I know Tarver is not liked around here and frankly I dont really like him myself and would like Dawson to smash him but how is he garbage when he gave Roy the toughest fight of his career up to that point? If he was garbage skillwise or fundamentally wise, the man would have been a victim of Roy's hand speed and power at the time. That was the time Jones was Mr.Unstoppable. Roy of the first Tarver fight was STILL fast and skilled as hell and still P4P #1. And the second fight Jones was supposed to pull a "Montell Griffin" on Tarver and KO Tarver brutally...well..it happened to him. Tarver also beat Montell Griffin and Glen Johnson.

I like Kessler. But let's be real about this. The ONE time he stepped up he lost and faded down the stretch. His best win is who? Anthony Mundine? A fast talented fighter..but come on dude. Mundine isn't elite. Who else did he beat..the walking punching bag Andrade? Manny Siaca (the most average champ at 168 in a long time). Beyer?

^^^^ I'm was never too high on Tarver. He lost to Eric Harding once and as Southeastpaw pointed out he was losing the 2nd time before getting the KO. Tarver to me is a guy who made his name on simply catching Jones at the right time. Not saying Roy was suddenly shot, but during the time he fought Tarver, coming down from heavyweight had to take alot out of him physically. In the 2nd fight, Tarver landed a lottery punch with his eyes closed and basically played the Iran Barkley to Roy's Tommy Hearns in that the better fighter lost the fight. Tarver is definitely this generation's lottery winner. He had no business beating Roy Jones. Only the fact that Roy became complacent and had slipped just enough combined with the physical deterioration from losing weight is what I attribute him losing to Tarver in the 1st place because 6 years ago, Tarver would have gotten the beating of his career had he fought Roy then but like the coward he was, ducked him all those years ago.


Kessler still has much to prove but I think if he fought Bernard, at the very least he would put up a better show than Tarver did, who basically fought like a scared bitch after Bernard floored him.

I dont think Tarver ducked anyone...Tarver was calling Jones all out those years..FOLLOWING him in his press conferences. Calling him out in post fight interviews.

Tarver avenged the loss to Harding. And Tarver did not just beat Harding in a rematch...he fucked the man up. Worse than anybody ever did.

If Kessler fought Bernard, the man would get bitchslapped. Kessler is very stationary..the guy is SLOW on his feet (watch the Calzaghe fight)..the guys defensively is very flawed. Against Calzgahe, the guy would pull straight back slowly, and get hit with straights all night. He has a good right hand and a good uppercut. I see him as a 168 version of Wlad Klitschko.

Again, Taylor will give Bernard his toughest fight because of Taylor's jab and speed.

And BTW, Roy Jones himself doesn't seem to think Tarver is garbage...

Totally disagree with this statement (not that you're the first person here to ever make it). Tarver may have caught Roy at the right time and become overrated afterwards as a result, but his career resume is solid. Harding, Reg Johnson, Griffen, Glen Johnson... And I hate the fucking argument people like to use with the Harding rematch. Tarver got outboxed for three rounds and then beat the snot out of Harding. Not luck, not a fluke.


Did I miss some intended sarcasm here? Are you the real PR316 who's a respected poster on this board? Am I not reading your sentence correctly? Tarver ducked Jones all those years, are you fucking kidding? If anything Jones ducked Tarver. And Tarver opted for a rematch with Harding when he didn't have to, when he was risking his mandatory. Tarver may have been a lot of things but a coward he was not.

I'm not even a Tarver fan but some of the hate vented towards him here is extreme. Actually fuck it. Hate all you want, but call a spade a spade.

You're absolutely CORRECT, Big Slim, Tarver NEVER ducked Roy.

You're also correct in that Tarver was FAR from lucky in beating Harding. Tarver was a solid fighter. I think he'd probably stop Kessler. Much better technically, whether he can stop him or not. Been in there w/ better fighters as well. Kessler has terrible footwork and balance. Squares straight up. Got hit with some really BAD stuff.

I can't believe some of the stuff I am reading here, but I guess it's kinda expected given some of the guys writing it.

I'll just keep it short and simple, Hopkins W 12 via Mugging.

Tarver didn't even want a piece of Danny Green. I think the comparison of Green and Kessler can be made. I think that kind of gives you a good indication on the story. Enough said.

Calzaghe is a southpaw.

Yeah. Both natural 168 lbers that haven't faced the kind of opposition that Tarver, a southpaw that could easily fight at north of 190, has.

Yep, and he still wanted no part of a natural 168 fighter, even though one party agreed and would even fight for less for the fight to happen, instead took up a fight with world beater Santiago.
Doesn't matter to me whether Kessler or Green are natural 168 fighters anyways or Tarver can fight north of 190. A natural middleweight schooled the fuck out of Tarver.
I'm not saying Green or Kessler are like Hopkins either, Hopkins is a legend and in a league of his own, but Tarver punked out of a fight with Green for a reason. Now if you want to somehow use some logic on Green-Mundine, Green-Beyer vs Kessler-Mundine, Kessler-Beyer. I don't think the rest if too hard to figure out.
Tarver is ok, but I really don't think he is any better than Kessler.

