People forget that early in his career Hopkins was known for KO'ing his opponents within 3 rounds, usually the first round. LONG LIVE THE EXECUTIONER!!!!!
I love watching these early fights of Hopkins beating the fuck out of these sorry ass weak fighters. It's obvious this guy bitched out and quit. They should have allowed HOpkins to punch the back of this guy's head while he was down just like the street. It's not like the beaten loser would have lost any brains.
I disagree. The younger Hopkins was fascinating. The older Hopkins is still great, but not what he use to be. The only difference, is that the older Hopkins has been having a better career then the older Hopkins. Like Jones, he simply didn't have alot of competition in the middleweight division. He was so great, that he completely cleaned out that division during the 90's. It wasn't until his late 30's, that he really started to shine, and get the respect that he deserved.
i'm not dissing joe btw i think he's a great fighter. but i've been since i was kid and I know a better man when I see him. at 43 hopkins just didn't have the stamina or vitality to compete with joe's punch output. still he put joe on the canvas and barely lost a split decision. honestly what do you think would happen if bhop in this video gone up against joe in april
the bhop in this video would have whooped calzaghe's ass. its a shame bhop's age doesn't let him fight like this anymore. He deserves more credit for his performance against calzaghe than he got
this has nothing to do with james stokes smart one. just look at bhop in this video. He was agressive, tough, and yet skilled at the same time. He has always had a better chin than calzaghe. bhop well past his 40s can't fight like this anymore. He has to pick his punches wisely, conserve energy, and tie up his opponents....
...but 7-10 years ago he would have traded and mixed it up more with joe and won. Look how much trouble joe had with the iron-chinned bika, even though bika was wild and sloppy. now imagine an accurate punching bhop in his early 30s. enough said
It's easy to look good against bums and BHop is a master at that. Bhop agreed to fight Joe in 2002, but overnight reneged on the deal demanding double the agreed fee. Do your research. He understood then it was too much of a risk and he returned to fighting blown up welterweights, which he's also a master of.
you know whats interesting? that you used the word "bums" when referring to bernard hopkins, when pretty much every fighter joe had faced was a bum, besides a past-his-prime eubank. bhop turned down the fight with calzaghe because no one knew who the fuck calzaghe was. bernard fought world champions and plenty of hall of famers. the blown up welterweights thing is just an excuse used by people expecting de la hoya and trinidad to stomp bhop.
He had just finished with knocking out 40 and 0 trinidad when calzaghe challenged him, who had only had one significant name on his record. He fought calzaghe after he proved himself by finallly beating a good fighter in kessler. by that point he was 43, past his prime, and still gave joe the toughest fight of his career. now imagine him 10 years younger? keep in mind joe hasn't changed a whole lot
Every world class fighter's initial 10-15 opponents will b journeymen or bums & JC & Bhop had their fair share.I agree the standard of Bhop's opponents is better than Joe's,but Bhop agreed 2 fight in 02',but then pulled out.Are you seriously suggesting he pulled out because he suddenly overnight realised JC didn't have the commercial pulling power ?? Get Real. He pulled out because he realised 'fuck, now I'm in a real fight'. Bhop knew JC was a major risk & that's why he pulled out. Period.
JC was a major risk in that bhop wouldn't have got much credit for beating calzaghe and wouldn't have made nearly as much money as he did against trinidad. why go after calzaghe when you have much bigger fights that are possible? nobody new anything about joe in 02'.
hopkins has never been afraid of anyone. Think about what bernard has gone through in his life. Hopkins is the the fighter who believes he can beat anyone, and that he will never lose. Why do you think he took the fights against trinidad,de la hoya, pavlik, tarver, etc even though everyone thought he would get knocked out? you can't be seriously telling me bhop thought he would lose to joe, why would he take the fight 6 years later at 43 then? bhop's spirit and confidence cannot be crushed.
@trufb1031 - Hopkins was a 6-1 underdog against Trinidad and was also a pretty big underdog against Tarver & Pavlik. It was thought that Hopkins might get KO'd in all 3 of those fights and each was a masterful performance by B-Hop. However, De La Hoya was an underdog against Hopkins due to Hopkins stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya looking subpar in his only middleweight fight before facing Hopkins. Yeah, B-Hop was never afraid, he's just a tough negotiator who does things his way.
But he fought Carl Daniels in 02'? Trinidad was in 01'.And let's b honest,who's Carl Daniels?? I think JC,Bhop,Jones all protected their empires 2 a greater or lesser extent. Yeh,it would've been great 2 have seen them fight 5-7 years ago.If you look at JC's perforamces tho,he always rises to the occasion; he fights a better fight against better opponents & Im confident he would've beaten both Bhop & Jones. We'll just have 2 agree to disagree .
