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Retire on top?
Fight Cleverly? Shumenov?
What fights out there are winnable for him at the moment? Bellew?
Fight Cleverly? Shumenov?
What fights out there are winnable for him at the moment? Bellew?
What does Hopkins do now?
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Cleverly is winnable IMO
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Cleverly and possibly Bellew.
Don't think there's anyone else, unless someone from SMW steps up. Dawson and Ward will beat him every time, they're just money fights. I don't think Hopkins even believes he could beat Ward.
Don't think there's anyone else, unless someone from SMW steps up. Dawson and Ward will beat him every time, they're just money fights. I don't think Hopkins even believes he could beat Ward.
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Frank already said he'll do his best to make the Cleverly/Hopkins fight so hopefully both stay away from the shabby seafood and that can happen.
Had to laugh when B-Hop said to Cloud after last night "I won't be here much longer, I only got 5 years left" :lol:
Had to laugh when B-Hop said to Cloud after last night "I won't be here much longer, I only got 5 years left" :lol:
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He's said before he'd never fight Ward anyway, I think he sees him as his apprentice in a way.
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He's been doing that for some time.
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:lol:
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I think we'll see a Cleverly fight in the UK. It ticks so many boxes for Hopkins which is the key:
Frank will make him believe it'll fill a stadium - Stadium fight: check
Revenge over the Calzaghe loss - Revenge: check
The easiest way to top 'Oldest champ' is to be 'Oldest Unified champ' - Unification: check
He likes an away win, I think he's attracted to a UK fight - Away win: check
He'll see Clev as a good style for him - Good style for him: check
Does Frank have the wonga to get him over? He might have to find it to keep afloat.
Frank will make him believe it'll fill a stadium - Stadium fight: check
Revenge over the Calzaghe loss - Revenge: check
The easiest way to top 'Oldest champ' is to be 'Oldest Unified champ' - Unification: check
He likes an away win, I think he's attracted to a UK fight - Away win: check
He'll see Clev as a good style for him - Good style for him: check
Does Frank have the wonga to get him over? He might have to find it to keep afloat.
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I think if Hopkins comes over, I have to see him fight. I'd definitely get tickets for that one, even if the fight was shit, I'd appreciate being there and seeing the guy.
This is a great fight for all parties involved though, it fits. It works for Hopkins as Lilo just pointed out, it works for Cleverly because his recent fights have been shocking and he still hasn't stepped on the world scene and it's a winnable fight, and it's a fight that can get Warren back on his feet, surprise some people and do repeat business with Hopkins.
Another thing, I retract what I said in the thread that Hopkins has absolutely no chance in beating Cleverly. How the fuck can I even say that? Just watching the interview Chacal posted and he points out so calmly that even he knows how everybody thinks its going to go and how he fights. He'll get outhustled, he'll be outworked, he'll throw one or two punches, he'll clinch a lot. He knows that stuff, he knows himself better than anybody does, I can't dispute that. So for me to say Cleverly will beat Hopkins and that Hopkins has no chance is foolish, and if anything I can take away from the Cloud fight is that Hopkins is one of the most aware fighters on the planet. Not even remotely punch drunk, and when he wins fights, he doesn't scrape by, for the most part he dominates. Its the fights he loses that are mostly scrappy and close affairs, what does that tell you?
edit: Man, looking at his record is fucking astounding too. Look at every one of his wins, it's either a T/KO or a UD. There's no MD there, there's no SD, there's no controversy in any of his wins on the record (someone who may have followed his entire career may be able to say there was a fight he was given, but on the outside looking in, its a crazy stat), and of his losses of 6, only two of those are UD's. When people generally discuss his losses, only one of those UD's was clear; Roy Jones Jr. His other clear loss is Chad Dawson, which was still ruled a MD. It's just crazy, man.
This is a great fight for all parties involved though, it fits. It works for Hopkins as Lilo just pointed out, it works for Cleverly because his recent fights have been shocking and he still hasn't stepped on the world scene and it's a winnable fight, and it's a fight that can get Warren back on his feet, surprise some people and do repeat business with Hopkins.
Another thing, I retract what I said in the thread that Hopkins has absolutely no chance in beating Cleverly. How the fuck can I even say that? Just watching the interview Chacal posted and he points out so calmly that even he knows how everybody thinks its going to go and how he fights. He'll get outhustled, he'll be outworked, he'll throw one or two punches, he'll clinch a lot. He knows that stuff, he knows himself better than anybody does, I can't dispute that. So for me to say Cleverly will beat Hopkins and that Hopkins has no chance is foolish, and if anything I can take away from the Cloud fight is that Hopkins is one of the most aware fighters on the planet. Not even remotely punch drunk, and when he wins fights, he doesn't scrape by, for the most part he dominates. Its the fights he loses that are mostly scrappy and close affairs, what does that tell you?
edit: Man, looking at his record is fucking astounding too. Look at every one of his wins, it's either a T/KO or a UD. There's no MD there, there's no SD, there's no controversy in any of his wins on the record (someone who may have followed his entire career may be able to say there was a fight he was given, but on the outside looking in, its a crazy stat), and of his losses of 6, only two of those are UD's. When people generally discuss his losses, only one of those UD's was clear; Roy Jones Jr. His other clear loss is Chad Dawson, which was still ruled a MD. It's just crazy, man.
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He can't beat the top Americans like Dawson and Ward, so he should go after our guys imo, he can make decent money against Cleverly or Froch, maybe fight Bellew in PA if he wants an easy night in front of his home fans.
There is a small chance Froch could pull out a win against him but Hopkins doesn't really have anything to lose at his age.
There is a small chance Froch could pull out a win against him but Hopkins doesn't really have anything to lose at his age.
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I think the Shumenov fight would be an absolute gimme for another world title, the title of oldest unified champion and another young scalp on his record, it would be a fitting send off fight imo. But Hopkins is in a good position right now where he's the world champion and the name yet has nothing to lose, he should take advantage of that and go after the toughest challenges available. The Cleverly fight is 50-50 for me and even if he comes up short the Shumenov fight will probably still be there. There's also Froch in the midst which makes alot of sense. Hopkins has alot of options
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It's weird how often Hopkins' options go from one guy to it being wide open fight by fight.
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I think talk of Bellew is just crazy, don't see why he would bother at all, but any of the other LHW beltholders make a lot of sense for him, so hopefully it's Cleverly. I think he lose a Ward fight big so hopefully he's just making noise when he talks about Ward. Hopkins-Cleverly just got really interesting, though - before the weekend I'd have favoured Cleverly, but now I'm not so sure. Suddenly a fight I'd really look forward to.
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Bellew would be a shit fight, especially since he's previously been soundly beaten by Cleverly.
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Pull the wool off your dick bryan. It was a close fight and bellew has improved since, whether Clev has or not is impossible to tell because he's fought wank opponents.
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But surely you don't think that Hopkins should go for Bellew next?
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