Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe was a boxing match that took place on April 19, 2008, at the
Thomas & Mack CenterThe Thomas & Mack Center is an arena on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The facility was first opened in the summer of 1983. Its primary tenant is the UNLV men's basketball team. It also hosts the National Finals Rodeo annually. Since 1999, it also hosts...
in
Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
, between
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
light heavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight division is the weight division between cruiserweight and super middleweight...
champion
Bernard HopkinsBernard Hopkins, known as the Executioner is an American boxer. He is best known for his ten year reign as middleweight world champion in which he successfully defended his title a record 20 times. He is the first fighter to retain all 4 major boxing governing body belts including the Ring...
and undisputed super middleweight champion
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe CBE is a Welsh former professional boxer who retired undefeated. He was rated by Ring magazine as pound for pound one of the top 10 boxers in the world, He retired in February 2009 with an undefeated record, becoming only the third European boxer, after Terry Marsh and Sven...
. The fight was dubbed the "Battle of the Planet", and the fight was for the
The Ring light heavyweight championship.
Calzaghe, who was seven years younger than Hopkins, was knocked down by a right hand in the opening exchanges and struggled to find his range early on. Hopkins continued to have success with his right, but Calzaghe outworked him in the latter half of the fight. One judge scored it 114-113 for Hopkins, but the two others saw Calzaghe winning by margins of 115-112 and 116-111. The win extended Calzaghe's unbeaten record to 45 fights, while Hopkins fell to 48 wins, five defeats and one draw.
General information
Hopkins made 20 consecutive title defenses as a
middleweightMiddleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1867...
before two losses to
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 23 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
. At about the same time, Calzaghe made 21 consecutive title defenses in the
super middleweightSuper Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds. There was interest in a division between middleweight and light heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
division from
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
during a decade-long reign. Calzaghe never could be lured to fight anyone in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, instead defending the
WBOThe World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. Its offices are located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.-History:...
title he has held since September 1997 against anybody willing to travel to face him. Hopkins was similarly set in his ways, staying in the United States to clean up the middleweight division. Hopkins claims Calzaghe declined to fight him after Don King's "middleweight tournament" in 2001, in which Hopkins won three title belts, although Calzaghe denies this.
On July 21, 2007, Hopkins defeated
Winky WrightRonald Lamont "Winky" Wright is an American boxer, the former undisputed light middleweight world champion and a current middleweight contender....
by unanimous decision to retain
The RingThe Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
light heavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight division is the weight division between cruiserweight and super middleweight...
championship. After the fight, Hopkins called out Calzaghe and said that he wanted to fight him at
Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and after extensive renovations, from 1976 to 2008. The stadium had a capacity of 57,545 and hosted 6,581...
on the fourth of July. On November 3, 2007, Calzaghe defeated
Mikkel KesslerMikkel Kessler is a Danish professional boxer. In his professional career he has a record of 42-1 and 32 knockouts. Mikkel Kessler is the current WBA super middleweight world champion.-Biography:...
by unanimous decision to retain his WBO super middleweight title and win the
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and
WBAThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title, at the professional level. It is also the most major title out of the four. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
super middleweight titles, thus becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion.
On December 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe met face to face in the media room set up for the Floyd Mayweather, Jr.vs.
Ricky HattonRichard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a British professional boxer...
fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe began shouting insults and taunting each other, with Hopkins shouting, "You're not even in my league! I would never let a white boy beat me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me."
Hopkins would later explain his comments, saying that it was not meant to be taken as a racial slur or a reflection of his feelings on white fighters, but simply said to create some hype for his fight with Calzaghe.
On January 23, 2008, the fight was officially announced to take place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
For his training, Hopkins worked with Freddie Roach, Nazim Richardson,
John David JacksonJohn David Jackson , is a former professional boxer in the super welterweight division.Jackson was developed as an amateur out of the Tacoma Boys club in Tacoma, WA, USA, and turned professional in 1984. He didn't lose in his first 32 fights and captured the Vacant WBO Light Middleweight Title in...
(who fought Hopkins in 1997), and Mackie Shilstone.
Calzaghe was trained by his father, Enzo. The fight was promoted by
Golden Boy PromotionsGolden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxing world champion in six weight divisions, Oscar De La Hoya,...
and
Frank Warren'sFrank Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Biography:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row.-Career:...
