Boxer Wont Lose to White by Again
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| Date | April 19, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Championship(s) on the line | The Ring low-cal heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe was a boxing match that took place on April xix, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, between The Ring lite heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and unified super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. The fight was dubbed the "Battle of the Planet",[1] and the fight was for Hopkins' The Ring lite heavyweight title.
General information [edit]
Hopkins made 20 consecutive title defenses every bit a middleweight before two losses to Jermain Taylor. At about the same time, Calzaghe made 21 sequent title defenses in the super middleweight partitioning from Europe during a decade-long reign. Hopkins claimed Calzaghe declined to fight him after Don King'southward "middleweight tournament" in 2001, in which Hopkins won three championship belts, although Calzaghe denies this.[1]
On July 21, 2007, Hopkins defeated Winky Wright by unanimous decision to retain The Ring light heavyweight championship. After the fight, Hopkins called out Calzaghe and said that he wanted to fight him at Yankee Stadium on the fourth of July.[1] On November 3, 2007, Calzaghe defeated Mikkel Kessler past unanimous determination to retain his WBO super middleweight title and win the WBC and WBA super middleweight titles.
On Dec 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe met face to face up in the media room prepare for the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe began shouting insults and taunting each other, with Hopkins shouting, "You're not fifty-fifty in my league! I would never let a white boy vanquish me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't go dorsum to the projects if I let a white boy beat me."[ii] Hopkins would later explain his comments, saying that it was non 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.[3] On January 23, 2008, the fight was officially announced to take identify on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas.[4] For his grooming, Hopkins worked with Freddie Roach, Nazim Richardson, John David Jackson (who fought Hopkins in 1997), and Mackie Shilstone.[five] Calzaghe was trained past his father, Enzo. The fight was promoted by Gilded Boy Promotions and Frank Warren's Sports Network. The bout was televised on HBO Earth Championship Boxing in the The states and on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom and the referee was Joe Cortez. Both fighters weighed in at 173 lb (78 kg).[6] fourteen,213 were in attendance for the fight, with at least half of them making the trip overseas from the United Kingdom to back up Calzaghe. After winning the fight, Calzaghe made reference to Hopkins' pre-fight flare-up. A smile Calzaghe told Hopkins he had 'just got his arse kicked by a white boy', leading to laughter from the crowd and media.
Tour summary [edit]
In the first round, Calzaghe, who was seven years younger than Hopkins, was knocked down with Hopkins landing a brusque right hand which led to Calzaghe suffering a small cut on the span of his nose.
Calzaghe was warned by referee Joe Cortez in the 2nd round for throwing a low blow. Cortez afterwards warned both fighters for striking backside the caput. The fight was definitely slipping into the design that favored Hopkins - dull, downward and dirty.
Cortez called a timeout and brought both fighters to the middle of the band for a lecture in the fourth round. He did that afterwards both of them had committed fouls - Calzaghe for belongings and hit and Hopkins for hitting on the pause. Calzaghe still managed to state a couple of blows to the back of Hopkins' head at the finish of the fifth circular.
Calzaghe never got the opportunity to showcase his hand speed and combinations. Hopkins would smother him whenever he tried to come in and throw more than than 1 punch. But Hopkins seemed to slow down in the subsequently rounds.
In the 10th circular, Calzaghe hit Hopkins with a punch that Hopkins claimed was depression. Hopkins crumpled to the canvass and was boring getting up. Cortez didn't accept away a bespeak, but gave Hopkins a five-minute intermission to get together himself. Calzaghe idea Hopkins was acting and waved for the crowd to evidence their displeasure with Hopkins. The fans booed on cue. Hopkins used the full 5 minutes to recuperate.
"Information technology was a low blow," Hopkins said. "It knocked my privates out of the cup. That'due south why Joe gave me five minutes."
Hopkins complained of another low blow in the 11th round, but this fourth dimension Cortez ignored his plea for fourth dimension and told him to keep fighting. He came out and tried to ferociously attack Calzaghe, but Calzaghe charged back.
In the end, judges Chuck Giampa (116-111) and Ted Gimza (115-112) scored the fight for Calzaghe, while estimate Adalaide Byrd (114-113) scored the fight for Hopkins.
HBO's unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman scored the tour 116-111 for Calzaghe.
"It was a expert fight. I thought Bernard (Hopkins) won though. But, I'm glad that Calzaghe won this. It was a good fight," commented former undisputed Heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson.
According to CompuBox, Calzaghe landed more than punches on Hopkins than whatsoever of his previous opponents. Calzaghe landed 232 punches, almost double the number of punches landed by Hopkins (127).[vii]
Backwash [edit]
Afterward the fight, Calzaghe called Hopkins one of the toughest fighters he had e'er fought. He said, "I knew this wouldn't look pretty tonight. He's so awkward. He gave me some proficient shots. It wasn't my best nighttime, simply I won the fight. The earth title in a 2d sectionalisation and a win in America is just icing on the cake for my career."[viii] Roy Jones, Jr. was discussed as the next most probable opponent for Calzaghe,[9] and that fight took place in November 2008.
Hopkins was upset with the official decision and believed that he was robbed of a articulate points win. He said, "I just really experience similar 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 recollect I made it await pretty easy. I think I controlled the footstep, and I controlled the fight."[10]
Undercard [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c "Hopkins-Calzaghe's 'Boxing of the Planet' simply days away". CBSSports.com. 2008-04-15. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2008-05-05 .
- ^ Smith, Tim (2007-12-09). "Bernard Hopkins jabs at Joe Calzaghe, tossing out race bill of fare". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2008-04-11 .
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-01-31). "Bernard Hopkins Explains "White Boy" Annotate". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-04-11 .
- ^ "Bernard Hopkins to Fight Joe Calzaghe on April xix in Vegas". TransWorldNews. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-04-11 .
- ^ "Calzaghe/Hopkins: Bernard Hopkins trains with his "Execution Squad" for highly predictable bout with Calzaghe". East Side Boxing. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-04-11 .
- ^ Cozzone, Chris (2008-04-xviii). "Hopkins 173, Calzaghe 173!". Fightnews.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-twenty. Retrieved 2008-04-18 .
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-04-nineteen). "Joe Calzaghe Outpoints Bernard Hopkins to Win!". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-04-xx .
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-04-xix). "Calzaghe: "Hopkins Was My Toughest Fight"". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-04-20 .
- ^ Vester, Marking (2008-04-20). "Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Jr. Could Exist Adjacent". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-04-xx .
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-04-19). "Hopkins: "I Took Joe Calzaghe To School"". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-04-xx .
External links [edit]
- Pre-fight report card
- CompuBox pre-fight assay
- CompuBox mail service-fight analysis
- CompuBox punch stats
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Hopkins_vs._Joe_Calzaghe
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