Bernard Hopkins vs Kovalev (November)

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Aug 31, 2003
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#21
If Thats his plan It's a big gamble fighting Krusher first. But he's steadily maintained he wants to unify.

I don't think this has ever happened before. Can you think of a guy who unified all four belts, then over ten years later unifying all four belts again? In another weight class?
If his plan is to fight them both anyway I don't think it matters much to him who comes first. There just seems to be way more money in fighting Stevenson last if it gets to that, especially if the money is the same right now.

Holyfield is the only guy I can think of that held every major title in 2 different weight classes. That was prior to the WBO being anything special though.
 

Coach E. No

Jesus es Numero Uno
Mar 30, 2013
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#22
Speed alone isn't what gives Hopkins problems. These days the most difficult styles for him are guys that can out work him. Stevenson is a guy Hopkins can control the tempo with. He can out smart him. Kovalev is a machine that just keeps coming. It's more dangerous imo. He's literally a killer (doesn't seem bothered at all by that either lol).
It isn't speed alone obviously that would give him problems, I agree. But any boxers edge is the ability to work angles and disrupt the guy cutting off the ring with their footwork. The small and subtle changes in direction have worked for Hopkins for the last several years. But my point is, the guys that gave him the most trouble, all had pretty good speed and respectable pop/snap on their punches.

The craziest thing about this to me, is that Dawson handled Hopkins, gets ko'd by Stevenson, and somehow all these dudes that are at least Dawson's age or older are the ones remaining in this division.
 
May 13, 2002
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#23
If his plan is to fight them both anyway I don't think it matters much to him who comes first. There just seems to be way more money in fighting Stevenson last if it gets to that, especially if the money is the same right now.

Holyfield is the only guy I can think of that held every major title in 2 different weight classes. That was prior to the WBO being anything special though.
Yes Holyfield how can I forget. I wonder what the time gap was. I'll have to look it up.
 
May 13, 2002
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#24
It isn't speed alone obviously that would give him problems, I agree. But any boxers edge is the ability to work angles and disrupt the guy cutting off the ring with their footwork. The small and subtle changes in direction have worked for Hopkins for the last several years. But my point is, the guys that gave him the most trouble, all had pretty good speed and respectable pop/snap on their punches.

The craziest thing about this to me, is that Dawson handled Hopkins, gets ko'd by Stevenson, and somehow all these dudes that are at least Dawson's age or older are the ones remaining in this division.
Styles make fights. Pascal beat Dawson too remember. Hopkins was an easier foe to deal with for Dawson than Pascal. Boxing is weird like that sometimes. Dawson is just a bad match up for Hopkins. Tall, long, uses a good jab, athletic, fast. Too difficult for Hopkins to control. Guys like Pascal, Hopkins easily dictates the fight. He can't do that against Dawson.
 
May 13, 2002
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#28
Yeah, at 17 years of age he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Pretty crazy to think about.

In 1979 at the age of 13 he was stabbed on the subway and suffered a punctured lung. The knife narrowly missed his heart, and he spent six months in the hospital recovering from the attack. As he got older he began to intimidate people. Stealing chains, clothing and money landed him in front of a judge on many occasions. While his high school classmates were graduating, Hopkins was graduating from reform school to the penitentiary. One judge handed the 17-year-old eleventh grader two sentences--one for five to twelve years and one for three to six years. Hopkins told Ron Heard of BoxingTalk.net about his time in prison: "I saw a lot of things in prison that aren't clean or nice to talk about. I was seventeen years old. I didn't consider myself dangerous, but I was surrounded by killers, rapists, child molesters, skinheads, Mafia types, so I was in a dangerous situation. I saw a guy stabbed to death with a makeshift ice pick in an argument over a pack of cigarettes."​
 
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May 6, 2002
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#34
Last night, I actually pondered the fact that Hopkins could be an Alien. It was probably for a quarter of a second, but nonetheless I actually gave it a realistic thought. I obviously snapped out of it, but that's how good Hopkins is.

If he can someone neutralize Kovalevs power, whether it be by slipping, rolling or just keeping him at bay, Hopkins will take it.
 
Aug 31, 2003
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#36
It's so rare someone goes into the details of Al Haymon tactics. Hopkins played him well.
Definitely. It's surprising to me that people that aren't on Haymon's payroll or are somehow affiliated with a Haymon fighter defend what he does. I'm all for a fighter getting their money but as a boxing fan I can't see how people support what he does.

Unfortunately Hopkins is one of the few fighters that can pull off what he did.
 
May 13, 2002
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#37
Yeah I never understood why there are Al Haymon defenders out there. To me he's like one of those big time NFL agents who does everything possible to get his client the biggest payday imaginable, even if it means sitting out or completely fucking over the team. Sure his guy can get money but it's never good for the sport as a whole. I don't see any fans of NFL agents so I never understood how there can be boxing manager cheerleaders out there.

On top of that, these god damn mismatches of Haymon fighters are fucking ridiculous. He owns half the sport and can't put put on a good fight? The August 9th card is a perfect example of why Haymon is bad for the sport (Danny Garcia vs Rod Salka, Anthony Peterson vs Santana. Why the fuck isn't it Garcia vs Peterson?! ).
 
Aug 31, 2003
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#38
Agreed, that's just a slap in the face. They're not even trying to play that off like "oh Peterson couldn't make that date" or some other nonsense. They just put them on the same card and you kind of have to hope that it's a build up fight to get them in the ring together.

I can at least justify Peterson Vs. Santana. Santana is a credible fighter that's been around and has good wins in the division. Salka is such a nothing fight. I don't mind stay busy type fights, guys used to do that all the time, but don't put that on a main card on Showtime. Put that nonsense on Sho Xtreme.

I'll likely not even watch that card live. Probably watch the card on NBC then the Rodriguez/Takayama unification fight on BeIN.