Greg you are with out of dot a oscar hater. Really you are. Those facts are impressive Really they are. But my opion oscar has a chance to beat hopkins cause of hand speed. You say that oscar don't got power this and that. And also even he knock out vargas doesn't mean nothing cause you said its because of steriods and the tito fight that has something to do with it. And the mosley rematch (which I thought oscar should have won that fight period) and the sturm fight. Well let me remind you greg you oscar hater. Hopkins after the tito fight has not knock out fighters  left or right. Put it this way hopkins wasn't impressive at all in his last four fights which are boring. He in embasses himself when he bet joppy that he will knock joppy out before the 12 round. Even though he beat up joppy, hopkins didn't come close of putting joppy to the mat and let me remind you that since you talking about oscar knock oout vargas doesn't mean nothing cause of steriods and the tito fight well you could say the same with hopkins beating joppy cause I give you two reason why hopkins beat joppy and here they are, the number one is because of personal problems that joppy has to deal with and second before the hopkins fight if you forgot joppy hasn't been the same since he got knock out three time by who? I think his name is tito. Ok lets talk about before the joppy fight. Hopkins last fight before joppy was against an unknown fighter which I forgot his name and let me say that it was probubly the worst boring performise in history. My favorite when larry mercent was all over hopkins of that crappy performise I love it.  And what about the allen fight well I tell you this finally since a tito fight he put somebody to the mat and that is allen in the seven round but after that nothing at all. So hopkins last two fights were joppy (after tito beat the hell out of joppy) and allen and two at that fight were by decision. So greg you see you talk about oscar don't got a power and this and that well hopkins is the sameshit. The two thing I agree with you is the height and weight advantage against oscar but really won't mean nothing. The only thing hopkins could do to beat oscar is do what he uscally do and that is hit oscar in a low blow shots. Thats what hopkins is best at is hit fighters in there privete parts. If not then I bet you that oscar will out box and out work hopkins and make hopkins look like an old 39 year old guy that is past his prime. And after that greg I can't wait to email you again and you be looking like a fool. I wonder what kind of excuse you will put if oscar beat hopkins. Well that’s all I have to say. Takecare oscar hater. – raymon

