..... Yeah that would be real great to have those boring ANCIENT fucks sticking around. I think it would be great if both got KTFO into retirement.
Roy isnt nearly as bad to watch as Hopkins. I think Calz-RJ will actually be a pretty good fight. Hopkins-Pavlik is a TERRIBLE fight for B-Hop at this point though, and dare I say Kelly might even stop Hop.
Hopkins could well beat Pavlik and I wouldn't want to see that. I am a fan of Hopkins' but Pavlik's victory would be better for the future. However Hopkins' sneaky shots and ability to make anyone look bad would frustrate Pavlik too
Pavlik is as good as anyone I can think of who can defend themselves moving forwards,..Hopkins will apply the ultimate stink of backing up ready to pot and clinch, those body shots will have Hopkins falling down crying again,.. yes :crafty: this is what I wanted, for Hopkins to be matched up against some form of strong body puncher. But Hopkins will refuse to fight, no way it happens.
I guess it's because he carries the greater name historically, but I can't see why Top Rank would have Pavlik avoid Wright yet chase after Hopkins. It should honestly be the other way around - and if we're talking about scoring a stoppage, Kelly has a much better chance of stopping Wink than Hopkins. If Bernard is even close to that point, he'll take stink mode to an entire new level, perhaps even find a way to get DQ'd before he gets stopped. I might be in the minority, but I have no interest whatsoever in a Pavlik-Hopkins fight. And if Hopkins can no longer make 160, then a catchweight fight is even more pointless.
I wouldn't want to see the fight either. With Wright, I think it's a bit personal. I remember talking to Pavlik when he was named Winky's mandatory, and genuinely pissed off on a very personal level about Winky not fighting him. That was around the same time Arum was getting angry saying that Pavlik couldn't get a fight because he was white. We should also note that Arum just doesn't like Winky and he can hold a grudge. Pavlik stops either, if you ask me.
I Hopkins is crazy enough to get in the ring with Kelly he will get his old ass handed to him. Kelly will do what Calslappy couldn't even come close to doing.
Mandatory for what title? Wright was never middleweight champ and I don't recall Pavlik ever become a mando - or even campaigning at - 154
Winky got the BC when he beat Soliman. Pavlik became his mandatory just afterwards. EDIT: I'm wrong. Pavlik was #1, but Winky got the mandatory spot after the Soliman fight. There was a bit of a dilemma with that, so when Taylor-Wright talks stalled for a moment, Arum tried lobbying for a Wright-Pavlik fight. That's when Taylor began thinking about fighting Mora, and that's the first and probably only time I've seen Pavlik PO'ed.
ah, gotcha. I remembered Wright turning down Pavlik on more than one occasion (which makes it bittersweet irony that he can't now secure a shot), forgot the circumstances which surrounded it.
After Hopkins' last performance where he had no ability to do anything other than play-act, he's gonna be Pavlik's bitch. And Pavlik is gonna KTFO this guy into retirement. Nobody is afraid or intimidated of Hopkins anymore. He's just awful now.
I used to be a big Hopkins fan, for some reason I just really liked the guy, and his style of fighting etc. But after seeing his pathetic display of trying to get Joe DQ'd I'd like to see Pavlik beat the shit out of him.
He would if he actually fought light heavyweights. But I don't need to see him fighing smaller fighters all the time.
Based on what? 175 is absolute rat-shit and Hopkins already beat the champion there before narrowly losing to a P4P fighter in Calzaghe. There isn't a single 175 pounder I would actually favour over Bernard Hopkins.
Based on the fact that he's a light heavyweight who's fought two guys in a row that were coming up in weight...which is the same thing Pavlik would be doing. Favored or not, I think Wright and Calzaghe were safer fights for him than a rematch with Johnson, or Tarver, or a fight with Dawson. Win or lose, I think they're tougher fights. Wright was so far beyond his best weight it wasn't funny, and Calzaghe wasn't the kind of fighter that would make it physically tough on Hopkins. Regarding Tarver, yeah Hopkins dominated him and in reality a rematch has almost no chance of happening so it's rather pointless to mention it, but I don't think Tarver was close to being at his best in that fight and I think he was effected by the weight loss.
dsimon writes: I don't think you can fault Hopkins for the match ups, but I think you have a point Mitchell... namely that Johnson and a rematch with Tarver would be good fights for Hopkins. Johnson is dangerous, he would make Benard fight hard, maybe harder than Hopkins can fight at this point in his career.
Hopkins fights, consist of having his opponents walk into his timed shots, clinches and subsequent headbutts, this is what Hopkins fans mean when they say Hopkins "makes you fight his fight"... the other man has to walk into his range in order for there to be a fucking fight at all,.. I think he's as good as he's ever been at the moment, until retirement day, which is the day that the referee warns Hopkins to come forward and engage, or face disqualification. Hopkins is a pathetic rat, who fights like a true coward, and has been an insidious foul riddled cunt inside the ring, and outside of the ring on so many fronts, from weight divisions he doesnt belong in, to his low ball negotiation tactics and racism etc, you name it, he's a lovely ambassador to a sport in decline.
Even though he already beat him, I would pick Glen Johnson to take a UD over ol B-Hops at this point in both careers :crafty:
I wasn't faulting Hopkins for the match-ups. The guy should probably be retired and he's still out there getting multi-million dollar pay days and he's also a businessman. Hopkins has taken care of himself in and out of the ring and so he should be well taken care of after boxing. I'm just talking about my interest level in his fights. I'd much rather see him fight light heavyweights if that's the division he's going to compete in. But maybe it's lighter weight fighters or retirement at this point for Hopkins.
the problem w/ fighting hopkins is that he is now beatable, but damn near impossible to look good against or capable of being knocked out. maybe arum can wait until hopkins turns 45 in 2010 and then make that fight. even then, i'd still bet that pavlik looks like complete shit win or lose.
