Hopkins would be considered a favorite against Mickey Walker, Charley Burley, Jake LaMotta, Stanley Ketchel, Marcel Cerdan and Tony Zale. It’s also not hard to imagine Hopkins using his superior defensive skills to outpoint Monzon and Hagler – maybe not every time, but more often than not. Harry Greb was the dominant middleweight of his era and was Hopkins’ equal in terms of knowing every trick in the book – even resorting to “dirty” tactics if necessary. But Greb was only 5’8”. Hopkins is 6’1”. Hopkins would be able to use his physical advantages to outpoint Greb in what might very likely have been a foul-filled brawl.
Which brings us to the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all-time -- Sugar Ray Robinson. Many consider it heresy to suggest that any of today’s fighters could even compete with the legendary Sugar Ray, but that is simply not the case. No question, Robinson was a great middleweight. But he started his career at 135 and welterweight was probably his best weight. Robinson also lost 19 times (against 173 victories!) so it was possible - incredibly difficult, but possible - to outpoint Robinson. Hopkins is definitely as good or better than some of the fighters that beat Robinson, so why is it inconceivable to think that Hopkins could have done the same? Robinson was unquestionably the better pound-for-pound fighter and fought more quality opponents than any fighter in history. However, at middleweight, Bernard Hopkins would have held his own against the greatest fighter in history.
