Or even a catchweight if you want. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is Monzon-Napoles if talking about a middleweight fight. Mantequilla did pretty well in the opening rounds, until Monzon established the jab, and distance. Hopkins is a master boxer but used his size in a different way. Bernard could box from the outside very well, but did a lot of his best work up close. Much better territory for Napes to be competitive. That being said Bernard would know how easily Jose cuts. How do you see it playing out?
If Bernard fights like he did when he was a hungry, angry and disrespected champion, working tirelessly, fighting hard for 3 minutes each round, doing dogged physical and psychological violence on his opponent, he wins. He's a much, much bigger guy. Napoles was a smaller-sized WELTERWEIGHT, never mind a Middleweight. Hopkins was wiry and strong and before he became the cynical rule-bender who sought to slow down fights to a crawl, he was a guy who sought every way possible to beat his man, a different animal than the boring blowhard he's been for the last 7 or 8 years. I admire Napoles as much as the next guy, he was brilliant, but as a little guy with skin like a dry leaf going against a big guy who is not shy about a facewash, a shoulder-butt, a headbutt, etc., I don't see how he sees the distance in one piece. He was no middleweight.
Napoles in a 15 round decision here. He was too skilled for Hopkins and would have given him a good drubbing.
