Boxing World continued..

[phillymic2000]

Hopkins vs. Tarver this saturday.I have follwed Hopkins forever and I did not want to see him move up in weight. I think it is a gutsy move on hopkins part to go right after the big dog on the block in the light heavy's. He has got to go to the body early and often against Tarver, that is the one area you can hurt Tarver. And he cannot give away the early rounds like he did against Taylor.

[reese125]

Im friggin pumped and will be there. Cant wait to see Hopkins crush him. Has the makings of a beauty

[phillymic2000]

The styles in this fight will play out, Tarver likes to drop his guard when throwing his right and Hopkins loves to counter and go to the body. Yes this will be a good one, and yes I am jealous.

[ice grillin you]

i love hopkins...but he is gonna get merked....hes done

[reese125]

i dont like the fact he lost a couple, but Im predicting a win here on his last fight--everything on the line. Hopkins has the experience of winning/knocking out some great fighters--particularly Oscar 2 years ago and Trinidad, and I think that will be the difference here against Tarver--even though he did beat Roy Jones.

Evenly matched IMO--but Bernard takes it

[phillymic2000]

Hey Tarver is no young gun either, he is 37, beat up an over the hill RJJ and lost (IMO) the last time he fought Johnson. My biggest concern with Hopkins is the jump in weight and fighting Tarver in that first fight. Remeber how slow and plodding Oscar looked against sturm (sp?) before he fought Hopkins.

[Drunkmasterflex]

I am a Hopkins fan, but I think he is biting off more than he can jumping up in weight class.  I think he loses in a decision(I hope I am wrong).

[Rome]

I read this and got a chuckle out of it:

Notebook: Charitable stakes raised for Tarver-Hopkins
Rafael
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com

AROUND THE RING
$250,000 on the line
Antonio Tarver
Tarver put up $250,000 that he'll stop Bernard Hopkins within six rounds. (AP/Mary Godleski)

Besides the desire to retain the light heavyweight title, Antonio Tarver has another incentive to win, and to win quickly.

The contract for the fight between Tarver and Bernard Hopkins contains a clause saying that if Tarver does not stop Hopkins before the sixth round, he must give Hopkins $250,000, which is to go to his charitable Make a Way Foundation.

Before the fight was made, Tarver promised he would stop Hopkins inside six rounds if they fought. When they negotiated the contract, Hopkins insisted that he keep his word and that it go in the deal.

"Tarver is so confident that he's going to win this fight that part of the deal put together for this fight is that he put up $250,000 in the contract that I won't get past five rounds," said Hopkins, who has never been stopped in an 18-year career. Hopkins has never even been cut and only been knocked down twice, during his first fight with Segundo Mercado.

"So that means that Tarver, who's not known to knock anybody about but Roy Jones, put up a quarter million dollars. A guy that's come out of bankruptcy a year-and-a-half ago puts up a quarter million dollars? You've got to take him seriously, or he's maybe a fool. But I'll take it and I will use it well. There's a lot of kids in my Make a Way Foundation in Philadelphia that can use that money, and I will thank him after the press conference for that money and I will go about my business."

Tarver said he didn't remember making the remarks about stopping Hopkins in the first half of the fight, but so is confident that he will win that he allowed the clause to be put in the contract.

"I'm a man of my word," Tarver said. "If he sees the sixth round, he gets a check. It goes to charity and I will present it to him. I can use the tax break."

Hopkins said the bet shows just how serious the fight is.

"When a man puts up that kind of money, believe me, he's serious," Hopkins said. "He's not only going to lose, he's going to lose $250,000 and get his ass kicked. That's a hell of a way to lose -- short a quarter of a million dollars and with a lot of lumps."

Gotta love that.   

[phillymic2000]

Well he has the 250k in the bag already!! Come on X

[phillymic2000]

Oh yes Baby the X going out in style, or is he. Who wants to bet this sets up a X vs. RJJ.

[Drunkmasterflex]

x

That was a great fight for Hopkins, I was absolutely shocked how he dominated the fight I thought it would be the absolute opposite way.

As far as a RJJr fight, it just doesn't appeal to me, Jr is not the same caliber fighter he once was.

[Rome]

Going out in style.  Man, the executioner is right.  He pimp slapped Tarver all over the ring last night.

Excellent swan song for a great fighter.



He did say after the fight that if someone offered him $20M to fight, he'd come out of his grave for that payday.

[phillymic2000]

I wouldn't mind seeing it Flex, Hopkins would dominate RJJ

[reese125]

I went to the fight last night and let me tell you the AC Convention Center is a dump. I felt like I was at an amateur Pro Wrestling event waiting for Steve Lombardi-The Brooklyn Brawler to come out

I dont know how it looked on TV, but the fight in general was very boring. Tarver seriously looked like a lost puppy out there, clueless on how to counterpunch and land anything significant. Hopkins stayed aggressive the whole fight throwing, ducking and dodging. One good punch by B-Hop the whole fight and there you have it. Clear cut decision--made some money on a 3-1 underdog.

Tons of ass--and I mean TONS of hooker galore ass at that fight--wheew

[Drunkmasterflex]

What a fight, it was scored exactly how it should have been a draw.  Definately should be a rematch! Man I am so pumped after seeing that fight!