The Boxing Blog - Times Online - WBLG

Carl Froch not about to take his new opponent lightly

After he beat Robin Reid last November, the last thing on Carl Froch's mind was a six-month absence from the ring. But things seldom work out completely as they are planned. While Froch's progress in 2007 was held up by injuries, this year has been hindered by injuries to his would-be opponents.
Yesterday, Froch got another new opponent, when it was announced that he will now face Albert Rybacki of Poland at the Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, tomorrow. It is his fourth opponent in about a fortnight and that brings its own dangers.

Graceless Hopkins damaging his own legacy

Everyone knew Bernard Hopkins had a big mouth, but few suspected his had so little class. Prior to his defeat to Joe Calzaghe, Hopkins felt the need to remind everyone at every opportunity that he was a legend. Maybe so, but he will never really be loved and proved to be a very poor loser in Las Vegas.

Hopkins claimed he beat Calzaghe, Hopkins claimed he made Calzaghe look amateurish. Hopkins never said well done, he showed no love or respect, the chip on his shoulder is so big he even refused to touch gloves (a rule of the sport) before the final round. So if Hopkins refuses to show any respect, why should anyone give him the respect he feels he deserves?

Calzaghe wins split decision

By Brian Doogan

Joe Calzaghe secured the most thrilling victory of his life after surviving a first round knockdown by Bernard Hopkins to outpoint the 43-year-old from  Philadelphia at the Thomas & Mack Centre. The judges’ split decision in his favour secured The Ring light heavyweight championship for the 36-year-old from Newbridge, Wales, and extended his unbeaten career run to 45 successive wins. It was the first time that Calzaghe has boxed in America.

Cleverly gets night off to good start for Team Calzaghe

Nathan Cleverly, the unbeaten super-middleweight and sparring partner of Joe Calzaghe, got the evening off to a good start as he recorded a one-sided victory over the game Antonio Baker at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas.

As is his practice on his big nights in Wales, Calzaghe sat ringside to watch his young stablemate until the seventh round, even though his big fight against Bernard Hopkins was just two hours away.

Roach putting his money on Hopkins

Freddie Roach is one of those guys who doesn't talk much, but when he does, he is always worth listening to. The Hollywood trainer is used to working with the likes of Manny Pacquaio and Oscar De La Hoya, but will be in Bernard Hopkins's corner for the second time on Saturday night, after overseeing Hopkins's training for the bout against Joe Calzaghe in Pasadena.
And Roach thinks it's a close fight, unlike the Las Vegas oddsmakers who make Calzaghe a strong favourite. And he is willing to put his money on it.
"Odds-wise I’d make it even money if I was the odds maker," Roach said. "I’ve only bet on a couple of fighters in my career, but I’m going to bet on this fight."

Jones ready to come to Cardiff

Provided things go to plan for Joe Calzaghe last on Saturday night in Las Vegas and he sticks to his plan of two more fights, Roy Jones Jr has said he wants to come to Cardiff to give him a farewell party to remember.
Jones, 39, the legendary former world middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion, is in Vegas to watch the fight and said he expects Calzaghe to beat Bernard Hopkins.

Enzo Calzaghe: "Joe is no angel"

Bernard Hopkins is likely to stop at nothing to try to beat Joe Calzaghe on Saturday night. He is likely to have little fear of going outside the laws of the game to secure victory, as he showed when he beat Ronald "Winky" Wright last year. But Enzo Calzaghe, Joe's father and trainer, knows his son can be dirty in the ring too.

"If you look at the three dirtiest fighters Joe has faced - Omar Sheika, Sakio Bika and Kabary Salem - Joe showed he could be a dirty fighter," Enzo said. "Hopkins is not meeting and angel."

Calzaghe - the cream of Manchester

Knowledge of geography has never been a strong point when it comes to Americans. I remember being sent this link to a comedy sketch on youtube last year where someone stopped people in the street in the US and asked them to find countries on a map. Australia was mistken for France and North Korea.

This has never been more noticeable than during the career of Joe Calzaghe, when out colonial cousins really try to figure out where Wales is. I read with interest an explanatory paragraph on the usually excellent website boxingtalk.com that explained that Calzaghe should not be referred to as a Brit, because he was in fact from Wales - buy an encyclopedia please.

