Fight Week: BHop v Kovalev

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Intriguing doesn't dot his fight justice. We all know why this fight is extremely interesting to us fans, but who wins and why?

One thing that keeps rattling around my head about Kovalev, and it is the reason I don't think he will be befuddled like so many Hopkins opponents have been of late, is that he is a man with a serious killer instinct. Think of how Eubank was after Watson, reluctant to go for KO finishes. Now think of Kovalev, who has ended a life with his fists (awful for all involved). It is scary how much he seems to love putting people to sleep. Kovalev is really going to try and knock BHop out. Can BHop avoid being stopped and go on to create more history?

Exciting.

Has Hopkins been interviewed? and has he mentioned anything about retirement or carrying on?

Said he is 50/50 over it Derby. Think he can probably beat stevenson. Kovalev just outworked him and was far too powerful. Stevenson don't work that way...so I think Bhop can outhustle him.

He said it was 50/50 on what his plans were. Really came across well in the interview. Wouldn't surprise me if he carries on tho and fights Stevenson

Hands up, Kovalev is a lot better at boxing than I thought. What a display. In hindsight, the only reason anyone gave Hopkins a chance is we weren't sure about Kovalev's actual ability. He basically spanked Hopkins for twelve rounds. A little shocked that Hopkins withstood the grandstand finish in the twelfth, but that's about the extent of his successes against a guy who was too big, too strong, too mobile. Would probably have had to go pre-Calzaghe (and even then probably quite far) to have found a Hopkins who would have had a decent shot.

I do wonder where Kova goes from here. Certainly doesn't have a paucity of options. Stevenson is available, but I don't think Kova is going to waste anymore time there. Beterbiev is around, and Kovalev does seem to combust every time someone mentions his name. Pascal is also there, while Ward is possibly going to need a fight in the next 15 years. Even Froch must be a distant possibility? It could headline Vegas with a decent (read: Mexicano) undercard

Hopefully thats the end of Hopkins now although his current trend would be to go off and outstink Braehmer or whoever else holds some rinky dink title and be back in people top ten "pound for pound" list this time next year.

I was 50:50 on this, but when I actually watched some clips of previous fights next to each other in the preamble I found myself heavily fancying kovalev, I was surprised how slow hop looked in comparison. And then, when the first bell went, kovalev looked a weight class bigger.

Poor old bernard was in survival mode for 12 rounds, fair play to them both kovalev kept him out of his comfort zone boxed well and kept his discipline, Hopkins showed his nads.

Let me get this right....Kovo beat a 50 yr old Man that Jermaine Taylor beat twice years ago as well as a past it Calzaghe...

and you guys are raving about him...

Should be ashamed of yourselves...

He didn't just beat him, though... He gave Hopkins a proper shellacking.

No one is raving about it Truss....people are just saying that the guy did a much better job on him than expected.

Yes the aforementioned did all beat Hopkins & all a fair few years ago....but no one did what Kovalev did too him last night. Now of course his age played a part last night, as the saying goes 'father time catches up to everyone', however in the build up very few thought that a fight going to the scorecards would be one which Kovalev walks away the winner of. The fact is, he is being applauded for the patient and disciplined display that few thought he was capable and many wondered whether he had.

Fair play to both of them for taking the fight in the first, puts Stevenson to shame but Kovalev was on a highway to nowhere. He won at a canter but how much credit can he get for beating a 49 year old, outstanding show of heart by the old man to see the final bell, what a chin.

Quite right Hammersmith. Think the real question now is how the hell did that dud Shumenov hold a belt? Hopkins was resolute in the final, he can be proud of himself. Don't think either he or Oscar thought Kova would resist the temptation to stay in the pocket after landing, which in hindsight is probably the only way Hoppo coulda hoped to win. Just got decimated by a younger, stronger fighter. No shame in that. Took 38 shots in that final round, Some of them proper Suzie Q's, and he stayed up. That chin must be reinforced, because Kovalev's power is no joke

Kovalev gave the old man a lot of respect. It could have been even worse for Hopkins.

Somewhere in Wales, I imagine Cleverly is telling everyone who cares that he isn't in fact Sh.it, Kovalev is just an animal.

I suppose thats better than Bellew telling everyone that Hopkins was going to school the limited Kovalev though

I bet bellew forgets what he said now

A fight that never came to the boil, but probably the result most people wanted (don't read too much in to me saying that, as I'm far from one of these guys who can't stand Hopkins and who wishes he'd have toddled off in to retirement years ago). Hopkins set himself up almost exclusively as the counter-puncher, Kovalev didn't give him much to counter as he kept it tight and didn't go over the top even though he had the green light to initiate exchanges whenever and however he wanted, therefore the fight was twelve rounds which were almost carbon copies of each other.

