what if hopkins had had the sack to face rjj when it counted, as trinidad surely would have, had it been him who prevailed in the middleweight tournament?
Hopkins KNEW he Couldn't Beat THAT Version of Roy Jones, which is Why he Made ABSURD Demands... 1st, There was the Memorable 60/40 Standoff...Roy was THE Best Fighter in the World, Lb for Lb, AND his Lightheavy Titles Would've Been on the Line...No Way in Hell Did Bernard Even Warrant Purse PARITY in that Scenario... A Couple Fights Later, Bernard Wanted a Guarantee of 10 Mil (Roy had NEVER Fought for 10 Mil HIMSELF @ that Point), if REED's Not Mistaken...NO Version of Bernard Hopkins Beats a PRIME Roy Jones...Had the RE Taken Place when it was Relevant, it'd have Played Out Similar to the 1st Bout...Both Guys a Bit Toooooooooo RESPECTFUL, but Roy's Edge in SPEED Keeping him a Step or 2 AHEAD of Bernard for the Bulk of the Fight... Roy by 8-4 Decision, just like the 1st Time... REEDopcorn:
Jones too fast... horrible, boring fight.... Hopkins wins some rounds, has a moment or two, but Jones is too quick and Hopkins would respect his power
More and more, I think that Hopkin would have win that fight. Would have been horrible, and incerdibly close, but I think he manage a late surge to take the dec
close fight. i'd go w/ jones tho. he was simply too quick and explosive for hopkins to lay him against the ropes and attack. plus, even at the center of the ring, jones would've had an advantage loading up with pot shots and flashy combinations. it's not like hopkins was ever great at timing quicker foes that could move in circles.
Jones close D, still too fast for Hops at that point. Also worth noting is that Jones was much bigger than Hopkins at that point in their respective careers. Still, I wouldn't bet on it - Hopkins had already fought him once, his ring IQ, craft & ability to figure out an opponent would likely make some sort of difference from the first fight.
Pretty much the way I always thought it would happen. I remember some folks saying stuff like Hopkins didn't want the fight because he was afraid he'd get KOed, but a KO win for either fighter seems unlikely.
