Bernard Hopkins vs Jersey Joe Walcott

[StarshipTrooper]

You say you didn't box because you didn't have to, well why do you love talking about them and espeically love calling them.

The Klitscko's didn't have to box, Barrea didn't have to box they were all clever people who could get good jobs, but they boxed because THEY LOVED THE GAME AND had HEART AND BALLS SOMETHING YOU WILL NEVER HAVE.

SO IF YOU THINK YOUR BETTER THAN BEING A BOXER, DON'T WATCH IT OR TALK ABOUT IT.

AND YOU HAVE THE CHEEK TO CRITISIZE BOXERS, WHEN YOU ARE A 110 PERCENT, COWARD! WHO NEVER LACED A GLOVED UP AND HAS NO HEART OR BALLS!

YOU MAKE ME LAUGH, LOSER!

****er got himself banned Really, this isn't his first ban: I'd lay odds that was rafael_benitez aka juliocesa(r)chavez using yet another alt. He makes the names, then gets himself banned because he can't have a civil discussion with ANYONE.

Poet

[rorymac]

B-Hop, being knocked down on the way

[StarshipTrooper]

You know, the thing that troubles me about all these Hopkins Vs. Heavyweight matchups is people seem to forget that Bernard is a well past it old man at 175. He's fought all of 4 fights since moving up from Middleweight beating an uninterested Antonio Tarver, a one-dimensional Kelly Pavlik, and a Winky Wright nearly as old as he is. The one in-prime complete fighter he fought was Joe Calzaghe.....and he lost to him. There isn't anything that Hopkins has done at 175 that should make anyone think he's a match for an ATG at Light-Heavyweight let alone an ATG Heavyweight. Come on guys, fantasy matchups are great but they have to be realistic or they're nothing but jokes.

Poet

[BattlingNelson]

You know, the thing that troubles me about all these Hopkins Vs. Heavyweight matchups is people seem to forget that Bernard is a well past it old man at 175. He's fought all of 4 fights since moving up from Middleweight beating an uninterested Antonio Tarver, a one-dimensional Kelly Pavlik, and a Winky Wright nearly as old as he is. The one in-prime complete fighter he fought was Joe Calzaghe.....and he lost to him. There isn't anything that Hopkins has done at 175 that should make anyone think he's a match for an ATG at Light-Heavyweight let alone an ATG Heavyweight. Come on guys, fantasy matchups are great but they have to be realistic or they're nothing but jokes.

Poet

Calzaghe was in his mid thirties and well past his prime so Hopkins has done very little at 175.

[StarshipTrooper]

Calzaghe was in his mid thirties and well past his prime so Hopkins has done very little at 175.

Good point! Don't get me wrong, of the active fighters out there Hopkins is my favorite. I just don't have any illusions as to his current abilities.

Poet

[slicksouthpaw16]

I would favor Walcott based on size and more effective punches( when he landed). I think it will a boring fight, i can't see Joe having the kind of success with timing Hopkins the way he did against Charles( who is not defensively good as Hopkins) but i do see him winning the rounds with aggression, because Hopkins has not shown great offense against opponents who has a lot of dimensions now add to the equation that Jersey Joe is bigger WITH those dimensions and strong enough to out muscle Hopkins and out fight him on the inside. Outside of Hopkins not being active enough against Taylor, he didn't have the kind of success he had at out muscling him the way he did against smaller opponents and that threw him out of his game even more and Taylor is no Walcott. I think Walcott would win a tight unanimous decision. Pound for pound would be a different story. Both the same size, Hopkins out smarts him.

[Thunder Lips]

I wouldn't say Walcott had much success timing Charles who soundly defeated him in two fights and was ahead on points before getting stopped in their third fight though honestly neither fighter appeared to be landing much outside of some bodywork in the clinches. Charles is a superior ring technician defensively and offensively to Hopkins and ranks with the elite P4P in that department having convincingly outboxed prime Moore three times, Walcott, Joey Maxim and a still fairly capable Joe Louis. Charles probably has one of the strongest resumes in history considering how frequently he fought the highest level of competition at various weight classes. He was more aggressive than Hopkins but when he was in cautious mode he could be just as elusive if not more so.



All time great KO artist Satterfield unable to find Charles with his infamous blistering two fisted attack.



Charles's frustrating defense and spoiling in full effect against former conqueror Jimmy Bivins; who also had a knockout win over Moore.

[slicksouthpaw16]

As Charles defeated Jersey Joe in two fights, Walcott also beat Charles in two fights and if you take a look back at their fourth fight you'll actually see Joe out boxing Charles and out fighting him for a lot of portions. Its also hard to agree that Charles was as good defensively as Hopkins but offensively you could have a point, Charles took more chances. In their first fight ( i believe it was) i actually seen Charles rocked on a few occasions even though i had him thoroughly out boxing Walcott in that fight. Walcott's age also has to be considered in all of those fights and the fact that his prime was earlier in his career.

[Thunder Lips]

As Charles defeated Jersey Joe in two fights, Walcott also beat Charles in two fights and if you take a look back at their fourth fight you'll actually see Joe out boxing Charles and out fighting him for a lot of portions. Its also hard to agree that Charles was as good defensively as Hopkins but offensively you could have a point, Charles took more chances. In their first fight ( i believe it was) i actually seen Charles rocked on a few occasions even though i had him thoroughly out boxing Walcott in that fight. Walcott's age also has to be considered in all of those fights and the fact that his prime was earlier in his career.

They technically split wins but they really weren't as evenly matched as your suggesting. Walcott was down on all the cards before his superb knockout and their 4th fight was a controversial decision. In contrast, he lost the first two fights by a sizable margin. Charles was a very frustrating match up for Walcott because he couldn't jab him at all and he was too quick, dangerous, and slick to effectively counter once he got him inside. Walcott as always was a frustrating fighter for anybody but Charles mostly got the better of him.

As for Walcott being past his prime I really don't know what to say. When do you believe Walcott was in his prime? As a starving teenager or a dock worker who happened to box at night? He didn't start full time boxing with a proper trainer until 1944 and it still took him several years to develop into a Championship contender; not meeting Joe Louis until he was 33-34. He faced Charles for the first time the following year later in just his next fight for the vacant title. He was at the peak of his abilities in these fights and only got more dangerous as he picked up more and more tricks until his retirement in 53; like the sneaky left he used to finally beat Charles and drop Marciano.

And defensively, older Hopkins used very similar crowding, clinching, and spoiling tactics to that of Charles. There is also significant difference in hand speed and Charles acrobatic slipping and counterpunching is a huge part of his defense.