Again, I'm not the biggest Tarver fan..in fact..I almost cried tears of fuckin JOY when Hopkins beat his ass. We'll see if Kessler can show impovements on his D. He is still young afterall...but at this stage, I'd have to say Tarver is maybe slightly better..skill wise and technique wise. Tarver's got good counterpunching and a good jab.

And Tarver struggled against Muriqi, LOL.

I can understand if you say Tarver is the better counterpuncher. And I also understand giving him credit for his fights against Roy. But all in all I cant her that "Who has Kessler beaten? Look at Tarvers great record" any more. Tarver lost a close decision to Roy, then knocked him out because he does have the tools to always be very dangerous against Jones and the third fight probably wasnt the same Jones. And what else? 1-1 against Johnson who is not elite good and 1-1 against Harding who isnt elite, either. Just like Mundine.

So Tarver has been in the ring with Jones and Hopkins. He seems to be kind of a nightmare stylewise for Jones although at least before that KO there would have always been the possibilty for a Jones W 12 and he didnt stand a chance against B-Hop. I dont see how thats better than being very competitive against Calzaghe and dominating solid and good other opponents.

Oh, Im not talking about the Tarver that fought Merqui. Im talking the Tarver before Hopkins took his man hood.

This thread should be retitled: Hopkins-Calzaghe in Vegas on April 12th? And are Tarver & Kessler Legit or Garbage? Or both?

I don't think we should be looking at JC or X's past opponents to use as a measuring stick here on what happens if/when they meet. Even at this stage........ X will probably be JC's most difficult opponent to date, which is kind of...... unfortunate.

For the guys that think X will take him into deep waters, aren't you guys a little bit concerned about the old man's age? It's at the stage where it does need to be accounted for.

I dind't say anything about deep waters (not saying that was directed at me). I just think he's gonna beat him. Counter all night. Mug him. Rough him up. I believe Joe has great stamina. I think his style could get him beat up. Not a foregone conclusion. Ex will definitely have to pull the trigger.

The "deep waters" comment is actually in reference to X's style now-like the old pitcher in the movie "Major League", with his bag of tricks.

I always thought a great counterpuncher would be able to defeat JC, & X is certainly capable of it, & has the style. But does he have the stamina to so call "pull the trigger"? There is NO doubt X is capable of solving the JC puzzle, but I question whether he'll be able to do it in time to score enough points for the "W". It sounds odd for a guy that has never done it, but if there were still 15 rounds, I would lean towards X in many of the current matchups. He can pace himself more efficiently in that scenario IMHO.

If the Taylor bouts were 15 rounds, Taylor may have eventually DROWNED. The problem with X there was, he thought the painting was finished when the canvas was too small to be completed.

I'm sure JC is aware of the recent Winky "mugging"-wonder if he will choose to "box" in spots? I don't like X's situation there, as he will give rounds away IMHO. X is going to have to set traps, & bait him in.

Absolutely. Before the first bout, he likened it to a bull fight. He said once you see Jermain Taylor take his first step backwards it wil be the end. It was another eerily accurate prefight prediction by Hopkins, and once again it started to unravel exactly as he said it would. One major miscalculation on Hopkins' part - a bull fight goes on in perpituity until one of the parties is done...usually the bull. A sanctioned boxing match has time limits, and while Hopkins' prediction started to come true, he ran out of time. Many still though he had done enough to win a UD, neither here nor there.

I am not questioning whether Hopkins can pull the trigger in the championship rounds. I am talking about pulling the trigger throughout the entire fight. Not making Joe pay down the stretch, but rather making Joe pay in the first third of the fight...the way he made Trinidad, Tarver, Wright, Joppy, do. He doesn;t need to drown Joe. He doesn't need to stop Joe. He needs to score points whenever Joe leaves himself open...Joe will either wear down or he won't, but the points will count regardless...sorta like the Eastman fight. Hops landed lead left hooks, lead right hands, etc all night. Eastman took it all like a man, but the ponts still counted towards a lopsided victory for Hopkins.

I tend to think if Joe is as active as I think he'll be, we may see a Glen Johnson type of beating...a Trinidad type of beating.If Bernard gets Joe chasing him around the ring, stalking hi, he's gonna get picked off all night.

Fuck man, who knows.

The one question mark is whether Hopkins will be able to pull the trigger...see the openings and be able to capitalize. If he can, the fight is his. If he can't. we see him lose Taylor 1 type decision.

IMO.

Fightnews:



According to Warren, it's a done deal. Big fight, and I now look forward to it. Really hope Hopkins can prove me wrong though.

These are the same stories that have been saying for the past 10 days that it is "done".

It ain't done until the contracts are signed and it's officially announced.

