So in what age period was Bernard Hopkins in his prime?

hopkins still knows how to time his right hand, but his reflexes and mobility in addition to his punch output has declined even before he fought trinindad.

his defense is still one of the best in the game today, but his inability to pull the trigger had cost him against quick atheltic guys like taylor and calzaghe.

even against pavlik, there were moments where bernard was running out the clock by holding when he knew he had the round in his bag. he also did that against tarver as well.

he was much more fluid and mobile in the late 90s and he still had great defense. there wasn't anyone from 154-168 who would've really tested him during that time besides roy who had already gone up to 175 by then.

it would've been great had hopkins moved up to 175 immediately after the trinindad fight and faced dariusz micalzweski. he would've battered the polish tiger to a pulp.

 

LOL, Hopkins schooled Echols with one working arm, and Echols knew it! ::

 

The only way to make the Taylor fights fit is to suggest that Hopkins was ready, perhaps more than ready, to move up in weight.

Maybe he was...he certainly made that two division jump about as seemless as possible.

Hopkins is a physical marvel, and his discipline is just remarkable.

 

hopkins looked VERY tentative against a C level middleweight in oscar and C+ level middleweight in howard eastman. i thought it was a clear sign of him being past his prime (which it was) but his performance against tarver showed that he should've gone up a while ago.

damn, now that i think about it, jermain taylor fucking blows.

 

I agree with this, and always consider '96-'99 to be his optimal prime. I usually consider a fighter's physical peak as his prime, which is why I choose that period. Like Tam said earlier in the thread, BHop's technical/mental prime came at a different time, not unlike Michael Jordan dominating for different reasons at different stages of his career

 

Hopkins quit like a coward in that match. He practically dove out of the ring so the fight would be stopped.

Cupey

 

Can we conclude than that he was physically at his prime in '96-'99 but in his boxing prime from '99 to the early 2000's? The young Hopkins that I watched was a freak of nature in his strength. But he certainly wasn't a complete boxer until '99 like his trainer stated.

Cupey

 

See this is the thing,.... is what you say here a really admireable trait about Hopkins?... It indeed seems to be amongst the broad consensus,.. when Hatton or Ruiz does it,... it is...and I quote the same broad consensus...

"Revolting, disgusting,...should be penalized or disqualified at any given oppurtunity"...
well I agree,...
but when it's Hopkins who does it,...

............"Cunning, masterful, intelligent"

this is why I need to be a 'hater',.. the double standard of unconditional love for a notorious rule buster,...is extremely dishonourable to the code,.... :nono:

 

Damn straight brother

 

When you look at athletes like Glencoffe Johnson,..and the way that he fights,.. ...........................is Hopkins,..who is a known meticulous gym-rat,..really a 'marvel' given his negative, conservative, stinking style?... I think his age is vastly overrated,.. I'm more impressed by the older Randy Couture in the UFC, expending in what would be an exhausting amount of energy on the muscles and spine in grappling wrestlers half his age in the UFC,...if you want a sport that makes a bloke feel his age,.. wrestling's the one.

 

Johnson's been at light heavyweight almost this entire decade. Hopkins just moved up a couple years ago.

And it's not like Hopkins barely made 160...he often came in below the limit.

Hell, he even made Oscar-weight.

Regarding the comparison to MMA, boxing stresses different muscles...and boxer's legs don't always last til their forties.

 

Are you sure Hopkins came in under the limit?.. because looking at alot of Hopkins middleweight weigh-in pictures.. he looks critically ill, discoloured, with ripped jugulars,..his skin was often grey,... such is the will for Hopkins to cheat. He was an irrefuteably monsterous middleweight...aka...a Lightheavyweight wolf, in a sheep-suit.

MMA is tough on the legs alright,.....Couture has got to absorb low-kicks,... and the force generated by a kick is quite a brutal thing... let alone having to use them to overpower the heat of strength of other strong wrestlers,... Hopkins by comparison,..uses his legs to slowly and softly usher backwards.