Hype Reply: Okay…first and foremost, I’m not Greg. Now that we got that straight, let me clear up that point concerning Oscar’s punching power. I only question whether or not he truly has the necessary punching power to prevent a true middleweight from walking him down. In his first test, against Sturm, he failed. Despite coming out in the first round and unloading bombs, it was clear that Sturm was not impressed with his power…and because of that, Sturm was able to walk him down pretty easily…must have been Oscar’s lack of conditioning. So I ask myself, “is it possible that Oscar may be losing punching power as he moves up in weight?” Well let’s take a look at some of his previous fights. In the Mosley rematch, Oscar did a good job of keeping that jab in Mosley’s face. He even hit him with his vaunted left hook on several occasions. Yet there was Mosley…8th round, 9th round, 10th round…still coming forward…still attacking that body. Interesting…Mosley took Oscar’s “power” pretty well…must have been the steroids. How about the fight before that? Did Campas go down in that fight? I don’t remember…I think I fell asleep. That fight was about as boring as you say the Hopkins-Hakkar fight was (and ironically, both those fights were stopped in the same round…well, technically the 7th round for Campas since he didn’t bother coming out for the 8th). I’m sure you’d agree that Oscar was hitting Campas with a lot of punches, right? I seem to remember Campas eating a lot of flush shots pretty well (must have been the potion) before he decided to quit (like he did in the 8th round against Oba Carr in ’00…and like he did against Vargas in ’98). So again, I ask myself, “is Oscar losing some steam on his punches?” How about the Vargas fight? Oh yeah…Oscar got him good in that one. Now, I didn’t say he lacked punching power in that fight. I’m just saying, that fight will always have an asterick next to it. No matter who you talk to…De La Hoya fans and haters alike all know that Vargas was on steroids. How much the steroids played a role in that fight is something you can debate until your blue in the face…personally, I just like to throw that fight out altogether. So in my assessment of De La Hoya’s power, I’m not even considering that fight. So I dig a little deeper…to the only other junior middleweight that Oscar has faced, Javier Castillejo. He did put Castillejo down in the 12th, but I don’t ever remember Castillejo being hurt to the point where the fight was going to be stopped. So keep in mind, with the Vargas fight thrown out, the only fights that Oscar has fought in the middleweight divisions (154 and 160) are Castillejo, Mosley, and Sturm. Castillejo…okay…he put him down…I’ll give him…I don’t know…how about a B on that test. But Castillejo is a junior middleweight…not a full-fledged middleweight. Mosley…he seemed unfazed by some of Oscar’s best shots. And again, Mosley’s a junior middleweight…heck, should he even be fighting at junior middleweight? Winky Wright looked pretty big in there against him. How about Sturm? Man…he failed that test miserably…and his face showed it. So I really wonder, is Oscar going to have enough power to make Bernard respect him? Yeah, everybody knows that he’s going to be up on his toes all night trying to outbox Bernard, but if he doesn’t have any pop behind those punches, what’s going to prevent Hopkins from just walking through the fire and laying some bruising leather on Oscar? Given his first performance at middleweight and two out of his three performances at junior middleweight, I’m not so sure Oscar still retains the kind of power he had at 147. As for Hopkins’ power, I think I said that he didn’t possess much knockout power either…at 160. But he’s not fighting a guy who naturally fights at 160…he’s fighting a smaller guy, from a lighter division. Now, if it’s possible to lose punching power as you move up in weight, isn’t it possible to gain punching power when you move down in weight? Wouldn’t you have a better chance at knocking out a smaller guy than one of the bigger guys you’re more accustomed to fighting? Logic would tell me yes…and that’s one of the reasons why Hopkins was able to stop Trinidad. Just watch the fight again…go look at some pictures. As we like to say around here…SEE THE DIFFERENCE in size between Hopkins and Trinidad. Oscar, like Trinidad, is not a true middleweight. If you asked me several years ago who had better punching power between De La Hoya and Trinidad, my answer would be Trinidad (must have been the hand wraps). Bernard ate some good shots from Trinidad and he was unfazed. Why? Well one, he has a good chin…but two, he was the bigger man. It’s no different than Santos being able to take some of Margarito’s best shots. Even if his plan is to stay on the outside all night, he’s gonna have to make Hopkins respect him. If not, Bernard’s going to walk right through his punches, smother his combinations and work that body…and that could spell some serious trouble for Oscar.  Okay…I actually have a lot more to say, but I gotta get to some of these other emails. If Oscar beats Hopkins, there will be no excuse. It will simply mean that Oscar pulled off the best fight of his career and he will go down in history as one of the all-time greats…right next to guys like “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, etc….for doing what many thought was impossible (although after reading some of these emails, it seems like a lot of people think it’s going to be pretty easy for Oscar). However, I think the important question is what’s the excuse going to be if Hopkins wins? His back…overtrained…injured hand....whatever. If Hopkins wins, will he get the credit he deservers for beating a “great” fighter such as De La Hoya, or will he just be looked upon as a bully who picked on smaller guys? Incidentally, if anyone actually took the time to read this entire response, I’m truly impressed and I thank you.

Ok, that was not a strictly facts page.  Boxingtalk is a great website and i am a member, but its writing like yours (and sometimes gregs) that aggrivate me sometimes.  Dont get me wrong, that was a pretty good article, but it was full of your own biased opinions mixed with some fact.  Fact is, whether bernard is as fast or oscar or not, oscar IS the fastest fighter, not to mention smartest, fighter that bernard has faced since he fought roy jones.  Fact is, the DREADED EXECUTIONER couldnt cleanly ko a complete tomato can in hakkar or a softie like carl daniels.  Fact is, Hakkar didnt run the whole time, he sat down and started poppin hopkins after the first round.  Fact is, William Joppy stood in front of bernard for 12 full rounds and got hit with everything except the kitchen sink (including some elbows and low blows) and didnt go down.  Fact is, bernard has problems with movers and is no longer a ko puncher.   Fact is, bernard is a small middleweight and is a plodder.  Once you and greg stop swapping spit with bernard and start being ubiased toward fighters that YOU like, then it will hinder this website.  You should give info to the fans from a neutral point of view.  If you say that the hbo commentary is biased and sways the public, so does your articles, especially gregs.  Truth be told, i like this website and greg seems cool, but im not the only one that feels this way.  I get the distinct feeling that you guys hate oscar, even though you may not say it...gregs last mail bag "oscar hated on us" and something like "hopkins will beat oscar in style", that doesnt sound like your reporting about a fight between two pros', instead it sounds like your writing about two of your friends fighting and you picking one cuz you dont like the other.  forward this to greg.  keep up the good work and thanks for your time.  - Junior from Bakersfield, California