Calzaghe getting fed up with all the talk from Hopkins

As Ricky Hatton found with Floyd Mayweather Jr, listening non-stop to a motormouth American opponent can drive you up the wall. Joe Calzaghe has just about become fed up with the non-stop talk from Bernard Hopkins, particularly the talk of how Hopkins's time in prison will mean he will have an easy time on Saturday's big fight.

"Hopkins had to go to prison to make himself hard, that means he is weak," Calzaghe said. "Me? I was born hard. Hopkins has been to prison. Big deal. Wow, give him a medal. Me I was knocking out guys who had been to prison when I was a 14 year old kid.

"I'm beginning to think they must teach people to talk shite out here when they are at school. They talk so much of it. I am going to make a grown man cry."

Pacino adds some Hollywood glamour

Hollywood came to Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip yesterday when the movie 88 Minutes had its world premiere.

Planet Hollywood  is the host for Saturday’s big fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins – the bout actually takes place at the Thomas & Mack Centre at the university – and added another big occasion to get people in the door and helping to talk about the fight. Al Pacino (left) showed up to walk the red carpet and even had a chat with Calzaghe and his dad, Enzo.

Calzaghe feeling relaxed and dismissive of Hopkins

If anyone was thinking that Joe Calzaghe was going to be in awe of boxing in Las Vegas, think again. The Welshman looks happy and relaxed ahead of Saturday's bout against Bernard Hopkins.
It is only Calzaghe's fourth trip to Vegas. He was here as part of a media tour at the end of February and last December to watch Ricky Hatton against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But many do not realise that he was here too in 2001. He had been due to make his US debut on the undercard of the Felix Trinidad versus Oscar De La Hoya bout, but withdrew through injury. He decided to go ahead with the trip anyway.

Audley's back in business

Some may have thought they had seen the last of him, but Great Britain's last Olympic champion, Audley Harrison, is set to return to the ring in less than a fortnight. Harrison, the 2000 super-heavyweight gold medal-winner is to box an eight-rounder on the undercard of Joe Calzaghe's bout with Bernard Hopkins at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas on April 19.

It is 14 months since he was last in action, when he was knocked cold by Michael Sprott at Wembley Arena. Ahead of that bout, it appeared he had finally got his career on track, stopping Danny Williams two months before. But, after starting well and having Sprott on the floor, a big left hook flattened him and seemed to put an end to his career.

Calzaghe confident he can deal with Hopkins's tricks

It is not often someone could accuse Joe Calzaghe of a lack of experience. But some have raised the questions of whether Bernard Hopkins is awkward enough to fool him out of their April 19 bout in Las Vegas. Hopkins, 43, is likely to try everything legal and otherwise to get an edge on the Welshman, but Calzaghe could not be more confident.
"I can box and fight, so I adapt to whatever means I need to do in the fight," Calzaghe said. "Maybe he'll run from me, maybe when he’s losing and stops trying to fight, who knows.

Calzaghe feeling strong at light-heavyweight

With just over three weeks to go until his long-awaited United States debut, Joe Calzaghe seemed fit, fresh and happy as he opened his Cwmcarn gym to the media this week. New challenges are the order of the day for Joe when he meets Bernard Hopkins at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas on April 19, it will not only be his first bout in the US, it will be his first at light-heavyweight after 15 years making the 12st super-middleweight limit - the change has been good for him.

No birthday celebrations for Calzaghe

Joe Calzaghe turns 36 on Sunday, the sort of age when most boxers are happily retired. But then Calzaghe is not most boxers and neither is he looking his age. Whether or not this will be his last birthday before he retires is till open to question too, although he will not planning any celebration this year as he is deep into training for his light-heavyweight bout against Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas on April 19.

BBC screens Haye v Maccarinelli

For those of you who missed out on seeing David Haye's demolition of Enzo Maccarinelli last weekend, the BBC is continuing its encouraging trend of showing big fights a week on. The action - it's listed as highlights, but I'm sure it will be the whole thing - will be shown on BBC2 at 12.30pm on Sunday.

