[Thegreatequalize...]

i think popkins time has come. no matter how well you take care of yourself, your physical attributes fade. hopkins power and speed have been diminishing more rapidly since he turned 40. i still think he has the juice to beat a lot of the upper guys out there, but dawson has really good skills and confidence. there's a reason why mayweather said after he "retired" that he thought dawson was the top p4per. i think a prime dawson is going to be too much for the aging popkins. dawson has a good jab and cuts the ring off well, both of which give hopkins' style problems. i won't count hopkins out, but i just don't see it happening unless something shady goes down.

[mrchitown]

I'm going with BHop again by UD. I made the error of attending the fight in October with my girl, so I'm happy to see that it won't be a PPV. There was nothing done in that short amount of time to make me think that Dawson was imposing his will.he did look focused and physically strong but him KO'ing Hopkins won't happen because he doesn't sit down on his punches. He's a lt-heavy version of Paul Williams when it comes to punching in my opinion. If Dawson can keep Hopkins on the outside, he can win. But I think that won't happen due to the craftiness of BHop and the knowledge that Nazim provides in the corner will prove to be to much for a mentally shaky fighter like Dawson

[mrchitown]

i think popkins time has come. no matter how well you take care of yourself, your physical attributes fade. hopkins power and speed have been diminishing more rapidly since he turned 40. i still think he has the juice to beat a lot of the upper guys out there, but dawson has really good skills and confidence. there's a reason why mayweather said after he "retired" that he thought dawson was the top p4per. i think a prime dawson is going to be too much for the aging popkins. dawson has a good jab and cuts the ring off well, both of which give hopkins' style problems. i won't count hopkins out, but i just don't see it happening unless something shady goes down.

I remember Floyd saying that about Dawson on Shotime, but in all honesty, I think he said that because at the time Floyd Sr. Was training Dawson. It's funny that he hasn't said it since then

[Cshel86]

Sigh...sadly, the little bit that I saw in the first fight, isn't enough for me to make an educated assessment. As it's been said, Dawson did look strong and confused, but he was determined to be the aggressor. Hopkins on the other hand, seemed to have started off the same way he did against Taylor in their first fight.

Im almost curious as to see how Hopkins will bully Dawson, if he does. I dont really see him getting knocked out, since we haven't seen it thus far in his career. Guys like B-Hop and Shane probably wont ever be "stopped" in their career, but Hopkins did get hurt a couple of times in both Pascal fights, which raised my eyebrow a bit.

With somebody like Dawson, who utilizes his jab and follows up well (when he steps on the gas), that may pose a problem for Bernard...especially seeing as to how strong Dawson came on in the first fight. Now, if Hopkins can systematically wear Chad down, then he doesn't have to do anything else right at this point of his late career.

Dawson by close decision

[Cshel86]

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LMAO! Who voted for "freak accident"??? Dammit man! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I made the error of attending the fight in October with my girl

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Damn I think I remember you mentioning this months ago!

[mitukczuk]

The past has taught me never to count B-Hop out.

With that being said I think that focused and active Dawson has the capability of winning by wider decision than most people would have thought. I don't see the fight ending in KO and if so its going to be a really bad one - as in premature stoppage, cuts. It will be a tactical fight and I am just hoping that everything goes well with both guys.

I see Dawson winning Taylor style (hungry, active and without stage-fright) but I am not betting against Hopkins and I will not be surprised if he wins a close decision based on the ridiculous ring IQ he possesses.

[mrchitown]

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LMAO! Who voted for "freak accident"??? Dammit man! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


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Damn I think I remember you mentioning this months ago!

Yes I did LOL. I wont be making the same mistake twice

[thefloatingmonke...]

Dawson should be able to easily win this; however, he is so friggin gun shy. If he lets his hands go he wins.

[BrutalBodyShots]

I've got Hopkins by close decision.

The first fight means absolutely nothing with regards to the rematch; whoever you picked to win the first fight is who you should pick to win this one.

Those predicting Dawson to win via stoppage, that's quite bold. Picking a guy that hasn't stopped someone in 5 years to stop a guy that hasn't been stopped is a stretch without question.

I do think Dawson's speed will pose some trouble to Hopkins over the first half of the fight. Hopkins has only really had trouble with guys with good speed... Taylor, Calzaghe, Pascal...

Dawson though seems to have too many lapses in his work rate; to me it feels like he takes a good minute off in every 3 minute round. For a guy like Hopkins that's older, a little slower, and prefers a slower pace this suits him well. I think during Dawson's lapses in work coupled with a natural slowing down a bit by the middle rounds (when Hopkins usually starts getting to work) I think we'll see Hopkins starting to time Dawson well and rough him up in the clinch. I don't necessarily think Hopkins will have enough in the tank by the last 3 rounds to snatch Dawson's soul the way he did some of his past opponents, but I think it will be enough for him to eek out a victory on the cards. Regardless of the victor, I see this ending up a 115-113 type fight. In fact, betting the draw isn't a bad idea if you like to gamble...

[mgrover]

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LMAO! Who voted for "freak accident"??? Dammit man! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


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Damn I think I remember you mentioning this months ago!

i still think dawson will go crazy and attempt something stupid, he may pull a gun out of his trunks and threaten bhop, in that scenario i have bhop winning by DQ