If Calzaghe can come close to losing against a 43 year old Hopkins, then he would of been destroyed by a 27 year old Hopkins. Plain and simple.
Calzaghe is a great fighter, but he never dared to be great, nor has he proven his greatness. He just beat alot of decent fighters, alot of bums, and two old legends. Nothing more, nothing less.
That's simply your opinion. We'll never know who would have prevailed, but you forget that JC is not a young man himself and fought BHop past his best too. His punching power has certainly diminished, but he was still able to beat him. In addition, BHop may be 7 years older, but he's only fought twice more than JC. No wonder his physical fitness is impressive.
What are u saying, Bhop had 6 more fights then calzaghe, and still calzaghe isn't a dangerous man he can't kill a man in the ring whit his punching power neither in his prime
Calzaghe's power has not diminished. That's impossible for a man. When we get older, we get stronger. We just get slower, and lose alot of the speed that we had in our 20's. Look at Hopkins. He's stronger in his 40's, but he was ALOT faster in his 20's and 30's. You can see the difference in his tribute video. Same goes for Jones and Calzaghe. Calzaghe is not past his prime when he beat Hopkins. But he did managed to beat a great old fighter, but Calzaghe would of lost to an younger Hopkins.
Hopkins 10 years ago, was a perfect fighter. He's not as great as he use to be. He gets too tired in the later rounds, he clinches alot more, and he lays on the ropes too much. He's an old man, and you can even see that in his fight against Pavlik.
Take it from a big fan like me, a younger B-Hop would of beaten Taylor and Calzaghe. The only way you can beat an older Hopkins now, is too throw more punches then him. You couldn't do that against a younger Hopkins.
B.E.T. used to be a decent network. They even had Hopkins fights! The only way I can describe this fight is to say Hopkins ripped this guys heart out!
Hopkins is still a killer! He is one of the greatest of all time. Ironically a Great Humanitarian too, considering he gives back to his people and tries to help them change their lives in prison and the streets. Beautiful man! He has all of my respect.
Hear what the Broadcasters were saying! James Toney Vs Mike McCallum was the next night. And Hopkins wanted the winner. Hopkins Vs Toney or McCallum WOW! That would've been WILD! To bad. Toney won moved up to Super middleweight, Butchered Barkley to win the I.B.F Title. Toney Vs Hopkins? The one that got a away. Dam!
WEIGHT WEIGHT WEIGHT! It always the weight with James. Toney has EAT'N & BEATEN himself out of big PPV Paydays. Yeah I heard Bernard's tougher at negotiation table than he is in the ring. Now that's TOUGH!
People forget that early in his career Hopkins was known for KO'ing his opponents within 3 rounds, usually the first round. LONG LIVE THE EXECUTIONER!!!!!
MrDamonLJohnson 10 months ago
I love watching these early fights of Hopkins beating the fuck out of these sorry ass weak fighters. It's obvious this guy bitched out and quit. They should have allowed HOpkins to punch the back of this guy's head while he was down just like the street. It's not like the beaten loser would have lost any brains.
wayupinya1 11 months ago
young hopkins looks like young lennox lewis.
makpak 2 years ago
This hopkins is class!
KiidDynamiteReturns 2 years ago
whats funny is the 43 or 44 or whtever kicks the ass of the 20 odd year old Hopkins lol
boxingGARDEN 3 years ago
I disagree. The younger Hopkins was fascinating. The older Hopkins is still great, but not what he use to be. The only difference, is that the older Hopkins has been having a better career then the older Hopkins. Like Jones, he simply didn't have alot of competition in the middleweight division. He was so great, that he completely cleaned out that division during the 90's. It wasn't until his late 30's, that he really started to shine, and get the respect that he deserved.
Transformers217 3 years ago
i'm not dissing joe btw i think he's a great fighter. but i've been since i was kid and I know a better man when I see him. at 43 hopkins just didn't have the stamina or vitality to compete with joe's punch output. still he put joe on the canvas and barely lost a split decision. honestly what do you think would happen if bhop in this video gone up against joe in april
trufb1031 3 years ago 3
*in the ring since i was a kid
trufb1031 3 years ago
the bhop in this video would have whooped calzaghe's ass. its a shame bhop's age doesn't let him fight like this anymore. He deserves more credit for his performance against calzaghe than he got
trufb1031 3 years ago
Get some perspective Trufb1031, who was he fighting ? James Stokes' record:- 15 wins, 23 losses. Some win.