Hype Reply: Writing like mine? Damn man…I didn’t know it was all like that. And I thought you said it was a good article. Anyway, like I said, I tried to stay as unbiased as possible. If I sounded as though I was biased and offended you, then I apologize. Really, I thought I was pointing out some simple facts and giving you some questions to ask yourself before you lay down any bets. Fact 1: Hopkins has the height advantage – will Oscar be able to outjab the taller man? Fact 2: Hopkins has the reach advantage – will Oscar’s jab be able to get to Hopkins before his jab gets to Oscar? Fact 3: Oscar’s the smaller man moving up in weight – is Oscar going to carry enough power at the higher weight to keep Hopkins off of him? Fact 4: Oscar’s in much better shape for this fight so he should retain the speed advantage – will he have that much of a speed advantage to make a difference in the fight? Fact 5: They both have a common opponent in Trinidad – if the fights close, will Oscar be able to close the show or will he give Hopkins too much respect for his power like he did against Trinidad in the final rounds. I mean, that pretty much sums everything that I said. I don’t see too much bias in that. Truth be told, Oscar could very well win this fight, but a lot of those questions will have to be answered correctly in order for him to win it. I mean dawg…swappin’ spit with Hopkins? Come on man…does it gotta be all like that? I didn’t think I was dawgin’ on Oscar…just bringing up some very valid points to keep in mind. I’m not picking Hopkins because he’s my friend…I’m picking him because I don’t think Oscar will have the answers for all of those questions. Simple as that! Glad you like the site though.

oscar has the speed the experience and now the career defining motivation to knock hopkins out. Also dont forget another fact oscar is alot younger than motor mouth hopkins.

Hype Reply: Maybe the speed, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the experience or the career defining motivation. In fact, I think it’s Hopkins who’s looking at it as his career defining moment. Like Oscar said, he’s not worried about anything else…just those belts. As far as age is concerned, I’m sure Trinidad thought the same thing…and Michael Moorer too. Or how about all those young cornerbacks he seem to lose sight of Jerry Rice as he slips into the endzone? Heck…how about all those young bucks he lined up next to Lance Armstrong in the Tour? Age ain’t nothin’ but a number bro…especially when you keep yourself in tip-top shape all year round.

I'd pick fighter B over A if  Fighter A  is pushing 40 and fighter B has youth, faster hands, and better movement.  I don't think the speed factor in this one is arguable. Oscar will have the speed advantage and it will be a key advantage. Age is the big factor you are  discounting here. No way in hell Oscar beats a prime Hop. But Hop's prime was yrs ago. You also mention that Oscar will have to jab up. So what? When was the last time you saw Chris Byrd jabbing down? Good boxers fight bigger guys all the time. Hop has been impressive the last few yrs because he is an excellent technician and his opponents have stood in front of him, where he could methodically take them apart. Hop will obviously be the agressor thruout, but he'll have a difficult time finding his target and landing solid shots. When Hop gets inside, Oscar will need to hold him like his woman. Oscar is going to make Hop appear slowwww on the outside.  In and out fighting and side to side movement is going to win it for Oscar in a very close decision. In spite of what I said about Hop, he is a legitimate all time great. Just 3 yrs ago I picked him over Tito when most of the media said Tito would win. I recall then, Max Kellerman saying, "it's an unwinnable fight for Hopkins". - RH  San Jose

