Calzaghe Edges Hopkins in Split Decision

By GREG BEACHAM,
AP
Posted: 2008-04-21 10:17:50
Filed Under: Fighting
LAS VEGAS (April 19) - Joe Calzaghe didn't stop punching after a terrible start against Bernard Hopkins, and now the Pride of Wales is the best light heavyweight in the world.


Calzaghe remained unbeaten with a split-decision victory Saturday night, tenaciously rallying in the final rounds against his cagey 43-year-old opponent to end his long-anticipated U.S. debut with a flourish.

Hopkins (48-5-1) put on a master class in the veteran skills of their sport at the Thomas & Mack Center, knocking down Calzaghe (45-0) with a sneaky right hand just 70 seconds in before repeatedly frustrating Calzaghe's attempts to trade blows.

But after floundering against Hopkins' defense through the early rounds, Calzaghe never stopped working and wearing down his older opponent, eventually gaining control in the final rounds.

"I knew this wouldn't look pretty tonight," Calzaghe said. "He's so awkward. He gave me some good shots. It wasn't my best night, but I won the fight. The world title in a second division and a win in America is just icing on the cake for my career."

Judge Ted Gimza scored it 115-112 for Calzaghe, and Chuck Giampa favored Calzaghe 116-111. Judge Adelaide Byrd gave it 114-113 to Hopkins, as did many reporters at ringside - including The Associated Press, which also favored Hopkins 114-113 despite Calzaghe's dominance in the final five rounds.

"I just really feel like I took the guy to school," said Hopkins, who grimaced and shook his head when the verdict was announced. "I feel like I made him fight my fight, not his."

Calzaghe landed 33 percent of his 707 punches, while Hopkins connected with 27 percent of his 468 blows. Calzaghe had the edge in power punches with both total and accuracy, and he heavily outjabbed Hopkins.

Shortly after Tom Jones finished singing the Welsh national anthem, Hopkins ducked in his crouch and knocked down Calzaghe with a perfectly placed right hand. Hopkins was a shade quicker and more elusive in the early rounds, staying away from Calzaghe's more powerful punches with movement and carefully disguised holds.

FanHouse

Michael David Smith says:
"Bernard Hopkins lost his world light heavyweight title to Joe Calzaghe tonight in Las Vegas, with Calzaghe scoring a solid split decision victory and erasing any doubt that he's one of the elite boxers in the world."
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While Calzaghe turned the momentum with his superior athleticism midway through the bout, referee Joe Cortez briefly stopped the fight twice for low blows by Calzaghe, including an extended delay early in the 10th round that infuriated Calzaghe. It also seemed to give Calzaghe the motivation to finish strong.

"I had to let the punches go as the fight wore on," Calzaghe said. "He was very defensive. I was only hurt one time, but he never caught me with a clean punch. It was the toughest fight of my career. He's very clever. I'm very proud."

Calzaghe has been a super middleweight champion since 1997, winning 21 consecutive defenses and adding two more belts last November with a unification victory over Mikkel Kessler. But the flying-phobic Welshman never found a matchup enticing enough to get him across the Atlantic Ocean to boxing's biggest stage.

Saturday's bout has been anticipated for at least six years by fight fans who craved the stylistic contrasts between two of the longest-reigning champions in boxing history. After several false starts and disputes between the fighters' promoters, the bout gained steam last December when Hopkins and Calzaghe got into a shouting match one day before Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fight with Ricky Hatton.

"I would never let a white boy beat me. Never," Hopkins proclaimed, and Calzaghe quickly agreed to find out whether the Executioner was correct.

With 20 straight title defenses as one of the longest-reigning middleweight champions in boxing history, Hopkins' only losses since 1993 were two debatable decisions against Jermain Taylor in 2005. He then posted stunning upsets in his first two fights at light heavyweight, knocking off Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright with the same mix of impenetrable defense and counterpunching that threatened to confound Calzaghe.