London notes (2)

Joe Calzaghe, unsurprisingly, is picking his friend and sparring partner, Enzo Maccarinelli to beat David Haye. "As far as I'm concerned, Enzo has the speed, power and everything needed to win this fight," Calzaghe, who will be ringside tonight, said. "Haye looked good against [Jean-Marc] Mormeck, but Mormeck is Mormeck, he's not Enzo Maccarinelli.
While Haye has made a big deal about staying on US time for the late start, Calzaghe is not expecting Maccarinelli to sleep in. "He's like me, so he'll be up early," Joe said. "You always want to lie in but the adrenalin and excitement kicks in and you can't get back to sleep. That's what happened when I fought Jeff Lacy. Have a cold shower at about 11pm and he'll be fine."

London notes

Enzo Calzaghe is a busy man these days with three world champions in his Cwmcarn gym, all of whom are in action in the next two months. On Wednesday, Enzo was at the Peacock gym in Canning Town, East London, to take Enzo Maccarinelli through his paces on the pads for the benefit of the media. But he couldn't hang about after, as he was straight back across London to Paddington for a train back to Wales for an evening session with his other two world champions. Gavin Rees is defending his WBA light-welterweight title against Andreas Kotelnik at Cardiff International Arena on March 22, while Enzo's son Joe is facing Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas on April 19.

Enzo honoured in America

It is getting to the stage where Joe Calzaghe (left in picture) could have fewer awards than his dad, Enzo (right in picture). Coach of the year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, voted trainer of the year by The Ring magazine, he has now been voted trainer of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. I only hope the timing works out for him.

More titles, or no belts at all - what is the way forward?

I am sure like a lot of others, I winced when watching post-bout interview on ITV4 after the WBU welterweight title bout between Michael Jennings (left) and Ross Minter. It had been a great domestic scrap, Minter's aggressive style mixing well with the boxing skills on the move of Jennings. After, the pair were particularly respectful to each other and Minter said he knew it would be tough because Jennings was "a world champion". Some may put the pair up for the British Boxing Board of Control's sportsmanship award, others would want Minter up before the Board on a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute.

American champs unhappy with British hospitality

It seems that Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver didn't have such a good time on their fleeting trips to London last week. Certainly that was the tone of interviews the pair did on the website boxingtalk.com when they returned to the US. Not only did they come across like a pair of whingers, they seem to live up to the stereotype of Americans that believe that everywhere outside the good ol' US of A is a third-world country.

Khan stays at home

Amir Khan looks set to stay close to home for his next bout which could be a challenge for Yuri Romanov's European lightweight title.
Frank Warren, Khan's promoter, had looked at the possibility of Khan boxing in Las Vegas on the eve of Joe Calzaghe's bout with Bernard Hopkins.

Any takers this time for Gary Shaw's house?

Gary Shaw, the American promoter, is never slow coming forward to back his guy. On Tuesday, at a casino on Leicester Square, he was standing squarely behind Antonio Tarver, who challenges Clinton Woods for the IBF light-heavyweight title at the St Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, on April 12. Shaw is so confident his guy will win, he says he's willing to put his house on it.

World shrinking for Britain's champions

It used to be a big event when a British boxer went to America, now it happens almost every week. Joe Calzaghe is, of course, off to Las Vegas to face Bernard Hopkins on April 19, but another three of our world champion could find this week that they are heading Stateside too.
Clinton Woods, Junior Witter and Alex Arthur are on the verge of  huge fights and victory in them could set up even bigger matches closer to home.

Will Calzaghe really retire in 2008?

Two more fights, one more year, that's the plan for Joe Calzaghe who turns 36 in March and is, as he showed against Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in November, boxing better than ever. This week he repeated his pledge: "I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to have this and have one more fight and retire undefeated. I'll be financially secure then and it means a lot to me to have that zero at the end of my record. If you keep fighting, you will lose some time - that's a certainty. it's very easy to go on just that bit too long.”

Fans pay price for internet gossip about Calzaghe

On Wednesday, a press conference is being held in London to finally confirm Joe Calzaghe's bout with Bernard Hopkins. It will, I believe, confirm that the fight will be at the Thomas & Mack Centre, Las Vegas, on April 19. I say I believe because there has been enough misinformation floating around about this and it is the fans who have paid the price.

Witter and Rees leave Hatton to it

I was somewhat surprised that the name of Gavin Rees was put forward by one paper as a likely next opponent for Ricky Hatton, not because I don't think Hatton's people would have fancied the fight but because he is already busy.
Hatton's plans are far from solid, but it seems a late May date (May 24 has been mentioned) at the City of Manchester stadium is the subject of more rumours than anything else.

