So many boxing fans like to lean on the Hopkins was old hivemind nonsense. The supposedly "old, shot" Hopkins went on to beat up the best lt heavy in the world and was a unified true 175 champ until nearly a decade after he was clowned by Joe. When will fans realize the Hop that he beat that night was as close to prime as we've ever seen him and he was dominated by the superior "white boy" as Hop once put it. Praise needs to be heaped on Calzaghe and his defining win was legendary.
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FACT: Calzaghe beat a prime Hopkins
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When has a 43 year old man ever been prime? Hopkins last possible prime performance for me was vs Joppy about 4.5 years earlier. He'd lost 2 of his last 4 fights coming into the Calzaghe fight too.
Fact is by the time he fought Taylor Hopkins was in serious decline. He jumped up 2 divisions for a good reason. Up against bigger, slower, less active men at 175lbs meant his loss in hand speed and stamina was less of an issue and his defence and spoiling skills meant he could handle the difference in strength and power.
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Not prime but still a top level fighter.
Calzaghe showed he was a top quality fighter when he actually fought good opposition such as Hopkins and undefeated Kessler. It’s just a shame he didn’t do it more often and I say that as a fan of him
Joe was already at the back end of his career when he fought those fights. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see what he could really do in his physical prime and without shot hands.
It’s strange, he’s a 2 division lineal champ, was considered a p4p top 3, retired undefeated and still could be considered to have underachieved in a way
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Originally posted by daggum View Postbut calzaghe lost, he kept running into punches and punching air. this was in the day where people didn't pay attention to what was actually happening in the ring hence the strange decision in favor of the loser.
It was a classic performance of an older legendary champion turning back the clock one last time to clown an equally great champion. Calzaghe took Hops soul that night and even though he dominated at lt heavy he was never the same fighter again. It was the Ali Foreman of the 175 division.
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