HowardIrwin 3 years ago
this has nothing to do with james stokes smart one. just look at bhop in this video. He was agressive, tough, and yet skilled at the same time. He has always had a better chin than calzaghe. bhop well past his 40s can't fight like this anymore. He has to pick his punches wisely, conserve energy, and tie up his opponents....
trufb1031 3 years ago
...but 7-10 years ago he would have traded and mixed it up more with joe and won. Look how much trouble joe had with the iron-chinned bika, even though bika was wild and sloppy. now imagine an accurate punching bhop in his early 30s. enough said
trufb1031 3 years ago
It's easy to look good against bums and BHop is a master at that. Bhop agreed to fight Joe in 2002, but overnight reneged on the deal demanding double the agreed fee. Do your research. He understood then it was too much of a risk and he returned to fighting blown up welterweights, which he's also a master of.
HowardIrwin 3 years ago
you know whats interesting? that you used the word "bums" when referring to bernard hopkins, when pretty much every fighter joe had faced was a bum, besides a past-his-prime eubank. bhop turned down the fight with calzaghe because no one knew who the fuck calzaghe was. bernard fought world champions and plenty of hall of famers. the blown up welterweights thing is just an excuse used by people expecting de la hoya and trinidad to stomp bhop.
trufb1031 3 years ago 2
He had just finished with knocking out 40 and 0 trinidad when calzaghe challenged him, who had only had one significant name on his record. He fought calzaghe after he proved himself by finallly beating a good fighter in kessler. by that point he was 43, past his prime, and still gave joe the toughest fight of his career. now imagine him 10 years younger? keep in mind joe hasn't changed a whole lot
trufb1031 3 years ago
Every world class fighter's initial 10-15 opponents will b journeymen or bums & JC & Bhop had their fair share.I agree the standard of Bhop's opponents is better than Joe's,but Bhop agreed 2 fight in 02',but then pulled out.Are you seriously suggesting he pulled out because he suddenly overnight realised JC didn't have the commercial pulling power ?? Get Real. He pulled out because he realised 'fuck, now I'm in a real fight'. Bhop knew JC was a major risk & that's why he pulled out. Period.
HowardIrwin 3 years ago
JC was a major risk in that bhop wouldn't have got much credit for beating calzaghe and wouldn't have made nearly as much money as he did against trinidad. why go after calzaghe when you have much bigger fights that are possible? nobody new anything about joe in 02'.
trufb1031 3 years ago
hopkins has never been afraid of anyone. Think about what bernard has gone through in his life. Hopkins is the the fighter who believes he can beat anyone, and that he will never lose. Why do you think he took the fights against trinidad,de la hoya, pavlik, tarver, etc even though everyone thought he would get knocked out? you can't be seriously telling me bhop thought he would lose to joe, why would he take the fight 6 years later at 43 then? bhop's spirit and confidence cannot be crushed.
trufb1031 3 years ago 3
@trufb1031 - Hopkins was a 6-1 underdog against Trinidad and was also a pretty big underdog against Tarver & Pavlik. It was thought that Hopkins might get KO'd in all 3 of those fights and each was a masterful performance by B-Hop. However, De La Hoya was an underdog against Hopkins due to Hopkins stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya looking subpar in his only middleweight fight before facing Hopkins. Yeah, B-Hop was never afraid, he's just a tough negotiator who does things his way.
comedicstuff 1 year ago
But he fought Carl Daniels in 02'? Trinidad was in 01'.And let's b honest,who's Carl Daniels?? I think JC,Bhop,Jones all protected their empires 2 a greater or lesser extent. Yeh,it would've been great 2 have seen them fight 5-7 years ago.If you look at JC's perforamces tho,he always rises to the occasion; he fights a better fight against better opponents & Im confident he would've beaten both Bhop & Jones. We'll just have 2 agree to disagree .
HowardIrwin 3 years ago
If Calzaghe can come close to losing against a 43 year old Hopkins, then he would of been destroyed by a 27 year old Hopkins. Plain and simple.
Calzaghe is a great fighter, but he never dared to be great, nor has he proven his greatness. He just beat alot of decent fighters, alot of bums, and two old legends. Nothing more, nothing less.
Transformers217 3 years ago 2
That's simply your opinion. We'll never know who would have prevailed, but you forget that JC is not a young man himself and fought BHop past his best too. His punching power has certainly diminished, but he was still able to beat him. In addition, BHop may be 7 years older, but he's only fought twice more than JC. No wonder his physical fitness is impressive.