I thought Hopkins might try to mix it up a bit more once he realised that Kovalev wasn't going to fight stupid and play in to his hands, and Hoppo did have the odd bit of success when he let his hands go....But hey, I don't want to be too harsh on the bloke under these circumstances!

Fair play to Hopkins for keeping it clean and standing up to those shots - for a moment in the twelfth I thought we were about to see the referee jump in. Even now you can see he's still got the feet and anticipation to take power away from an opponent; although Kovalev cracked him flush a fair few times, Hopkins also did a good job of at least moving with the shots and taking some of the steam off them.

I wasn't really surprised at Kovalev's patience and discipline as he'd shown them in the Agnew fight, but have to admit he looked speedier and less robotic in there than I've given him credit for in the past and his own defence was pretty alert on the few occasions he needed it. Didn't really put a foot wrong in the entire twelve rounds and showed that there's definitely some ring smarts and skill to go with that huge power. Hopefully Stevenson will stop farting around in 2015 and they can sort out who the real 175 lb king is.

As for Hopkins, good effort and as I said above I was glad to see there was no spoling or dirty business from him. Even though he lost every round I reckon he's given Kovalev a little to think about in terms of defence and he's a tough, tough man on top of everything else. The kind of shots Hopkins stood up to in places last night have been wiping most other Light-Heavies out. I reckon Hopkins should definitely call it a day now while the pain of this defeat is still fresh in his mind, but you never know with Bernard. Even after last night it's not impossible that he could still beat a few of the 'best of the rest' Light-Heavies. There just seems no real point in that, though.

Poor old Bernie got beat up. As said above it looked like a cruiser weight against a super middle. I think kovalev had something like an 8 inch reach advantage. He sensibly used every bit of that distance for in every round. He just sat on the outside and stalked. 
I picked pops to win by decision, but the size and reach were insurmountable. I think Bernie should call time on his career now. That's the first time he's taken that kind of punishment, hopefully the last.

Don't go creating a legend now Jimbo. Hopkins has a 75" reach. I know the eyes aren't exact accurate measuring tools, but theres no way Kovalev has 83" reach. He's not an orangutan.

Hopkins in fact has the longer reach of the two but last night was the first time he looked like the blown up middleweight he really is. That's not a slight on Kovalev who has been the only one to make it him look like that.

The old man has had a fantastic hall of fame worthy career and I now just hope he retires, what is there to prove in going back to beating the Shumenovs the world.

kingraf wrote:Don't go creating a legend now Jimbo. Hopkins has a 75" reach. I know the eyes aren't exact accurate measuring tools, but theres no way Kovalev has 83" reach. He's not an orangutan.

Haha, sorry raf, I thought the tale of the tape had Hopkins as a 72" reach and kovalev as 78". My bad, clive out of "any which way but loose" did not fight hopkins last night.

... I was wondering what on earth you were on about there jim, til I twigged you meant Clyde the orangutan from 'every which way but loose'.

I still think it was a brave, perhaps foolhardy move of Hopkins to take the fight. Could have hung on for a few months, or found a soft defence to be a 50 year old world champion. I wonder if its still in his mind to have a crack at it. 50:50 as he said.

Hopkins had limited options. Unless he fought another belt holder he was going to have to fight another nobody mandatory that no tv network was interested in.

Im not sure he ever actually expected to beat Kovalev. Seeing out 12 rounds was a victory for him. He was too wary of Koalevs strength and power to even try the rough stuff with him.

Stevenson crapped himself when faced with Kovalev once already so hes probably in no rush for that fight. He could well throw Hopkins a bone if Hopkins doesnt pack it in.

I understand that catchy, but I think they could have sold a fight on the back of the whole 50 thing. Saga would have sponsored it.

Stephenson's a potshotter, so his style might suit Hopkins more, but he kept things tight and at range against cloud so has it in him to do the same against Bhop.

Re Stephenson kovalev. No-one on here seems to rate Stephenson, he's one dimensional and has suspect whiskers, but its a very useful dimension and whilst crusher starts favourite, it's no foregone conclusion to me.

I rated Stevenson but he pretty clearly ran away from Kovalev and seems to be adopting a Mayweather style blueprint of handpicking his opponents and bragging about how much money he makes.

Hopkins has been overrated a good bit for a while now at light heavyweight due to his advanced age. I wouldnt give him much chance against Stevenson, which is why Stevenson could give him a crack if Hopkins wants to carry on.

I didn't see the fight,just followed it on here.I did pick Kovalev to stop him but from all accounts Hopkins took his best shots and was still there at the end. Hopkins promised his mother he would retire at 40 but when she died he carried on.I hope he retires now as we've seen the best of him and the last few fights haven't been entertaining.

I'm not gushing over Kovolevs skills like some. He boxed well, showed a part of his game I wasn't aware of, but really, all he did was stick to a plan (keep it long, engage on his terms, pace himself, and throw lots of feints). If your opponent only throws 12 punches per round (yes 12 punches) and is so much smaller and weaker than you then it's quite easy to look good, especially by sticking to a plan that works.

