Rating Bernard Hopkins career?

[tomjones]

For me he was a great fighter, but he's not one of the goats.

The main losses which affect his legacy were his 2 losses to Talyor and his loss to Calzaghe. He did lose the first fight against Jones but he was still raw. I would actually rate hopkins as having a better career than Jones.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Dude still owes me a refund for buying the RJJ II PPV

 

[prikoke]

IMO he's definitely an ATG, but where he ranks among the greats depends on what criteria you use. Prime vs prime he's worse than other greats, but nobody was even close to as good in his 40s as Bernard was, not even Foreman or Holmes. There's some incredible longevity there.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

He had an excellent career.

 

[that Indian]

He wasn't entertaining but he was effective. I really enjoyed his Trinidad and Pavlik fights. He also put a clinic on Tarver.

 

[Mujeriego]

Good career. Being a champion at almost 50.
Did lose to some white boys though, so you got to factor that in to the equation.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Good career. Being a champion at almost 50.
Did lose to some white boys though, so you got to factor that in to the equation.

I don't count 2 of his 3 losses to white boys. He was 49 when Kov beat him and 51 when Smith knocked him out of the ring. The Calzaghe loss at 43 is worse but in his very next fight he schooled that white boy Pavlik to make things right.

 

[deucesarewild]

Always tricky rating. He beat guy who beat guys who beat him so it gives his career a bit more shine, sometimes makes us forget those loses. He fought dirty, too. Andre Ward said he learned how to do that from watching how Hopkins got away with it. I never cared for that style, but I do appreciate how long he fought for, winning belts, beating legit names.

 

[Tuvatuva]

I regret not betting on him vs Pavlik. Everybody around me thought Pavlik was going to win.

 

[mozfonky]

Great career, gotta respect the stats, I never ever got to see his prime fights, just never got around to it. As a result, I wouldn't put him up with Hagler and Robinson, he didn't help his case with me with all those shenanigans like falling out the ring. No doubt he's an ATG, just not sure I'd put him as high as his most ardent fans who'll have him killing hagler and robinson and monzon. Dude was most special for his discipline, that 27 inch waist and his conviction to make sure he'd never be broke or never go back to prison. He did alright.

 

[mozfonky]

Good career. Being a champion at almost 50.
Did lose to some white boys though, so you got to factor that in to the equation.

That's a joke but.., I hate to say it to those that don't know, black people used to always rile black fighters if they ever lost to a white fighter. My black stepdad would always point out with pride how Ali and Holmes never lost to a white guy, I still remember talking to a local black coach about Tyson losing to a white guy at the end of his career. That sentiment was real, it's changing now though, along with the sport, it's hardly even an american sport anymore.

 

[ferrisjso]

IMO he's definitely an ATG, but where he ranks among the greats depends on what criteria you use. Prime vs prime he's worse than other greats, but nobody was even close to as good in his 40s as Bernard was, not even Foreman or Holmes. There's some incredible longevity there.

The thing that was impressive about Foreman in his 40s isn't what he did but the revealation about how badly he would have beaten the 90s HWs if they were the same age. Hopkins success at 45-50 was just that success at 45-50 it didn't put past dominance into perspective because he didn't have it.

Hopkins greatness comes from stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya when they came up to MW rather than how good a MW or LHW he was. Thats really were his hype comes from

 

[Hagler]

I can’t think of a middleweight who would beat the 32 yrs old version of B-Hop that stopped Glen Johnson.

 

[Seano]

Respectable resume but he embarrassed himself repeatedly in the ring and said dumb racist shit. I have little respect for him, honestly.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

For me he was a great fighter, but he's not one of the goats.

The main losses which affect his legacy were his 2 losses to Talyor and his loss to Calzaghe. He did lose the first fight against Jones but he was still raw. I would actually rate hopkins as having a better career than Jones.

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Not a fan of Hopkins but always appreciated how good he was. Calzaghe may have always been a problem for Hopkins but he certainly didn’t face a fighter close to his prime. I don’t think any of his losses really hurt his legacy as he reigned for so long, in an era with a lot of quality opposition in his weight class(es). Top 5 MW of all time imo. Probably lower than most would place him but as I said, I was never a fan

 

[tomjones]

Top 5 MW of all time imo. Probably lower than most would place him but as I said, I was never a fan

I'm not a fan of Hopkins, cause he often used the hit and hold tactic. But I have him as a top ten middleweight.

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

The thing that was impressive about Foreman in his 40s isn't what he did but the revealation about how badly he would have beaten the 90s HWs if they were the same age. Hopkins success at 45-50 was just that success at 45-50 it didn't put past dominance into perspective because he didn't have it.

Hopkins greatness comes from stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya when they came up to MW rather than how good a MW or LHW he was. Thats really were his hype comes from

That really belittles Hopkins’ record for oldest world boxing champion in history.

At 48 Foreman retired after a loss to briggs, At 48 Bhop won and defended a major org belt then unified it with another major org belt at 49 (not WBU baloney), then went the distance with Kova the same year.

This feat is one of the most special ones amongst all sports for a human to pull off. Most likely no combat athlete will break or even match it for many decades to come.

 

[iwannabeadored]

The thing that was impressive about Foreman in his 40s isn't what he did but the revealation about how badly he would have beaten the 90s HWs if they were the same age. Hopkins success at 45-50 was just that success at 45-50 it didn't put past dominance into perspective because he didn't have it.

Hopkins greatness comes from stopping Trinidad and De La Hoya when they came up to MW rather than how good a MW or LHW he was. Thats really were his hype comes from

Na that’s ridiculous. Mw and lhw are way more skilled than heavyweight. What Bernard did from 40-50 has never been done..

 

[tomjones]

Na that’s ridiculous. Mw and lhw are way more skilled than heavyweight. What Bernard did from 40-50 has never been done..

What Hopkins achieved after 40 is amazing.

 

[ferrisjso]

That really belittles Hopkins’ record for oldest world boxing champion in history.

At 48 Foreman retired after a loss to briggs, At 48 Bhop won and defended a major org belt then unified it with another major org belt at 49 (not WBU baloney), then went the distance with Kova the same year.

This feat is one of the most special ones amongst all sports for a human to pull off. Most likely no combat athlete will break or even match it for many decades to come.

Its a special record but if the best years of your career are in your mid 40s it doesn't shine your previous legacy. I view it like Kongo in MMA. Its not a perfect comparison lots of differences but the point is he had his best years in his 40s. He hopped to LHW at 41(pun intended). Being a championship level fighter at 50 is an impressive record and no one has ever been as good as late as him but Hopkins doing that does not change the way we view his prime.

In terms of Foreman he had the lineal belt the sanctioning body was irelevant. You can say that doesn't matter but given that Briggs got a shot at Lewis his next fight it clearly did matter. While Foreman wasn't fighting the actual best HWs his last 3 opponents(the questionable ones) had a combined record of 85-1 before they fought George. Also the Briggs fight was considered a robbery.