

The biggest concern for Stevenson going into a Hopkins fight is his conditioning. He gassed out tonight. Period. Fonfara fought the best fight of his career, but he didn't take it out of Stevenson. Stevenson simply didn't have it in the tank to begin with.

In his 4 fights last year, Stevenson never went more than 7 rounds and I believe he's only been 12 rounds twice in his career (including tonight's fight). If he's going to beat Bernard and not bank on a knockout, Stevenson is going to have to be in condition to fight 15 rounds because Bernard wears you down mentally, not just physically.

In my opinion the fight tonight raised serious questions about Stevenson's conditioning that we never had to ask before when he was knocking guys out halfway through the fight or earlier.

[Risen]

I guessed you missed the part where he said, "I don't have any problem with Kovalev." Suppose that wasn't good enough for you.

Stevenson made a business decision to duck Kovalev. Haymon is in the business of ducking the best for the almighty dollar. Legalese is Haymon's specialty when compiling scripts for and around his fighters.

"I don't have a problem with Kovalev." Don't have a problem with Kovalev doing what? Ducking or fighting? "Pacquiao, you're next!" Pacquiao is next to fight? Don't put words in that rich scared coward's mouth! "Floyd Mayweather doesn't use xylocaine." Is that supposed to mean Jr or Sr?

When it comes to Haymon fighters, read the details. Details, son!

[bojangles1987]

Asked about Hopkins: "Do my fans want Hopkins?!"

Asked about Kovalev: "Al Haymon will negotiate."

Yep.

Aduckis at work.