Joe Calzaghe achieved his American Dream yesterday and cemented his legacy as the best British boxer of his generation as he defeated Bernard Hopkins on a split points decision in front of 14,000 fans at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas. It was a spectacular victory considering it was Calzaghe's first fight in the US, and his first as a light-heavy weight. The fact that Calzaghe had to rise from the canvas after just ninety seconds makes this victory all the more impressive. Hopkins unleashed a vicious right hook mid-way through the opening round that toppled Calzaghe for only the third time in his forty-five fight career as a professional. Calzaghe looked stunned, but in the fashion of a true champion, he was able to rise to his feet, and outbox the 'Executioner' Hopkins, particularly in the latter rounds to claim victory on two of the judges score cards and secure the most prestigious win of his illustrious fifteen year career.
There is no doubt that this was certainly Calzaghe's toughest fight to date. He struggled to cope with Hopkins’s tactic of fighting on the inside, and was unable to make use of either his left jab, or his famed hand speed. Hopkins is a defensive master, and he frustrated his Welsh opponent throughout the contest by refusing to come forward, instead preferring to attack on the counter. Calzaghe dropped his hands in an attempt to draw the 'Executioner' into a boxing fight, but Hopkins was far more savvy that any of Joe's previous opponents and remained on the back foot, throwing accurate punches and landing the cleaner shots throughout. ‘I didn't box as well as I could, it was bit messy’, Calzaghe said ‘Hopkins was very dirty on the inside. But I fought at a new weight for the first time, got put down and still managed to win. I'm very proud, I came to America to fight, and to win’.
In defeating Hopkins in front of a star-studded audience, Calzaghe won the much respected world light-heavy-weight title as recognised by the Ring magazine, and is now just four victories short of Rocky Marciano's forty-nine victory record. The Newbridge boxer is Britain's longest reigning world champion. Recently awarded BBC Sport's Personality of the Year, he is at last winning the accolades and respect he deserves. Acknowledged as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Calzaghe entered the ring as heavy favourite. But he couldn't have got off to a worse start. Disaster struck when Hopkins landed a heavy right to Calzaghe's nose in the second minute of the bout. Calzaghe was cut, and visibly shaken. In his first fight in the Nevada desert, Calzaghe was too relaxed during the opening exchanges, he dropped his hands, and got too close to Hopkins, who was able to catch the Welshman with a wicked right hand that sent him crashing to the canvas. Hopkins was unable to take proper advantage however. His forty-three years prevented him launching an onslaught after the knockdown that may have prevented the dazed and confused Calzaghe continuing. Instead, Hopkins was only able to throw one more decent shot in the opening round. Nevertheless the judges scored the first round 10-8 to Hopkins.
Rounds two and three told similar stories. Hopkins continued to hold Calzaghe when they got close in an attempt to slow the fight down, and prevent Calzaghe operating at a fast tempo. Hopkins continually fought on the back foot inviting Calzaghe to fight up close, which allowed him to demonstrate his greater strength in the grappling that ensued and dominated the opening rounds. Despite the ''Wales, Wales'' chants that echoed around the arena at the end of the third, Calzaghe looked subdued as he trounced back towards to his father, and trainer, Enzo, in his corner.
The fourth round was very scrappy, and Hopkins continually led with his head, which forced a warning from the referee, Joe Cortez. But, this was a better round for Calzaghe who was able to land a good left jab in the last ten seconds, and raised the volume in the crowd by lifting his arms into the air on the bell. Calzaghe's confidence was markedly growing, and he landed his best punch of the fight, a hard left during the opening exchanges in the fifth. Even at this early stage, Hopkins looked to be tiring, and it was Calzaghe who was controlling the tempo of the fight. Despite losing the sixth round, Calzaghe came back in the seventh with some good combinations to the torso of Hopkins. However, a frustrated Calzaghe was still unable to fight at a pace that suited him and Hopkins continued to grapple in the middle of the ring thereby continually decreasing the tempo of the fight.
The Welsh National anthem welcomed Calzaghe as he exited his corner at the beginning of the eighth, the liveliest round of the fight. Calzaghe was able to land a clean right, but Hopkins retaliated with a great right of his own, and Enzo could be heard warning his son that he needed to up the tempo and land more combinations of punches. By the ninth, Hopkins was visibly becoming tired. His mouth gaped wide open as he gasped for oxygen under the mass of blurry lights above his head, and Calzaghe was finally able to break through Hopkins marvellous defence, and hurt his opponent for the first time in the contest. With two rounds remaining, the American Hopkins showed off his talent for gamesmanship and claimed a phantom low blow. Despite TV replays indicating that the shot was fair, the referee allowed Hopkins over four minutes to recover. The infuriated crowd taunted Hopkins with growls of ''cheat cheat'' as he returned to action in a stand off with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring. The recovery time afforded to Hopkins enabled him to take a breather away from the action and he looked rejuvenated, landing a flurry of blows to Calzaghe’s chin that enabled him to nick the tenth. The eleventh and penultimate round was dramatic, and Hopkins claimed another low blow. This time the referee justifiably ignored it, before Calzaghe landed an accomplished right at the end of the round.
In a gripping final round, Calzaghe threw more punches than his exhausted opponent, and looked far more energetic and active as he moved around the ring. Hopkins stood back as he had done all fight, and invited Calzaghe forward. As the final bell sounded, both fighters became engaged in a brawl in the middle of the ring, before raising their arms to claim victory.
