Comments Thread For: Hopkins: Kovalev Was Better Man, Stuck To His Plan

[MDPopescu]

Good sportsmanship from Bhop. I wish him a happy retirement, no point in fighting any more.

I still think that Hopkins is able to deliver great fights... and win...
... But, for instance, he doesn't have to fight Golovkin or Beterbiev...

[LouIE G]

I don't think you grasp what very easy is, Bhop was a deadman walking the second he tasted Kov's power.

what i mean by very easy,(though hopkins took him to the distance and looked very clean after the fight) is that when he moves up further in competition hes gonna fight fighters who know how to nueterlize his power a little bit better then a legend who is 49 years old... now i gave kova full credit for this win btw, but im talking about fighters like ward, maybe even pascal who could sit there with real skill and quickness, and be able to give and take from a fighter like kovalev and take him into deep waters and be able to pull the trigger..you know....hopkins did what he could but he couldnt pull that trigger.....ward,pascal, andre dirrell are fighter who can, and id like to see all 3 get their chance at kova, to show how good this guy really is....

[BennyST]

I don't think you grasp what very easy is, Bhop was a deadman walking the second he tasted Kov's power.

He was a deadman walking because he's 50 and age has started to really catch up to him finally. He couldn't react the way he wanted in offense or defense at all and Kov fought well enough to take advantage of it. Nothing to do with BHop freezing because of Kovs power. It was his skill: movement, timing and taking a step back when Hop punched, which left him open because he's ****ing old and can't react properly anymore.

He was so slow and his reactions...."peeleft:

If it was his power he'd have been out of there. He took flush shots without moving or reacting even a little bit like the old Hopkins we have seen in years past. He couldn't react to defend or counter easily seen, wide power shots that once upon a time he'd have utterly feasted upon.

Sad fight, but a good fighter to pass the torch to.

[SplitSecond]

what i mean by very easy,(though hopkins took him to the distance and looked very clean after the fight) is that when he moves up further in competition hes gonna fight fighters who know how to nueterlize his power a little bit better then a legend who is 49 years old... now i gave kova full credit for this win btw, but im talking about fighters like ward, maybe even pascal who could sit there with real skill and quickness, and be able to give and take from a fighter like kovalev and take him into deep waters and be able to pull the trigger..you know....hopkins did what he could but he couldnt pull that trigger.....ward,pascal, andre dirrell are fighter who can, and id like to see all 3 get their chance at kova, to show how good this guy really is....

not many people who fight spend 80% of the fight on the defensive and 90% with their heads down

you can watch all these other young guys, ward even has shown plenty of moments where he just puts his guard up and turns into a punching back for awhile, that kind of moment could get him quickly ended vs kovalev

hopkins doesn't show marks because he rarely has his head up when the punches are flying, no matter the age most guys dont fight like that

[SplitSecond]

He was a deadman walking because he's 50 and age has started to really catch up to him finally. He couldn't react the way he wanted in offense or defense at all and Kov fought well enough to take advantage of it. Nothing to do with BHop freezing because of Kovs power. It was his skill: movement, timing and taking a step back when Hop punched, which left him open because he's ****ing old and can't react properly anymore.

He was so slow and his reactions...."peeleft:

If it was his power he'd have been out of there. He took flush shots without moving or reacting even a little bit like the old Hopkins we have seen in years past. He couldn't react to defend or counter easily seen, wide power shots that once upon a time he'd have utterly feasted upon.

Sad fight, but a good fighter to pass the torch to.

the only time i saw this was when he was hurt in the final round

[FrankieBruno]

Suddenly none of the guys Kovalev had beaten before look like slouches. His power is just too much, they all shell up and look lost.

No it shows how advance and elite BHop is compared to those other guys..2 months shy of 50

Firstly Bhop fought a much better improved Kov than those guys did, and went the full distance..with many disadvantages. Bhops legs are shot, there is no speed left in him, as we know the older a guy gets, the legs and speed go first. Its his boxing brain which kept him in there

In the future if Kov is up against top tier boxers, we now know he simply cant rely on blowing them out, he has to fight. In previous bouts he was rushing, had he done that with Bhop, he'd have lost the fight, walked into something huge. Round 7 we see his legs stiffen, so he has flaws, he can be hit

I'm not trying to downplay Kov, he's a excellent boxer, with skills and freak power, but now we know he can go the distance, and his power can't blast everyone out of there...

It'll be interesting to see how he does against the top young guys

Either way props to Kov, he showed his boxing brain last night, he's simply not a bralwer as people were suggesting

[LouIE G]

not many people who fight spend 80% of the fight on the defensive and 90% with their heads down

you can watch all these other young guys, ward even has shown plenty of moments where he just puts his guard up and turns into a punching back for awhile, that kind of moment could get him quickly ended vs kovalev

hopkins doesn't show marks because he rarely has his head up when the punches are flying, no matter the age most guys dont fight like that

i understand that, but you have to take into consideration of the skill levels of fighters he will be potentially facing in the future, like a ward, pascal, dirrell, has anyone kovalev has faced ever prepared him for fighters with real raw talent, in their prime that take it and dish it out like ward, direll, and pascal???

lets not forget these guys are real real veterans of the sport, especially ward and pascal and can make kova miss and make him pay, thats the sport of boxing... and we both know kova is skilled but he is not a fast fighter and who knows what will happen when he fights a guy who reflexes are not compromised by age like b-hop...

[Sharp_Shooter]

his power is definately great, but you see as this guy moves up in competition and fights veterans of the sport its very easy to take him into deep waters,as was shown tonite by the very first fighter to go past 8 rounds with him.. and if he continues to fight the best of the best it is more then likely he will go the distance, win or lose...

Hopkins was in survival mode from round 1. If Hopkins had actually tried to win this fight he would have been knocked out.

[LouIE G]

Hopkins was in survival mode from round 1. If Hopkins had actually tried to win this fight he would have been knocked out.

coulda,woulda,shoulda, but did he????? thats where strategy comes into play grasshopper, who in their right mind would slug with a fighter who could put their lights out from 1 punch???? this is not street fighting, this is boxing with real skill involved.. you understand???

[Sharp_Shooter]

coulda,woulda,shoulda, but did he????? thats where strategy comes into play grasshopper, who in their right mind would slug with a fighter who could put their lights out from 1 punch???? this is not street fighting, this is boxing with real skill involved.. you understand???

My point was if Kovalev fights elite guys who come to win, he will knock em out. If elite guys come to survive they might last 12 rounds with him