Hopkins, whose win over Tarver made him the linear 175-pound champ, has shown remarkably few signs of athletic decline in his early 40s. He still assembled three top trainers - Freddie Roach, Nazim Richardson and John David Jackson - to prepare him for Calzaghe's unusual mix of challenges.

"I wanted him to run into my shots," Hopkins said. "I think I made him do that, and I think I made it look pretty easy. I think I controlled the pace, and I controlled the fight. I think it was an old-school execution. He really wasn't landing his shots. Maybe if he threw five or six, one or two landed if he was lucky."

The Planet Hollywood casino put on a solid show in its first attempt at staging a major prizefight, but it was contested in an arena with huge numbers of vacant seats. Though thousands of Brits traveled to Vegas for the bout, not everybody could afford the exorbitant ticket prices.

But thousands of British fans who turned out for Friday's weigh-in got tickets, and the fight attracted an eclectic mix of celebrities, from Simon Cowell and Whitney Houston to Sylvester Stallone and Jay-Z - as well as Wales' own Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-04-19 23:45:23


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161 comments

jimbo121405 11:56:21 AM Apr 24 2008

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lets see hopkins fight pavlik, then wed see that black boy get his ass really kicked

hawksflyingm 02:46:51 PM Apr 23 2008

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yea this was a great boxing match with a lot of game planing B hophins sticking with his an after the 4 round joe changeing his an joes B plan was enough to out point hopkins an thats boxing

fireram 03:45:41 AM Apr 23 2008

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Do you thing they could have mentioned the one low blow enough in the pictures what a bunch of crap thtat was. How many different angle can they provide and it wasn't that big of deal. Maybe an excuse for his lost huh?

jimbo121405 10:55:58 AM Apr 22 2008

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bernard you were black boy that did get beat by a white man the other night, and you r style sucks, thank GOD that wasnt pay per view, i wouldnt have paid for it anyway and anyone that knows bernard BLACK BOY hopkins wouldnt have either

lucea40 05:54:58 AM Apr 22 2008

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Hopkins is the most boring boxer to watch. Running, holding and head leading
attacks are his claim to fame and a big mouth too. Calzaghe did not look good
because of Hopkins boring style, but, no doubt won the fight. What was Byrd
watching?

acajon5 02:57:55 AM Apr 22 2008

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Hoplins was a decent fighter hed have to be to have gone undefeated in 21 middle weight title defences but the guy had to go to prison to become a man and now even worst a white-boy beat him. Many wins but i always thought of him as boring. if you like ignorant people then Hopkins may be your guy...

millerbrit75 11:12:56 PM Apr 21 2008

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Nothing at all against boxing but just in my humble opinion they should stop calling it fighting. In my view fighting is way more than just punching and boxing is ONLY punching. Even Mike Tyson in a real fight on the street broke his hand without his gloves on on the streets of Harlem when he punched Mitch Green. I have a ton of respect for boxers and what they do but without grappling and going to the ground and kicking and elbows and knees and submission holds boxing will always be just boxing and not fighting..Fighting to me is complete and not just standing and punching each other. There is NO boxer that would even come close to beating Fedor Emalianenko for example. So to me it is what it is. I was also disappointed to see race mentioned at all in this when I read the story. That has nothing to do with anything. Don't care if the boxers are red, blue or green !

andreacemarshall 05:28:11 PM Apr 21 2008

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Calzaghe should fight Kelly Pavlik next not Roy Jones who is past his prime. Roy was great in his prime, but he will get knocked out by Calzaghe!

richh0501 12:53:37 PM Apr 21 2008

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Terrible fight, boring really, they could not have embraced more if they were lovers, every encounter was met with hugging..............nothing worse than watching defensive fighters

tlc5300 10:47:13 AM Apr 21 2008

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The fight could have gone either way. The fact Hopkins is 43 years old makes for an un-satisfying victory, Either way, the Welshmen won, and G-d bless.

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