Hype Reply: Fighter A may be pushing 40, but fighter B is no spring chicken either. What’s he pushing…32? Like I’ve already stated, age ain’t nothin’ but a number…especially when you keep yourself in tip-top shape all year round. I didn’t bother bringing the “age factor” up because I simply don’t think it’s going to be an advantage for either fighter. Technically, I guess he could age over night, but usually when that happens, there are some subtle signs leading up to the point. Up until this point, Hopkins hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. The last time I saw Chris Byrd jabbing down would have to be against David Tua, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that it can be difficult to outbox and outjab a guy that’s taller than you. Fortunately for Byrd, he’s been able to gain a lot of experience against guys that are taller than him. Guys like Golota and the Klitchko brothers. Then again, Byrd didn’t really look so great in those fights. I wonder if their height advantage had anything to do with that. As for finding the target, we’re not talking about Trinidad here. I don’t think you’re giving Hopkins enough credit. Sturm didn’t have any problems finding the target…neither did Mosley. In fact, Vargas was pretty successful at finding the target as well until he ran out of gas…and into a left hook…in the later rounds.

hey hype, you and greg leon need to go do a threesome with bernard, cus you two guys sure be riding that dick, make sure you reply to this email when hopkins gets his ass handed to him on saturday.

Hype Reply: When Hopkins gets his ass handed to him? Hell, I’ll reply to this email now. Actually, maybe I won’t since there’s really nothing to reply to. I mean, did you plan on making a point? Perhaps a counter argument? Can you give me anything that might make me change my opinion? No? Well then take that kind of childish banter on over to the smack talk section of the message boards!

You draw a pretty simplistic view in favor of Hopkins coming out the victor Saturday night at the expense of DLH. Fact is, everything you say may be true, however, in comparing the last couple of opponents each has faced, Hopkins comes up on the short side. Except for Joppy who Trinidad had already demolished in 5 and mind you, Hopkins in 12, implies his skills are not as good as you are making them out to be. A fighters performance is only as good as their last couple of bouts which is indicative of their conditioning. While it may be true DLH has not faced anyone the caliber of Hopkins, on the flip side, neither has Hopkins faced anyone as intelligent in the ring as DLH. What I agree with is, it will not be a cakewalk for DHL albeit not impossible to win, however, if he can stick and move and frustrate and not allow Hopkins to get set he can win on points. He does not have to look like a beast imposing his will on Hopkins because what matter ultimately is that "W".

Hype Reply: I don’t really think it was at the expense of De La Hoya. I’m just laying out some facts and giving everyone some things they should be thinking about. To be honest with you, I think everyone else is giving a simplistic view of De La Hoya coming out the victor. Whenever I talk to someone who emphatically states that De La Hoya is going to win, all they ever talk about is his hand speed. That’s all I ever hear…hand speed, hand speed, hand speed. I mean, is that all it takes to win fights now…just hand speed? Then why the heck did Roy Jones Jr. just get knocked out by Tarver? Or how about Winky Wright…you mean to tell me his hand speed was just as good as Mosley’s? I’m just saying, there’s a lot more to winning fights than hand speed. As for Hopkins’ skills not being good because he went the distance with Joppy, is that even a valid point? I mean, you say that he’s not good because he went the distance with a guy that got knocked out by Trinidad in 5, but didn’t Hopkins stop Trinidad in 12 as well?  I won’t even touch the comment about a fighter’s performance only being as good as their last couple of bouts because quite honestly, I don’t really believe that. But even so, if you do believe that, did you watch the Sturm fight? Is this fight winnable for Oscar De La Hoya…absolutely! But like you said, that’s IF Oscar can stick and move…IF he can frustrate Hopkins…IF he can prevent Hopkins from getting set. Man, that’s a lot of IFs. I think Oscar might be able to do 1 out of the 3, but I don’t think that’s going to be enough to win this one.

Hey bud just a couple of things your forgetting, one who was the last great fighter that hopkins has fought? Washed up Joppy?, Allan? No it was Tito unless you want to go back a decade to Roy. Now Tito we all now was a blown up middleweight too that just relied on his power but he didn't fight anyone one either. Joppys a joke, he's a stepping stone, so without each other Hopkins hasn't fought anyone on the level of dela hoya. He hasn't faced any kind of Mosley's or even Vargas! Two Talking about all that power he has over Oscar, I'll tell you one thing Tito had way more power than anyone at 147 than Hopkins has faced, of course Hopkins vs. Tito was a match made in heaven for Hopkins, Tito just comes forward into the bear trap of a bigger man. Oscars faced harder hitters than Hopkins face. Three don't forget one thing you mint not know about if your not a fight, chasing someone down if Hopkins has to chase dela hoya around for 7-8 rds he will be drained, more than Oscar opening a chance not a big one but he has a chance that seems how that fight will take place. Dela hoya 115-113 That's it i'm out peace

