CALZAGHE-HOPKINS FINALLY HERE!!!
Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins Clash on April 19th
By Joe Harrison
On Saturday, April 19th, the undisputed super middleweight champion, Joe Calzaghe, will face the Ring Magazine’s light heavyweight champion, Bernard Hopkins, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will take place at the light heavyweight limit of 175 lbs. It will be Calzaghe’s first professional boxing match on American soil.
Even before this match-up was signed and made official, fireworks erupted in Las Vegas when Hopkins and Calzaghe came face to face on the eve of the Hatton-Mayweather bout, Friday, December 7th. That evening, Hopkins was not at a loss for words. “I would never let me a white boy beat me,” Hopkins said five times. “You can print that. I would never lose to a white person.” For most listeners, it was nothing more than Hopkins building hype for a big match-up that seemed inevitable. As expected, the Hopkins-Calzaghe bout was officially announced on January 22nd.
Known to some as “The Italian Dragon” and others as “The Pride of Wales”, Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KOs) holds the WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight titles. Although he has been a title-holder since 1997, it was not until 2006 when Calzaghe made his major impact, defeating Jeff Lacy by a lopsided unanimous decision to unify the WBO and IBF titles on the cable network Showtime. Calzaghe was later stripped of the IBF belt for not facing mandatory challenger Robert Stieglitz, but later won the WBC and WBA titles with his unanimous decision victory over Mikkel Kessler last November. At the age of 36, Calzaghe is looking to get at least one more big win as he prepares to face a highly respected veteran in Bernard Hopkins.
Even at the age of 43, you can not count out the man known as “The Executioner”. Known for his victories over names such as Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) is arguably one of the greatest middleweight champs in boxing history. After becoming middleweight champion in 1995, it was not until 2005 that Hopkins lost his WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO titles to Jermain Taylor by a split decision. After announcing his retirement, Hopkins decided to challenge the number one light heavyweight, Antonio Tarver, in 2006. Like in his bout with Trinidad, Hopkins surprised the world as he defeated Tarver, remaining a major player in the world of boxing. Then, in 2007, Hopkins handed the former undisputed light middleweight champion, Ronald “Winky” Wright, his first loss since 1999.
Once again, Hopkins will play the role of the underdog as he faces Calzaghe in his next bout. Due to Hopkins’ age and Calzaghe’s many one-sided victories, the odds show that Calzaghe is a 1/2 (0.50) favorite. If anything is for certain, there are a variety of opinions among boxing fans everywhere on who has more to lose in this match-up. Many fans, mainly Hopkins’ fans, believe that if Calzaghe wins, it will only mean that Hopkins was over-the-hill and the result would only hold minimal significance. Those same fans feel that if Hopkins defeats Calzaghe, it will mean that Calzaghe has been exposed as a hype-job and was overrated all along. On the other hand, there are fans who feel that a win over Hopkins would make for a noteworthy name on Calzaghe’s resume. A win for Hopkins would just mean that Calzaghe was not as productive at the 175-pound limit and needs to stay at his natural 168-pound limit.
No matter whom the victor is in this battle, these two warriors are expected to produce a memorable evening in the world of boxing. HBO provides a real treat for viewers as they have chosen to keep the bout on their regular network instead of making people pay to see it on pay-per-view. When fight night arrives on April 19th, will Calzaghe grab one more major victory before contemplating retirement or will Hopkins pull off another big upset to enhance his legacy?
***Joe Harrison, formerly of BoxingScene.com, has written for Bolo Punch since 2007. We welcome him to a newly-appointed full-time basis as a staff writer.