Sports Network. The bout was televised on
HBO World Championship Boxing in the United States and on Setanta Sports 1 in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and the referee was
Joe CortezJoe Cortez is a Puerto Rican boxing referee who has worked many important world title bouts.-Biography:Cortez moved to Puerto Rico during his childhood. Living there, he became fluent in Spanish. Cortez had a good amateur boxing career, winning various Golden Gloves tournaments from 1960 to 1962...
. Both fighters weighed in at 173
lbThe pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(78
kgThe kilogram is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units .[The spelling kilogram is the modern spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures , the U.S...]
).
14,213 were in attendance for the fight, with at least half of them making the trip overseas from the United Kingdom to support Calzaghe.
Bout summary
In the first round, Hopkins dropped Calzaghe with a straight right hand, and Calzaghe suffered a small cut on the bridge of his nose. Calzaghe landed with his first meaningful shot in the second round, a chopping left hand, but Hopkins continued to pick him off on the way in and Calzaghe looked very wary of letting his hands go.
In round five, Hopkins started to slow his movement down a bit, allowing the more aggressive Calzaghe to keep Hopkins back against the ropes a bit more towards the end of the round. In round six, Calzaghe began closing the distance on Hopkins and letting his hands go more with Hopkins punching less. From the seventh round on, Calzaghe increased his aggression, forcing Hopkins to stay alert on his toes at all times. By the end of the eighth round, Calzaghe had turned the fight around so much that he felt comfortable doing a little clowning towards his opponent.
In round ten, Calzaghe landed a low blow, which dropped Hopkins on the canvas. Hopkins took his time in recovering, while Calzaghe was in the corner with his arms raised in the air, trying to get the crowd excited. In the next round, Hopkins went down again to his hands and knees from a questionable low blow and gained valuable rest time. Calzaghe easily got the better of Hopkins in the final round.
In the end, judges Chuck Giampa (116-111) and Ted Gimza (115-112) scored the fight for Calzaghe, while judge Adalaide Byrd (114-113) scored the fight for Hopkins. According to
CompuBoxCompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...
, Calzaghe landed more punches on Hopkins than any of his previous opponents.
Aftermath
After the fight, Calzaghe called Hopkins one of the toughest fighters he had ever fought. He said, "I knew this wouldn't look pretty tonight. 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."
Roy Jones, Jr. was discussed as the next most likely opponent for Calzaghe,
and that fight took place in
November 2008Joe Calzaghe versus Roy Jones, Jr., billed as Battle of the Superpowers was a boxing light-heavyweight superfight. The fight was held on November 8, 2008, at Madison Square Garden...
.
As for Hopkins, he was upset with the official decision and said that he was robbed of a clear points win. Hopkins said, "I just really feel like I took the guy to school. I feel like I made him fight my fight, not his. I wanted him to run into my shots. 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."
Undercard
David LopezDavid López may refer to:* David López , American actor* David Lopez , comic book artist* David López García, Spanish road racing cyclist * David López Moreno, Spanish footballer...
KOs USA
Ryan DavisRyan Davis may refer to:*Ryan J. Davis , American theater director, writer, political consultant and progressive activist*Ryan Davis , English rugby union player for Bath...
in the fifth round.
Audley HarrisonAudley Harrison is a British professional boxer who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division....
KOs USA
Jason BarnettJason Barnett plays Crime Scene Examiner Eddie Olosunje in the ITV hit drama The Bill.His other credits include Ultimate Force, Holby City, HolbyBlue and Casualty....
in the fifth round.
Nathan CleverlyNathan Cleverly is a Welsh professional boxer who currently fights in the light heavyweight division. He is the current holder of the British and Commonwealth titles for that weight.-Early professional career:...
defeats USA Antonio Baker in the second round.
Danny GarciaDanny Garcia is an American professional boxer.-Amateur highlights:*2006 U.S. national champion*2005 Tammer Tournament champion*2005 Under-19 national champion-Professional career:...
KOs USA Guadalupe Diaz in the first round.
Daniel JacobsDan Jacobs is an internationally acclaimed jazz trumpet recording artist, composer and producer who has toured extensively worldwide with various groups...
KOs USA Leshon Sims in the fourth round. Hylon Williams Jr. defeats USA Marcos Mendias via unanimous decision. Jermell Charlo KOs USA Jesus Villareal in the third round.
External links