Calzaghe gets the popular vote

Our poll for the greatest British boxer of all time produced more than 1,600 votes and was won, rather unsurprisingly, by Joe Calzaghe. The WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight champion has got used winning polls of late and his next bout, against Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas, will be announced this week.

Weight problem could hurt Arthur's ambitions

Alex Arthur's hopes of making a big splash in the super-featherweight division could be hit by increasing difficulties in making the weight. Arthur has often had to boil down to make 9st 4lb, but the effort he made to get down for his interim WBO title defence against Stephen Foster Jr in Edinburgh at the weekend seemed to take a toll with a sometimes lifeless performance by the Scot.

Pavlik looks to Duddy and Calzaghe

Bob Arum, the promoter, has a busy year in mind for Kelly Pavlik, which could involve both John Duddy, the unbeaten Ulsterman, and Joe Calzaghe.

Pavlik, the WBC and WBO middleweight champion, has an overweight rematch with Jermain Taylor, the man he won the titles from, in February in Las Vegas and, should he win, Duddy, who beat Howard Eastman at King's Hall, Belfast, on Saturday, may be next in line.

Calzaghe holds his own with Hopkins

If Joe Calzaghe ever wanted to create an impact with the American media, he did it with his appearance in the media centre here on Friday, prior to the weigh-in.

Calzaghe-Hopkins - the name calling begins

Making a fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins is not a new difficulty. The match was first made, briefly, back in 2002. With Calzaghe approaching 36 and Hopkins 43 in January, it really is a case of now or never.

Hatton beats Calzaghe

Ricky Hatton was the biggest winner at Monday night's British Boxing Board of Control Awards Dinner when he was named Boxer of the Year, beating his fellow nominees Joe Calzaghe, Enzo Maccarinelli and David Haye.

Haye keeps title ... for now

Despite the promise that he is to move up to heavyweight, the possibility that he might yet defend the WBC and WBA cruiserweight titles he won by stopping Jean-Marc Mormeck at the weekend in Paris.

Hennessy takes Froch cause to Manila

Mick Hennessy, the promoter of Carl Froch, will this week travel to Manila for the WBC convention to press the cause for his man to get a shot at the world title.

March target date for Calzaghe-Hopkins

If a bout between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins (left) comes off, the earliest possible date would be in March.

HBO, the American cable network, has said that it has no dates available in February, which had been previously touted as a possible date.

Larsen wants the winner

When Mikkel Kessler sat ringside in Manchester the night Joe Calzaghe beat Jeff Lacy, next to him was another Danish super-middleweight Mads Larsen. It was an injury to Larsen that gave Kessler his first world title shot, when he stepped in as a substitute to challenge Manny Siaca for the WBA title. Now Larsen, the former European champion, wants to face the winner.

Froch backs Calzaghe

Carl Froch has put the hype aside and declared his admiration for Joe Calzaghe, ahead of the Welshman's world super-middleweight title unification against Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium tonight.

Inside Camp Calzaghe (3)

Whenever Joe Calzaghe is boxing in Wales, nearly all his gym-mates are usually on the undercard. Most usually want to be on early, so they can shower, change and be back at ringside to watch the rest of their mates in action.

Inside Camp Kessler

Mikkel Kessler's constant sidekick is Thomas Macon, his physiotherapist, who he credits with fixing him from a career-threatening back injury. He met Thomas in the build-up to his fight with ANthony Mundine, the first defence of his WBA title.

Inside Camp Calzaghe (2)

The stars to turn out for Joe Calzaghe. At yesterday's media workout, James Dean Bradfield, lead singer with the Manic Street Preachers turned up to watch.

Bradfield was happy to stand aside and watch. The gym was half full of Danish journalists and television crews, with whom Enzo Calzaghe, Joe's father and trainer, was determined to have fun.

"He started hanging out here years ago," Enzo said, pointing to Bradfield. "Occasionally we let him make the tea."

Inside Camp Calzaghe

Four days to go until the biggest bout of his life and if Joe Calzaghe thinks the media responsibilities are close to ending, he has got another thing coming.

Today is the day for Joe's media workout, the day anyone carrying a valid press pass can stroll in and watch him sweat.

Ali's record looks safe

It looks like Joe Calzaghe will have to wait for another day to threaten one of Muhammad Ali's records.