Not taking anything away from Kov, he's definately the real deal.

Aye, Kovalev-Stevenson is a must for 2015. One of those few fights where you feel that just about every fan would do their very best to make sure they don't miss if they could help it. Or as Hopkins said himself the other night, the kind of fight that boxing should be all about.

The obvious thing to pick at on Kovalev's record so far is that he's yet to face a genuinely world-class puncher with knockout power. Stevenson certainly fits that bill and his reputation for being a fearsome hitter isn't far off Kovalev's. Hopkins couldn't land the telling counter punches on Kovalev, but Stevenson's counters are delivered with a lot more speed and a hell of a lot more power than Hopkins'. And if the rumours of Golovkin decking Kovalev with body shots are true, then you have to be pretty intrigued about how he'd fare with Stevenson's body attack, because that's one of Adonis' better points.

Based on who has the momentum right now and recent form you'd expect Kovalev to start as favourite, but it's only a 60:40 kind of deal, for me. Both of them are short of really attractive options unless Ward or Froch move up to 175 (which doesn't look likely). That, coupled with the fact that relations between HBO and Showtime seem to be thawing, should put enough prssure on everyone involved to make sure the fight happens.

Well I certainly got my prediction wrong. Never see the full fight but the bits I could find, Kovalev fought a good tatical fight. Hopkins is near 50 as mentioned but he hasn't been beat that easily before. Good win for Kovalev and his stock will have risen big time.

Bernard, I always wanted him to keep winning and bow out at 50 years old with a win. It is too risky and I would Like for him to retire now. In years to come he will be remembered for going the distance with a stronger younger champion and went out on his shield. It's a good time to retire and history will be very kind to him and his legacy.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Let me get this right....Kovo beat a 50 yr old Man that Jermaine Taylor beat twice years ago as well as a past it Calzaghe...

and you guys are raving about him...

Should be ashamed of yourselves...

Trusstopher.........

That's kind of how i see it too Chris. Of the two, Stevenson has looked the more vulnerable, but there are some unanswered questions with kovalev. I don't normally buy into sparring stories, but i think kovalev admitted in an interview he was dropped by ggg with a body shot in sparring. Hey, its sparring, but you'd expect stevenson to certainly test him there.

Some seem to think Stevenson is slow, I don't recall the left hand that sparked dawson, looking slow. Certainly faster than old bernie. We'll see, interesting fight if they can make it happen.

Does anybody seriously think Hoppo can beat Stevenson...

A 50 year old Man..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Does anybody seriously think Hoppo can beat Stevenson...

A 50 year old Man..

No I don't especially after this.

Just let him twaddle off into retirement..

What sadist wants to see Hoppo take anymore..

With Wlad, Mayweather, Manny, JMM, Hoppo all top fighters of the day does anybody need anymore evidence Boxing is on the wane...

Remember a young Norris outclassing a 33 year old Leonard........

Which is how it should be..

I think only mobilemaster on here fancies bernies chances against stevenson truss. I have no desire to see it, but people would buy it because if the whole 50 thing. People seem to like a bit of road crash tv.

I agree Mate............Probably because we know what it's like to try to get out of bed in our 40s....

Especially with your Wife doing all she can to stop me leaving..

I'm just happy somebody's doing her truss

Our anniversary in a couple of weeks...........I'll be expected to go where no Man has been in years............

Captain's log, Star date........and all that...

Does anyone fancy Hopkins chances against Stevenson?

Don't you read other comments before you post ??

Hopefully not even Hopkins does. Beterbiev should take on the crusher.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Our anniversary in a couple of weeks...........I'll be expected to go where no Man has been in years............

Captain's log, Star date........and all that...

I wouldn't say 'no man', truss. How are jo and my kids doing?

My oldest is devoid of humor..Has little in the way of personality and is about as much fun as a car crash...

So he's definitely yours...

Ok cheers Mate..

... Sounds like one of mine, On the plus side he'll be hung like a diplodocus

He will be If he keeps beating me on the XBOX..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Don't you read other comments before you post ??

Do you always answer a question with another question?

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Don't you read other comments before you post ??

Do you always answer a question with another question?

Is it a problem If I do ??

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Don't you read other comments before you post ??

Do you always answer a question with another question?

Is it a problem If I do ??

Do you like it when I do it to you?

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Don't you read other comments before you post ??

Do you always answer a question with another question?

Is it a problem If I do ??

Do you like it when I do it to you?

TRUSS hears that all the time at the Oyster

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Does anyone fancy Hopkins chances against Stevenson?

Yup (depending how much the Kovalev loss has taken out of him).

I hope he retires (for Trusstophers sake), but I would like to see how he would deal with Stevenson.