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Hopkins Loses and Wins
TUE December 6, BUSTER PARIS - Hopkins won this one. Yes, I know that’s not what the scorecards said. Yes I know that all 3 judges had it 115 to 113 for Jermain Taylor and yes I’m painfully aware that the always correct, flawless and fantastic Harold Lederman (HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer) also had it 115 to 113 for Jermain, but - I think Bernard won this one.
I’ve never really been a Hopkins fan, but Saturday – December 3rd 2005 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada I finally became one and now I fully understand why he was the number 1 pound per pound fighter in boxing for a bazillion years. December 3rd – here’s how I had the night scored:
-Hopkins winning 6 rounds (4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10)
-Taylor winning 5 rounds (1, 2, 3, 6 and 11)
-Round 12 - I had as even.
I think it’s safe to say that this fight was a technical chess match with both fighters seeming to have a healthy respect for each other. It was a reluctant and cautious fight and extremely hard to score – at least 9 of the rounds truly could have gone either way.
It was reluctant in that neither fighter was the out and out aggressor, neither fighter would fully commit to be the first to throw a punch. When one would initiate he was usually hesitant to do so and each of the collisions would be about a 5-punch trade. Both fighters more often than not would throw one or two punches at a time and either Hopkins would slip slide away or Taylor would hold.
What I was impressed with were the times that Bernard would initiate an engagement. They were the sharper and much more explosive attacks of the two, but we would see them so few and far between.
For most of the 12 rounds I would have to say that Taylor was the one primarily on the hunt and on the attack. He was the more hungry of the two to mix it up.
A nice microcosm of the night would be round 4 - basically, Hopkins controlled the pace. The engagements were quick and small. At times Taylor would look and be frustrated. Hopkins would look technically superior and if you look closely enough you could see Bernard whispering secretly some blows not meant for boxing.
At the end of the day I think Bernard Hopkins is a far better fighter than Jermain Taylor. Hopkins has one of the best defenses out there right now and his ring generalship is superb.
Taylor is a more aggressive and a more exciting fighter than Bernard. He has a heavier punch, but isn’t as refined, skilled or polished as Hopkins and he freely admits that he has a lot to learn and a lot to of work to do.
I got to thinking, what about the work that’s been done since their first meeting on July 16th to prepare both of them for this rematch. What about the areas that both fighters needed to improve on to win a second encounter.
I think that Jermain had 3 major things to work on and Bernard had 2.
Improvements Made By Taylor:
-Attitude – Jermain was not scared of Bernard and not overly respectful. The first round, heck, the first clinch Taylor was knocking away at the back of Hopkins’ head showing that he was there to mix it up and that he was there to fight – not just box, but fight.
Jermain was much more confident, much more relaxed and fought like he felt that he belonged there.
-No Looping Overhand Right – In the first fight Taylor had this very amateurish looping and wild overhand right. In the second fight it barely showed up which was a great improvement.
-Endurance/Conditioning – Whether or not it was just stress and nerves that caused Jermain to lose steam in the first fight he was well conditioned and energized for all 12 rounds in the rematch. The last 2 rounds (11 & 12) Taylor was flurrying and throwing big bombs. He was definitely in it to the bitter end.
Improvements Made By Hopkins:
-Fought Every Round – For their first time out Hopkins was truly fighting a brilliantly planned fight, but there turned out to be 1 enormously deadly flaw - the plan called for a 15 round affair. That, it turns out, is the major thing that most pundits and spectators point to, that Bernard waited too long to turn it on and there are those who say that he also ran away all night.
For their second meeting Hopkins fought every round and had a strategy and performance for a 12 round bout. There was no waiting to turn it on as it was on for the entire night and as for running away – Hopkins himself says (and I agree):
"I didn't run, I countered, pummeled him and worked very hard. Every time he got tired in an exchange he was holding and biding time.”
-Shut Down Taylor’s Jab – Hopkins was magnificently able to shut down Taylor’s best weapon, which is his jab. Bernard was able to use his legs, speed, upper body positioning and distance to either completely jam up Jermain’s jab or simply make it a non-factor. This is nothing new for Hopkins, but he pulled it all together exceptionally well against Taylor.
After all is said and done Bernard did everything that he needed to do to correct his mistakes from July and I just don’t think that Jermain did.
The corrections from July aside – and back to December 3rd - I think that Hopkins won the fight. I think he had it 6 rounds to 5 with the 12th even. Bernard proved to me to have fought the better fight and to be the better fighter that night.
I’m not saying that Jermain fought a bad fight, but I just wasn’t impressed. I think he’s going to be a great champion and he has a wonderful future ahead of him - and like he said – he still has a lot of work to do and if this kid has showed us anything it’s that he can definitely do it.
So - where does this leave things for Hopkins?
One of the best ways to judge a fighter is to see how he comes back after a defeat and Bernard Hopkins hadn’t lost a fight in a decade – all things considered I think he handled things fine after his loss and I think his actions in the ring on December 3rd truly speak for themselves. In my mind he’s a champion.
Going into these fights I’ve never really been a Bernard Hopkins fan. Who would have thought I’d become one after 2 losses in a row and a career that’s just a promise keep away from ending.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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