BERNARD HOPKINS: "GIVE MY ABILITIES SOME CREDIT"

[rizzi2007]

is already is a future hall of famer! this video is old

[cAliKidd2468]

BHOP talk mad trash and tries his darndest to back dat up too

[ihatelifejosemartine]

Bernard "THINKS" he's in the hall?

Hopkins is an ALL-TIME GREAT! It would be a tremendous injustice if he didn't get in!

[mab999]

if calzaghe thinks he is a legend for beating a 43 year old Hopkins he is Wrong.

As good as Calzaghe is, he should have fought Hopkins sooner.

Sadly he will never get any recognition for fighting him this late.

its a Lose-Lose situation for him

[SavedTru8]

I disagree, Look who he's beat, He still beats the top of the game. Some still believe he beat Taylor. Bernard is still credible even though he is old for boxing. SO, if calzaghe beats him he deserves the cred. Of course, Bhop say's, he ain't gonna let no white boi beat him ever! so.... har har :)

[DirkDigglerV3]

He signed to fight Hopkins years ago. Hopkins agreed the fight and then suddenly doubled his asking price. Hopkins ducked Joe which is why they didnt fight sooner.

[homegrownhero]

that's true. but I do feel Joe only went for B-hop thinking he could out-hustle him... + because they're of similar physical statures.

We never saw him running after the RJJs, Winky Wrights, etc.

Joe did CHOOSE to stay largely in his comfort zone. He didn't put himself out there and actively fight to get the fights (lol XD) that everyone would have wanted to see!

Still one of the best p4p currently, though.

[homegrownhero]

The one thing people don't seem to understand is that because of the boxing physique and the compactness of weight divisions.. boxers can move up + down weight-classes (up especially) much more easily than in other combat sports (like MMA).. which they can only do if they're on the border.

When the great fighters wipe the floor with everyone at their weight, they move up... Joe finally moves up, only to fight some1 who isnt really a 175er!

[homegrownhero]

If Bernard + Roy Jones had stayed at MW n MW/SMW (for Roy)... then Joe would not be undefeated right now and definitely wouldn't have had such a long reign (no one can argue that RJJ woulda made his 'O' go, quickly).

But yeah as i was saying, all the accomplished fighters move up wen theyve done all they can... and face literally BIGGER challenges by legit fighters who are naturaly at the bigger weights. Hatton (to 147), Haye (to HW), RJJ (multiple weights), PBF (multiple), Oscar (multiple)..

[homegrownhero]

now although Joe has moved up. he's not going to fight a genuine Light-Heavy, whilst others when they moved up fought ppl who were genuine fighters fighting at the higher weights. I mean the only genuine Light-Heavy he talked about facing was mediocre Clinton Woods (thank God Woods lost, otherwise the Calzaghe pseduo-legend would have grown). Joe is a great boxer with great skills but u wont get respect by taking the easy road !). Having said that, Joe is ONE of the gr8est BRITboxers of alltime.

[homegrownhero]

oh and... if Joe had been patient at stayed at SMW, he coulda fought the likes of Winky, Pavlik + Taylor! (woulda been great close fights...) but then he quickly decided that Bernard @ 175 wuz the way to go... why?... cuz he THINKS he can wipe the floor with Bernard, but thinks Jermain, Winky, etc would give him serious problems.

I do think we'll see Pavlik-Calzaghe if Joe does pull off the win VS b-hop this saturday night.

Replies, please!

[DirkDigglerV3]

What a load of crap. Joe called out Roy Jones for years. The reason Joe has never got fights with Jones has been down to Roy's reluctance. And also Frank Warrens terrible promoting. Jones saw Calzaghe as too much risk with little reward as he wasnt well known worldwide. As for Taylor giving him problems? LOL Joe called him out too, Warren even offered him £5m to fight Joe and he asked for 10. I reckon he will fight Pavlik next as he's already expressed a desire to do so.

[homegrownhero]

I'm glad someone else agrees Frank Warren is a terrible promoter. But he's the biggest NAME promoter in the UK I guess.

Dude, the whole 5m offer for Taylor... + that crap was all last 18 months to year.