Although Calzaghe’s performance was scrappy, it would have been an injustice if he had not been awarded victory. He out boxed his opponent, and threw over a hundred more punches over twelve disjointed rounds. The man from Newbridge finished the stronger, and made sure of his victory by upping his work rate in the final rounds. Sweaty, bruised, but relieved, Calzaghe said ''after six or seven rounds I felt him struggling. He couldn’t handle the pace so he took a rest and the referee allowed it. I feel very proud of what I've achieved. When I turned pro with my dad as my trainer people laughed. But now we've shown them''. This was Calzaghe's night. Victory in America is a dream no longer.
There is no doubt that this was certainly Calzaghe's toughest fight to date. He struggled to cope with Hopkins’s tactic of fighting on the inside, and was unable to make use of either his left jab, or his famed hand speed. Hopkins is a defensive master, and he frustrated his Welsh opponent throughout the contest by refusing to come forward, instead preferring to attack on the counter. Calzaghe dropped his hands in an attempt to draw the 'Executioner' into a boxing fight, but Hopkins was far more savvy that any of Joe's previous opponents and remained on the back foot, throwing accurate punches and landing the cleaner shots throughout. ‘I didn't box as well as I could, it was bit messy’, Calzaghe said ‘Hopkins was very dirty on the inside. But I fought at a new weight for the first time, got put down and still managed to win. I'm very proud, I came to America to fight, and to win’.
In defeating Hopkins in front of a star-studded audience, Calzaghe won the much respected world light-heavy-weight title as recognised by the Ring magazine, and is now just four victories short of Rocky Marciano's forty-nine victory record. The Newbridge boxer is Britain's longest reigning world champion. Recently awarded BBC Sport's Personality of the Year, he is at last winning the accolades and respect he deserves. Acknowledged as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Calzaghe entered the ring as heavy favourite. But he couldn't have got off to a worse start. Disaster struck when Hopkins landed a heavy right to Calzaghe's nose in the second minute of the bout. Calzaghe was cut, and visibly shaken. In his first fight in the Nevada desert, Calzaghe was too relaxed during the opening exchanges, he dropped his hands, and got too close to Hopkins, who was able to catch the Welshman with a wicked right hand that sent him crashing to the canvas. Hopkins was unable to take proper advantage however. His forty-three years prevented him launching an onslaught after the knockdown that may have prevented the dazed and confused Calzaghe continuing. Instead, Hopkins was only able to throw one more decent shot in the opening round. Nevertheless the judges scored the first round 10-8 to Hopkins.
Rounds two and three told similar stories. Hopkins continued to hold Calzaghe when they got close in an attempt to slow the fight down, and prevent Calzaghe operating at a fast tempo. Hopkins continually fought on the back foot inviting Calzaghe to fight up close, which allowed him to demonstrate his greater strength in the grappling that ensued and dominated the opening rounds. Despite the ''Wales, Wales'' chants that echoed around the arena at the end of the third, Calzaghe looked subdued as he trounced back towards to his father, and trainer, Enzo, in his corner.
The fourth round was very scrappy, and Hopkins continually led with his head, which forced a warning from the referee, Joe Cortez. But, this was a better round for Calzaghe who was able to land a good left jab in the last ten seconds, and raised the volume in the crowd by lifting his arms into the air on the bell. Calzaghe's confidence was markedly growing, and he landed his best punch of the fight, a hard left during the opening exchanges in the fifth. Even at this early stage, Hopkins looked to be tiring, and it was Calzaghe who was controlling the tempo of the fight. Despite losing the sixth round, Calzaghe came back in the seventh with some good combinations to the torso of Hopkins. However, a frustrated Calzaghe was still unable to fight at a pace that suited him and Hopkins continued to grapple in the middle of the ring thereby continually decreasing the tempo of the fight.
The Welsh National anthem welcomed Calzaghe as he exited his corner at the beginning of the eighth, the liveliest round of the fight. Calzaghe was able to land a clean right, but Hopkins retaliated with a great right of his own, and Enzo could be heard warning his son that he needed to up the tempo and land more combinations of punches. By the ninth, Hopkins was visibly becoming tired. His mouth gaped wide open as he gasped for oxygen under the mass of blurry lights above his head, and Calzaghe was finally able to break through Hopkins marvellous defence, and hurt his opponent for the first time in the contest. With two rounds remaining, the American Hopkins showed off his talent for gamesmanship and claimed a phantom low blow. Despite TV replays indicating that the shot was fair, the referee allowed Hopkins over four minutes to recover. The infuriated crowd taunted Hopkins with growls of ''cheat cheat'' as he returned to action in a stand off with Calzaghe in the centre of the ring. The recovery time afforded to Hopkins enabled him to take a breather away from the action and he looked rejuvenated, landing a flurry of blows to Calzaghe’s chin that enabled him to nick the tenth. The eleventh and penultimate round was dramatic, and Hopkins claimed another low blow. This time the referee justifiably ignored it, before Calzaghe landed an accomplished right at the end of the round.
In a gripping final round, Calzaghe threw more punches than his exhausted opponent, and looked far more energetic and active as he moved around the ring. Hopkins stood back as he had done all fight, and invited Calzaghe forward. As the final bell sounded, both fighters became engaged in a brawl in the middle of the ring, before raising their arms to claim victory.
Although Calzaghe’s performance was scrappy, it would have been an injustice if he had not been awarded victory. He out boxed his opponent, and threw over a hundred more punches over twelve disjointed rounds. The man from Newbridge finished the stronger, and made sure of his victory by upping his work rate in the final rounds. Sweaty, bruised, but relieved, Calzaghe said ''after six or seven rounds I felt him struggling. He couldn’t handle the pace so he took a rest and the referee allowed it. I feel very proud of what I've achieved. When I turned pro with my dad as my trainer people laughed. But now we've shown them''. This was Calzaghe's night. Victory in America is a dream no longer.
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