Hype Reply: Sup bud…and here’s a couple of things that you’re forgetting. Personally, I don’t necessarily like to make a prediction based on a fighter’s resume, but since you want to go there… Who was the last “great” fighter Hopkins has fought? You said Trinidad, right? The same Trinidad who put Vargas on the canvas five times? The same Vargas who won a very close decision against Winky Wright? The same Winky Wright that just manhandled Shane Mosley in a lopsided win? The same Shane Mosley that beat Oscar De La Hoya not once, but twice (and even if you think Oscar won the second fight, it was still a close fight and Oscar was clearly hurt from that body shot)? Are these all the “great” fighters you’re referring to? I mean, if were talking about resumes and who beat whom, then I say Hopkins should be able to beat up pretty much all of them since he beat up Trinidad pretty easily. Oh…my bad…you’re right…Trinidad was a blown-up middleweight…as opposed to Oscar who’s what, a blown-up junior middleweight? But like you said, Trinidad did have way more power at 147 than anyone that Hopkins has ever faced (hmmm…Trinidad’s power at 147 against Echol’s power at 160…I don’t know…that’s a tough call). Well if that’s the case, then is Oscar going to have enough power to make Hopkins respect him? After all, it didn’t look like Trinidad had enough power. As far as chasing him down is concerned, if Hopkins is chasing him down that much, then that means De La Hoya will be doing a whole lot of running. Will Oscar’s stamina be able to hold up? It certainly hasn’t in the past.

Hi. I just read your article and I found some of your points to be very weak.  As you say, we all are entitled to our opinion.  While Hopkins does have the advantage in height, and reach, Oscar has the edge in punching power and speed.  The speed that you question is still there with Oscar.  And last time I checked, Manny Steward is a reputable source for opinions in boxing.  On the Cotto-Pinto fight night, he said there is no question that Oscar also has the power advantage.   Bernard has NEVER been a puncher in the middleweight decision.  Also, there are very few with the solid chin that DLH possesses.  Your prediction may be right, and it may be wrong.  But you are forgetting one very important thing.  Everyone grows old.  It is in-evitable.  When, is the true question with Hopkins.  Look at Jones Jr. No one saw it coming.   Bernard has never looked good when having to be the aggressor.  He does great moving backwards, as he proved with Trinidad.  Bernard has never fought a boxer with the experience and smarts that DLH has, with Jones being the exception.  Well, as the saying goes, we shall see.  Thanks for listening to my babble, and I hope you enjoy the fight! -Xavier

Hype Reply: Weak? Damn...it's like that? Haha...it's all good. We've all got our opinions. However, it is still fact that Hopkins has the height and reach advantage. And not to knock Manny, but didn't he say that Wladimir was a better fighter than Vitali? Well, that still remains to be seen...just like Oscar's supposed power advantage. I'm not exactly sure of why he would say Oscar will have more power at middleweight than a guy who's been fighting there all of his life. Perhaps Manny has tasted a punch from both of these guys and knows something I don't. Hopkins may not have tremendous knockout power either, but he will be the bigger man in the ring on Saturday…just like he was the bigger man when he fought Trinidad. If Trinidad was a blown-up middleweight and lacked the pop to faze Hopkins, then what exactly does that say about Oscar? After all, he didn’t really hurt Mosley too much with all of his power…and Mosley looked a lot smaller and a lot weaker than Winky Wright (who, by the way, is a junior middleweight…not a middleweight). Based on the simple fact that Oscar’s the smaller man moving up in weight, I think Bernard’s gonna have the edge in the strength and power department. And yes, it’s true that everyone grow old, but Hopkins has showed absolutely no signs of slowing down (and neither has Lance Armstrong). Roy, on the other hand, has…Alton Merkelson, Roy’s trainer, even stated before the Tarver rematch, “he's lost his ability to maneuver around the ring. The ring generalship isn't as sharp as when he was young. I see it in his movement. But his hand speed is still there at age 35.” Well good thing for Roy the hand speed is still there…too bad it didn’t help him out that much against Tarver. I didn’t forget about the “age factor”…I just don’t think it will play any type of roll in this fight. After all, if 39 is old, then Oscar, who’s pushing 32, is no spring chicken either.

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