Does BHop deserve a rematch against Calzaghe?

Question

I think so. Calzaghe may have landed more, but Hopkins made him miss about as often, and Bernard definitely landed the harder blows.

Ultimately, I can't complain about the decision, but I wouldn't have complained if it had gone the other way.

Answer 1

No.  We have seen that one.  Anyway, Calzaghe has only one match to go, and his fight with Roy Jones Jr will be much more worth watching.

Answer 2

He probably deserves it more than many others in the division but do the fans want to see it?   I don't think so.  Bernard is a great fighter but anytime he's involved in a rematch it's because people want to see if "The Opponent" can do it again.  Bernard isn't the most pleasant fighter to watch.

Answer 3

Well, Bernard Hopkins deserves a rematch, but honestly, I don't really want to see one (and I'm a Hopkins fan) because I think that the result would most likely be the same due to B-Hop's age.  Hopkins already proved with this fight that if a 43 year old, past his prime Bernard Hopkins can almost beat Joe Calzaghe, then a prime B-Hop would have beaten Calzaghe easily.  Calzaghe did not impress me at all with that fight, in all honesty, I had Calzaghe winning the fight, but Hopkins impressed me more by knocking him down and making it a competitive and pretty close fight with a volume puncher like Calzaghe.  I think that B-Hop should retire because he has nothing left to prove, and as I said, this loss only proves that he would have beaten Calzaghe if Joe crossed the pond years ago and fought him in his prime.  His record speaks for itself- he is a living legend that is without a doubt, a first ballot hall of famer; he was one of my favorite fighters and I'll miss watching a master of his craft like him.

Pedritor- when Hopkins fought Tarver, he fought another old fighter, and regardless, Tarver is one of the most overrated fighters in the game today.  Winky Wright is another older, defensive fighter like Hopkins and as a result, he was able to rough him out and win a decision.  Thats why he beat those guys.  He lost to Calzaghe because of his age and NOTHING else.  You mention that Calzaghe landed more punches than anyone else on Hopkins, but what you failed to mention is that many of them were open-handed slaps.  That fight showed why Calzaghe has stayed in his comfort zone for all these years and why he was scared to cross the pond and fight a top opponent in their prime like Jones or Hopkins.  He waited until the opportune moment to come over and barely beat a 43 year old legend who would have schooled him if he was in his prime (anywhere from 2001 or before), and I don't blame him for milking his title for all its worth, but as far as I'm concerned, this fight proved why Hopkins will always be seen as the better legend- most of us are smart enough to realize that.

Answer 4

Does he deserves it? Yes.  Will it happen?  Most defenetly not If Calzaghe's people is smart.  My reasoning behind it is that there are a lot of faded big names from Middleweight all the way to Light heavyweight that can produce some interesting events. From Roy Jones, Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson (who is undefeated) in the light heavyweight class.

He can also try to conquer the Super middleweight division since there is a young guy called Lucian Bute that has a very impressive record of 22-0 with 18 ko's who can bring some extra money, and so many other options for him without risking it too much, like William Joppy and others.

It's all about the money so his people (Calzaghe) need to manage him properly before accepting a rematch with Hopkins, if anything he could consider it if he looses with any of the ones that I have mentioned or if he descideds to fight some one like Pavlik who would make some money and would be very intersting, but it would defenetly not be a smart move from Calzy,  :)

Yeah the fight was pretty good, I personally scored it and saw Calzaghe like 3 point ahead in my card.  So time will tell my friend...

Answer 5

BHop is one of the best fighters and deserves a fight with anyone. Apparently, though, he thought evereyone else except for the judges thought he won the fight against Calzaghe so is unlikely to ask for a rematch. He'll probably just retire now, now that he's under more pressure to do so.

Answer 6

would it be interesting to watch a real boxer....and a cry baby actor?

Answer 7

It was a great fight,both fighters displayed their talents, Hopkins is getting old though and he does not have too many fights left in him I don't think he has anything left to prove and he is still a champion in my eyes i don't think a rematch would be any different.

Answer 8

Fellow fight fans- Hopkins probably does deserve a rematch against Calzaghe (after all it was a relatively close decision), but the bigger question is do WE the fight fans want to see it?  Quite frankly, I was disappointed by the fight and I'm a long-time boxing junkie.  Hopkins ran out of gas in round 9 and couldn't put together any type of sustained counter attack outside of brief flurries in the early rounds.  Meanwhile, Calzaghe looked somewhat amateurish and awkard (attribute some of this to Hopkins' defense and style) and truly does have a "slap" style punch... but come on, these are two long time champions and future Hall of Famers!   As for future match-ups, Pavlik would KO Calzaghe inside of six rounds, Tarver would TKO him inside of eight, and Jones would eke out a split decision on the basis of atheticism.

God bless both Calzaghe and Hopkins.  They've given us great thrills through the years, but I came away from last week's fight with a diminished view of them both.  I would much rather remember Calzaghe in terms of demolishing Jeff Lacy and Hopkins knocking out Oscar with the body punch.

Finally, don't let Hopkins' "white boy" statement set boxing race relations back 20 years.  The comments were in bad taste and would not have been tolerated coming from Calzaghe BUT Hopkins was simply selling the fight (remember Jim Lampley commenting on the "mostly filled" arena? I don't think this was a pre-fight sellout)

If this doesn't convince you, think about it... would a racist man entrust Freddie Roach as his co-lead trainer and Mackie Shillstone as his conditioning coach??

One black fight fan's humble opinion...

Answer 9

That age argument is nonsense folks.  No one was claiming that when Bernard whipped Tarver or Winky.  Joe's style was, as is Bernard's, difficult for a fighter.  It doesn't matter who hits harder.  This is boxing and it's a points game when it comes to a decision.  I wish people would understand if you get outpunched two to one, just because yours is harder doesnt mean your point should count more.  Maybe if it's one to one, but otherwise, no.  Bernard has had a lot of close decision in his career and his reputation and record are intact.  He is a lock for the Hall of Fame.  Joe may not possess one punch knockout power but that doesnt make him any less of a fighter.  He landed more punches against BHop than anyone ever has.  And Bernard is always in good shape.  Miguel Canto, Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Wilfred Benitez weren't great punchers but they were certainly great boxers.  People should really find a way to get over it when a decision doesnt go their way.

Answer 10

he has to. he wont be allowed to go back to the ghetto--------------white kid whooped em

Answer 11

I wouldn't give him one after his 'lunge and grab' tactics and his shameless fake low-blow timeouts. Hopkins needs to retire!

Answer 12

I'd like to see a rematch. Calzaghe has no interest in fighting Hopkins. He said as much after the fight. Calzaghe risks too much if he fights B Hop again. Hopkins already has a spot for his plaque in the Hall of Fame. Despite Joe's record his spot is not solidified. A fight against Pavlik would be an intriguing match up.