[homegrownhero]

The fact is, most of Joe's biggest wins have been young pretenders at best... Lacy, Manfredo, Bika. Lacy aside (who btw Americans no longer think is going to be IT at 168, like they used to), Kessler is the only recent NAME opponent... and Kessler was a very good SMW... but I could see Pavlik, Taylor, Winky Wright, B-Hop + RJJ each wiping the floor with Kessler as well.

Ok i have been a bit harsh on joe, a lot of the blame for the absence of the big fights lies with Frank Warren..

[DirkDigglerV3]

So, Taylor was still offered the fight and ducked it. Americans dont consider Lacy to be great because he got his arse handed to him on a plate. Before, they were calling him the 2nd coming of Tyson and a p4p star. Bika, Reid, Brewer, Woodhall were all good world class operators. Lacy and Kessler were young, hungry unbetean fighters in their prime. Hopkins' biggest wins have been against Welterweights, lets not forget that.

[homegrownhero]

Bika, Reid, Brewer, Woodhall were considered good at SMW.. but p4p they ain't sh1t.

Taylor didn't duck. He even still says he wants to fight Joe (but since Joe got B-hop, he's looking at other avenues now...: He's fought Pavlik twice, fought Winky, fought b-hop twice... and now he's looking at a filler fight with Tito Trinidad).

I wouldnt say Taylor nor B-hop 'ducked' Calzaghe. It was greed, simpleas.. and that is a problem indeed.

[homegrownhero]

as for b-hop's biggest wins being against welters. it's semi-true. They can easily be considered SUPER WELTERWEIGHTS AKA LIGHT/JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS! And one of them was a true modern-day great, who gave him a good fight + took a dive (in many people's cynical opinion!...)...

In a certain way, B-hop did suffer from the same problem as Joe... where 160 was almost as dry for p4p talent as 168 is.. (the rise of pavlik came post-bernard after ofcourse...)

[DirkDigglerV3]

Hardly. They all pretty much performed best at Welterweight which is almost 15lbs down. And take into account that Hopkins is naturally a light heavyweight. Winky Wright could maybe be said to be a jr middleweight but then he had to move up to 170, so again a huge leap. P4P? Who cares if they aint ur size? Would you be more impressed with Joe if he went out and beat Pacquaio and Vasquez?

[homegrownhero]

Hopkins is not naturally a light heavyweight. The weight you walk around at, and the weightclass you box at are two separate things. It's about your build + height.. that determines your ideal weight class(es).

Lol

[homegrownhero]

Hopkins is not naturally LHW. The weight you walk around at, and the class you box at are two separate things. It's build + height.. that determines your ideal weight class(es).

Lol. What I mean is, there's greater recognition in beating better boxers... better means better-skilled (i.e. p4p). Ofcourse u can only beat what's put infront of you. But when that runs dry, move up and fight what the next weight has to offer (not jst 1 boxer who isnt a genuine LHW or is easy picking i.e. woods!)

[DirkDigglerV3]

I aint stupid mate, do your research. Hopkins started fighting at 170-175. The only reason he's been making middleweight all these years is because he's lived like a monk and dedicated himself so much, boiling down to middleweight. Hes a big dude, bigger than Calzaghe who aint a small man himself. And WAAAAAAAAY too big for Oscar, Winky, and Tito.

[homegrownhero]

Oscar was very good at 154. 160 may have been a step too far (not just shown by the B-Hop fight, but more by his fight VS felix strum, imo)...

plus theres still that very realistic possibility he took a dive.

[DirkDigglerV3]

Greater recognition? Yeah from people who dont know their shit. For people who see "names" and are impressed. Like I said, would you be impressed if Calzaghe beat Miguel Cotto or someone like that? Calzaghe has been calling out Roy Jones and Hopkins for years. Jones wanted none of it. He was quite happy to fight Clinton Woods though! But managed to bypass Eubank, Benn, Collins and most importantly Calzaghe.

[homegrownhero]

Jones has been at LHW since 1996, mate. that's the thing...and Joe became SMW champ in 97. They missed each other by some years... and Roy felt he had achieved all he can at each weight and was moving up and up (would have fought more at HW if it wasnt for his dad).

B-Hop started as LHW in his debut.. then took 2 years off and came back as MW. He was a 'fat'boy (for an athlete) and then cut the weight properly and fought at arguably his best weight, MW. b4 tarver, he only fought once at LHW m8!

