Bernard Hopkins is going to make an attempt on finding out in this twelve-rounder with Tony Zale. What say the crowd?
Not saying I'm picking against Hopkins, but Zale's competition destroys that of Hopkins at Middle. Destroys it hands-down.
Graziano is his most notable victory, and Graziano's most notable victories apart from his one come from behind win against Zale are all welterweights Jake Lamotta beats Zale 7 days a week
Zale fought & bested Al Hostak (an impressive three times), Fred Apostoli, & Georgie Abrams, in addition to routine victories over solid contenders, such as the under-rated Steve Mamakos. Hopkins, for his part, recorded triumphs over Antwun Echols (twice), Robert Allen, Glen Johnson, Morrade Hakkar, Oscar De La Hoya, & several very ordinary fighters, such as Will Joppy. Hopkins, as with Zale, ducked no one & isn't the type of fighter who would duck anyone, but his title-defense record for the division has as much to do with a generally-weak competition level as it does with his craftiness & age-defying feats. Thinking about it, I would take Hopkins on a close decision, with Zale hurting him more than once. I still think Zale fought much better opposition at Middle, though.
If you look at a guy like Mamakos, who did he ever beat? He was basically a guy who lost to every b-level fighter he tangled with and he has not one even semi-significant win on his resume... I dont see him as being any better than an Allen or a Joppy or Echols at all... Apostoli was solid, although really his best years were in the mid 30s... Hostak was a solid fighter with one spectacular win (over Freddie Steele) but he wasnt anything real special either and Zale had trouble with him (except for the third fight where he just about killed him to the body) ... Zale hardly fought 'em all, either... like most, he avoided Charley Burley... he had no interest in Lamotta... no Holman Williams... and in a time when the Welterweight division was exceptionally strong and fights between welters and middles were very common, he made no attempts to fight any of the signifcant ones and finally, he was stopped by Graziano... Graziano NEVER beat a single notable middleweight, almost every win he had was against welterweights and not too many of the real dangerous ones either, and even then it was life and death every time out... Graziano was a great character and had a great right hand, but outside of that he was a completely ordinary fighter in every sense of the word... it is absolutely conceivable that one of the bums Hopkins fought could have beaten him... William Joppy or Keith holmes could absolutely decision Rocky Graziano and it is entirely plausible that Antwun Echols could knock him out... now, Im not saying those guys would beat Zale necessarily, but I bet you Zale doesnt win eveyr minute of every round against Holmes or Joppy the way Bernard did Zale was a tough, game, and flawed fighter and a great bodypuncher, but his flaws are what made so many of his fights so memorable and I think it is pretty much a sure thing that Lamotta, Burley and Robinson at the very least all would have beaten him had they fought him during his championship years
Zale was also past his best when he tangled with Graziano, though. It's true Zale wouldn't ever have beaten Robinson, or Burley (I think his chances are fair against LaMotta), but does anyone really think Hopkins would beat those fellows, either?
I'd give Hopkins a solid shot against a SRR at middleweight... Robinson was a great middleweight but he was beatable there... it was 147 where he was the man we all recognize as the GOAT today... I dont know how hops does against Burley but I like his skills against Burley a lot more than I like Zale's brawling aggression He was past his best, true... but its still Rocky graziano
It's fairly well known that Hopkins bailed out of a fight with Calzaghe during his supposed prime years
Calzaghe played his part in that, too. I found the flying issue, especially in light of the fact he eventually tackled versions of Hopkins & Jones dramatically removed from their prime, pretty incredulous.
Not in this case, the fight was already agreed to, and Calzaghe had agreed to tackle Hopkins in the States. It was Hopkins who bailed out.
Admittedly, I do not recall the details of that off-hand. I never equated Hopkins with ducking, though. I think I'll do some research on this one a little later. Any site references you'd recommend? Which year was this?
MeetTheFeebles is the guy with all the references mate: Anyway, forgetting Calzaghe, Hopkins has been shamelessly avoiding Dawson too