All these different sites are writing all these stories claiming it's done, yet, when you read the actual articles, no contracts are signed, no venue, etc.

I've been reading it's done now for about 10 days, and this latest Fightnews is based off of Frank Warren based off of...blah blah blah.

I got me a fat ass suite at Mandalay locked and loaded as a preemptive strike. If it don't happen, I'll cancel.

Just saw this on the front page of Boxingtalk. I had to laugh at his obvious "informercial" rambling on promoting the website....



@ the obvious whoring for the website. Wonder how much he got paid for that.

The funny thing is that Dan Rafeal announced on Friday Night Fights that this fight was going to be officially announced on Tuesday, so it is funny that Bernard is talking accurate news when ESPN reported it first this go around.

I'm hoping X beats Joe as bad as Mayweather beat Ricky. Then X KO's Roy and Taylor and calls it a career.

I was worried about X's stamina too until I saw him fight Tarver and Wright. I realize that neither Tarver or Wright fight at the pace of Joe C, but, Hokins fought all 12 rounds with those guys. He didn't fight the way he fought against Taylor, where he tried save his energy.

I believe that at 170-175, Hopkins has more energy than he ever did at 160. I think he'll be able to effectively make Joe miss and slip in enough sneaky lead right hands that Joe will begin to tire and lose confidence and Hopkins can dictate the terms of the fight in the 2nd half.

I'm not saying he'll do it early enough to take the fight, to pick anyone to be a CLEAR winner, I think, would be foolish.

Man I really think that joke should go and get his ass beat by Roy Instead. The Roy can go and beat bhop, tarver, and johnson, then Roy can call it a career! third best ever, behind sugar ray robinson and Muhammad ali!

I just watched Calzaghe-Kessler, and I dont know, I think Roy would have a good chance. I watched Roy-Tito, Calzaghe-Kessler back to back and its clear to me at least that Roy is WAY faster even at this point....And his shots might just be a little more solid too. Calzaghe throws alot of pitty pat shots. Calzgahe would have to fight Roy like Tarver did but I think Cal would have a hard time outboxing Roy from the outside because of Roy's speed.

Calzaghe-Kessler was a good fight and a great win....but it's where I was also sort of unimpressed with both guys. And I like Kessler alot but I stil dont think he is better than Tarver.

The trouble is that Cal's pitty pat shots are scoring shots. I think he's very conscious of this. The Roy I saw against Tito threw one shot at a time with an "occasional " combo. Hopkins does some similar shit. Waiting and waiting and waiting aint gonna work against Mr. Pitty Pat. While Hopkins and Jones wait to counter, Mr Pitty Pat is gonna be bouncing around in and out pitty pattying his way to a lopsided decision. Hopkins or Joneswill probably land the more meaningful shots, but they will land far to few

Cal may throw 800 punches and land 250. Jones or Hopkins will throw around 350 and land 140 mostly powershots coming from counters. That will not be nearly enuff to win a decision over 12 rounds. Calzaghe would have to see canvas. I dont see Hopkins or Jones sustaining an attack long enought to do that... Unless... They catch him coming in and off balance... Timing may be the way to get at Cal... I see Cal winning a decision against either of these guys...

reg? is that you?

Yep its on now!!!! Another over-rated british fighter is about to get his ass handed to him!! OH man I cant wait......mark my words...Calzaghe will look as average as anyone has ever seen him look against B-Hop...actually I see Calzaghe winning the first couple rounds and thats it...Bernard wont let him use his fast hands and will counter him all night with that quick right hand. Not to mention headbutts and elbows on the inside! Everyone looks awkward against B-Hop...Calzaghe will be a better victory for Bernard than Tarver was....Wait and see!!

maybe your boy DLH can fight Calzhaghe at 147 after that

Yeah scooter, and then B-Hop can fight Hatton at 140 !! Give up on that old shit Ahhh whats wrong? You a Calzaghe fan?! Dont cry when your boy gets his ass whipped!

He'll have to throw more than 15 punches a round.

He always makes his opponent fight his fight. Its gonna be Calzaghe who has a hard time getting off with anything and being smothered all night.

Yeah but Hopkins will have to pull the trigger consistently when his opportunities arrive. And I think B-Hop will find Joe to be pretty awkward as well. Calzaghe will offer hand speed and movement and for a 43 year old guy, that will be difficult to deal with.

Yeah you make good points...but lets not forget though B-Hop is old he is still the best defender in boxing besides PBF. Joes movement may bother him however I think Bernard will be able to fight his usual fight so the hand speed wont be a real factor. The more I think about it I have to take back my Tarver fight comparison...I dont think Calzaghe will take that kinda ass whoopin but I do expect a U.D. victory for B-Hop.

Its possible. I've counted Hopkins out before(Tarver and Wright) and lost. I just think Joe's a different animal. With this fight, avoiding punishment alone won't get it done for Hopkins. He'll have to dish out quite a bit and in doing so, that will also create opportunities for the faster and younger Calzaghe.