[DirkDigglerV3]

I would say hes a bigger man than Calzaghe. He's probably natural 168-170 at least. Either way, hes way to big for Oscar and co which was the point.

Calzaghe has been willing to move up to light heavy for years to fight Roy Jones. Weight wasnt the issue. I aint saying Jones was scared or anyhing but he definitely didnt like the risk/reward value of fighting Calzaghe.

[homegrownhero]

=)

He IS a bigger man than Joe, no doubt. He was a lot bigger than Oscar + MW was a step too far for Oscar! But, let's face it... the MWs weren't giving him much trouble (and I'm not a huge b-hop fan, wouldnt put him in a list of my fav boxers if someone asked me to name say 10/15) and he didnt want to move up, instead he chose 'business' VS superstars DLH + Tito (who let's face it, most ppl thought wud give him a harder run than his defeated MW foes!!..)- he was good, but not RJJ prime good!

[homegrownhero]

...But it must be remembered, B-hop IS quite a bit smaller than the main light-heavies out there! (Even though he is bigger than Joe!).

B-hop is one of the best MW boxers ever, just as Joe is one of the best (if not, THE single best) SMW boxer ever. But neither are amongst the best p4p of all time.

kinda funny hw Roy would kill for B-hop/Calzaghe right now... when hes a shadow of his former self! lol. His greed (hop + joe) + fear of losing to a perceived 'sham' (joe) robbed us of gr8 fights!

[DirkDigglerV3]

Very true.

[mrPR2490]

well it works both ways,joe also didnt like the reward/risk value of Jones,he neva came 2 America 2 fight Roy.

[mrPR2490]

Honestly u cant say 2 me dat Eubank,Benn,Collins and most importantly Calzaghe would have any chance at all against Prime Roy Jones Jr,Benns would have got knocked out,Eubank would have got knocked out,Collins would have got knocked out and Joe Calzaghe.......well...just put it dis way if a shot/washed up Roy Jones whos only 40% of what he used 2 be could hurt and knockdown Joe in the very 1st round,just imagine what Roy in his prime would have done!! so honestly Jones could bypass all of dem!!

[DirkDigglerV3]

I would prefer to have seen the fights rather than talk about what "would have" happened.

[TheExecutioner42]

it is a beautiful thing watching bernard fight, best boxer today

[DirkDigglerV3]

You obviously havent seen his last few fights. Unless you think dog shit is beautiful?

[chrisSC45]

I am English and will support Hopkins who will win a ud

[585WeDaBest]

Joe Calzaghe has never faced anyone even CLOSE to bernard Hopkins level! The executioner will execute Joe Calzaghe on april 19th!

[fightnews10]

Go Bhop! Calzaghe's not in your league. Execution time!

[crimen]

haha i see doug fisher to his right. MAXBOXING OWNS LOL

[jensen428]

Hopkins is a disgrace for the sport of boxing.

[chrisSC45]

Explain why?, wanker

[SekondzOut]

Both Ali and Hagler(2 all-time greats)were undefeated until they dance with a philly dude! Frazier took Ali, Watts took Hagler now, Hopkins will take Calzaghe! A Philly fighter does it again!!!

[enorjusten]

i hope b-hop knocks calzaghe out just to shut up the annoying english fans

[SuperSilverHaze84]

yeahhhhhhhh, whoooooooooo, yeahhhhhhhh, man rock on yeahhhhhhhhhhhh, whoooooooooooooo

[jaguarsuperv8]

Joe Calzagheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­e gona own.

[hamisatypeofcheese]

what about the welsh ones?

[enorjusten]

good point

[hamisatypeofcheese]

what about the welsh ones?

[gavrr]

What are the odds in America? Joe is favourite in England. If BHop is favourite in America, I will bet over there!!

[mrtvman]

war bernard hopkins

[HouseOldSkoolRaver]

Calzaghe will dominate its worth putting big money on him.

[latinridah]

Huge Hopkins Fan But I had to bet against him... had to make my paper

[HouseOldSkoolRaver]

How much what odds?

[alectrifyingalex]

lol make ur paper? u idiot. bernard gonna whoop calzaghe.. and bhop is 3 to 1. u wanna make tht paper put it on bernard son.