HowardIrwin 3 years ago
What are u saying, Bhop had 6 more fights then calzaghe, and still calzaghe isn't a dangerous man he can't kill a man in the ring whit his punching power neither in his prime
ak24ek13 3 years ago
Calzaghe's power has not diminished. That's impossible for a man. When we get older, we get stronger. We just get slower, and lose alot of the speed that we had in our 20's. Look at Hopkins. He's stronger in his 40's, but he was ALOT faster in his 20's and 30's. You can see the difference in his tribute video. Same goes for Jones and Calzaghe. Calzaghe is not past his prime when he beat Hopkins. But he did managed to beat a great old fighter, but Calzaghe would of lost to an younger Hopkins.
Transformers217 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
The Hopkins 10 years younger gets destroyed by the B-Hop now in his 40's
Take it from a hardcore Hopkins fan - Hopkins is at his best now (Tarver,Wright,Pavlik,Calzaghe,Taylor,De La Hoya)
I mean all these fights were either wins or close descions - thats impressive
Who exactlly did the younger B-Hop beat
Gen Johnson??? pfff
Calzaghe rightfully won the fight not on clean punching but on high output punching/slapping/whatever
Calzaghe deserves his props
boxingGARDEN 3 years ago
The Hopkins 10 years younger gets destroyed by the B-Hop now in his 40's
Take it from a hardcore Hopkins fan - Hopkins is at his best now (Tarver,Wright,Pavlik,Calzaghe,Taylor,De La Hoya)
I mean all these fights were either wins or close descions - thats impressive
Who exactlly did the younger B-Hop beat
Gen Johnson??? pfff
Calzaghe rightfully won the fight not on clean punching but on high output punching/slapping/whatever
Calzaghe deserves his props
boxingGARDEN 3 years ago
Hopkins 10 years ago, was a perfect fighter. He's not as great as he use to be. He gets too tired in the later rounds, he clinches alot more, and he lays on the ropes too much. He's an old man, and you can even see that in his fight against Pavlik.
Take it from a big fan like me, a younger B-Hop would of beaten Taylor and Calzaghe. The only way you can beat an older Hopkins now, is too throw more punches then him. You couldn't do that against a younger Hopkins.
Transformers217 3 years ago 4
thank you i dont think i've ever heard a better more poliet comment.
B-hops the shit calzage can fuck off over seas.
bohtidabk 2 years ago
B.E.T. used to be a decent network. They even had Hopkins fights! The only way I can describe this fight is to say Hopkins ripped this guys heart out!
TerminatorC 3 years ago 3
hopkins is the man
tuvaluman 4 years ago 6
People forget how fun Hopkins use to be as a fighter. When you get old and your speed declines you have to get more defensive. So I understand.
86pimp3 4 years ago 5
Still, he brought his punching accuracy (not power) into old age. There's entertainment value in that, as far as I'm concerned.
SmelOdies 4 years ago 2
Hopkins is still a killer! He is one of the greatest of all time. Ironically a Great Humanitarian too, considering he gives back to his people and tries to help them change their lives in prison and the streets. Beautiful man! He has all of my respect.
BreuckelensFinest 4 years ago 7
Let's not get carried away.
SmelOdies 4 years ago
b. hop is the truth. in the ring and in the community. dont talk what yall dont know.
poetsrule 4 years ago
Nice upload. Hopkins punches was so accuraate in that fight. Awesome.
ruffa65 4 years ago 4
cool
mrtvman 4 years ago
wow
ducbukowski 5 years ago
Just one of several weak bitches that Hopkins had to beat down on his way to greatness.
Wayupinya11 5 years ago
Hear what the Broadcasters were saying! James Toney Vs Mike McCallum was the next night. And Hopkins wanted the winner. Hopkins Vs Toney or McCallum WOW! That would've been WILD! To bad. Toney won moved up to Super middleweight, Butchered Barkley to win the I.B.F Title. Toney Vs Hopkins? The one that got a away. Dam!
WZ912 5 years ago
It almost happened at cruiser in 2003, but Toney gained more weight and fought Holyfield instead because Bernard was tough on the negotiations.
SmelOdies 5 years ago
WEIGHT WEIGHT WEIGHT! It always the weight with James. Toney has EAT'N & BEATEN himself out of big PPV Paydays. Yeah I heard Bernard's tougher at negotiation table than he is in the ring. Now that's TOUGH!
WZ912 4 years ago
He should change his name to the ULTIMITE PRO
tpbisdivine 5 years ago
hopkins was a killer
ichbingott18 5 years ago