On November 8th, 2008, undefeated, undisputed, reigning super middleweight champion Joe "The Price of Wales" Calzaghe (45-0) faces former light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. (52-4) at Madison Square Garden in New York in the "Battle of the Superpowers". The fight is scheduled for twelve rounds and takes place roughly one year after Calzaghe's unanimous decision win over undefeated Danish contender Mikkel "Viking Warrior" Kessler, now 41-1. Calzaghe has had one bout since, defeating former middleweight champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins (52-4) in April. Calzaghe is widely considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and a win over Jones Jr. is likely to be a retirement party for the 36-year old Welshman. His opponent, the incomparable Roy Jones Jr., has lost three of his last six bouts, but is coming off a lopsided decision victory over former middleweight champion Felix Trinidad. Jones, 39, has 38 knockouts on his record but last achieved a (T)KO victory in 2002 in a light heavyweight title tilt with Clinton Woods at The Rose Garden.
I think Calzaghe is overrated. I'd like to see him fight better opponents. Jones is all done at this point, although I give him a chance to win.
Really? Why do you think so? I think he's criminally underrated. He should be past his prime, but he's still fighting incredibly well. Look what Bernard Hopkins just did to Kelly Pavlik. Before that fight I'd say a lot of people would have put Pavlik and Calzaghe on the same level (with good reason considering what Pavlik had been doing). Obviously, that is not even close to being the case.
I'm not impressed with any of his wins. 2 or 3 fights ago he was fighting Peter Manfredo, for christ's sake. All I ever hear is people saying he's the greatest fighter around nowadays, I still think he has to prove that.
This fight was four years ago, when Roy Jones was 35 (as was Johnson). He was behind on all the judges' scorecards after the 8th round. Glen Johnson is one of the best light heavyweights of his era, and I have a ton of respect for him, but even on his best day he's never been near what Joe Calzaghe is right now. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d0zW3fitWNs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d0zW3fitWNs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
You weren't impressed with his domination of Lacy and Kessler or his victory over Hopkins? Hopkins just destroyed the champion.
Well, I shouldn't say I wasn't impressed, it's just that I don't think those three fight make him the greatest fighter around. Hopkins is, what, 44? Kessler is an unknown to me. I hear he's good, but the only fight I've seen is the Calzaghe one. Same with Lacy. I don't think he has the resume of a top tier fighter yet.
If Calzaghe doesn't impress you now, he won't. He's old. He's already outperforming what he should be able to do, and that won't last much longer. He fought a lot of small fights in his hometown. When he got close to his expiration, he started seeking out the toughest opponents he could find and he beat them all. Lacy was the favorite in that fight and it was the most lopsided championship fight possible - just a total ass-kicking destruction. Kessler was the absolute best guy available and he dominated him, too. And even though Hopkins is 44, he just destroyed the hottest fighter in the world almost as badly as Calzaghe whipped Lacy. Calzaghe is actually a lot like Hopkins. He wasn't part of the boxing establishment for a long time, and when he finally got a chance to prove himself, he did it beyond anyone's expectations. I have a lot of respect for him.
http://theslammer.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/view/1207780-live-shows-and-pay-per-views You can watch the fight there!
Yikes! Too strong. I'd say most experts think Jones is too big and fast for Calzaghe. The guys who predict fights the best like Jones. I am very surprised. I think they are underrating Calzaghe once again. We'll see.
All the judges and ghoti score the bout 118-109. Jones knocked down Calzaghe with a forearm to the nose in the 1st round and lost the final 11 rounds. I think both of these guys should retire. If Calzaghe can find a big payday, good for him, though. He deserves it if that's what he wants to do.
