Sunday, 9 November 2008
Joe Calzaghe v Roy Jones Jr
Madison Square Garden, New York - 8 November
****CONGRATULATIONS JOE ****
By Ben Dirs
BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden
Calzaghe beat Jones with a non-stop barrage of punches
Joe Calzaghe put on one of his finest displays to dismantle Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York in the early hours of Sunday morning. - Calzaghe was floored in the first round by a Jones right hand but thereafter assumed full control of the fight. The Welshman opened a big cut over Jones' left eye in round seven and the 39-year-old was clinging on in the end.
All three judges scored the bout 118-109 in Calzaghe’s favour.
The Newbridge fighter extends his unbeaten record to 46 fights while four-weight world champion Jones, of Pensacola, Florida, falls to 52 wins and five defeats and may now choose to retire. Calzaghe was cheered on by an estimated 7,000 British fans out of a crowd of 14,000, including Lennox Lewis and former foes Bernard Hopkins and Mikkel Kessler, both hoping to lure the Welshman into continuing his career. The 36-year-old, who was floored by Hopkins in their fight in Las Vegas in April, suffered the same ignominy again, walking onto a flashing left hook before ducking into what appeared to be a forearm to the throat.
"Yes, I was hurt, he caught me with a good shot. But that's what being a champion is all about - when you're put down on the floor, you come back stronger," admitted Calzaghe after the fight. - "It's an honour getting in the ring with Roy Jones, the guy is a wicked fighter and caused me a lot of trouble. I didn't see the punch coming, it was a good shot. It's the fourth time I've been down and come back strongly." Calzaghe backed Jones onto the ropes in round two, unleashing with quick combinations, although the American seemed to be soaking most of them up with his gloves.
Jones was having some success on the counter and landed with a flashing right just before the bell before turning to the crowd and sticking his tongue out. Round three had the crowd on their feet for the full three minutes, with Calzaghe getting through Jones' high guard with a lacerating right-left combination before Jones hit back with a booming left.
Calzaghe smiled, before holding his hands exaggeratedly low, swivelling from the waste and evading a rash of Jones punches. Round four was equally enthralling, with Calzaghe again throwing the most punches and Jones having the occasional success on the counter. Jones just missed with a swingeing right hand on the bell, leading Calzaghe to feign rubbery legs, and it looked for all the world as though the Garden had another classic on its hands. However, Jones' work-rate tailed off dramatically in rounds five and six - while Calzaghe’s punch output did not.
Jones tested Calzaghe’s chin with one booming right uppercut in the sixth, but for the most part he was happy to lean on the ropes and block Calzaghe's punches with his gloves. Round seven was a disastrous one for Jones, with Calzaghe opening up a big gash over his left eye courtesy of two left lacerating lefts.
Roy Jones Jr was cut badly in round seven The injury seemed to drain Jones of any belief and by round eight, Jones, who many had predicted would not be able to live with his rival's work-rate, was blowing hard and looking unsteady on his feet. The final four rounds were something of a procession, with the once elusive Jones lumbering forward mummy-like and providing an almost unmissable target. And the American fans were heading for the exits long before the final bell tolled, with their once-great hero reduced to a bloody mess. The stats revealed that Calzaghe threw 985 punches to Jones' 475, landing with 35% to Jones' 33%, and was just about the story of the fight.
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Roy Jones Jr has compared Joe Calzaghe to Rocky Marciano ahead of their clash at Madison Square Garden on 8 November. "Calzaghe's one of the best fighters ever, one of the greatest of all time," Jones told BBC Sport Wales. - "He has a 100% record of 45-0, Marciano was 49-0. He's a true athlete I respect - we've nothing bad to say to each other, we'll give it all in the ring." - Jones, speaking at a New York media conference attended by Calzaghe, will face the Welshman at light-heavyweight.
Calzaghe, 36, has ruled the super-middleweight division for almost 11 years and is the longest reigning current champion in boxing. - His win over Bernard Hopkins in April saw him acknowledged as the world's leading light-heavyweight, although the showdown with Jones is a non-title event. - Calzaghe fully fit for Jones 'war' - "After Hopkins there was only one guy I wanted to fight," said Calzaghe, who had said before flying to New York that he didn't want his media sessions with Jones to be "too cosy".
"I've followed Roy's career since his amateur days and have always been a fan. "To have what will probably be my final fight in the best fight venue against one of the greatest boxers of the last 20 years - it's all I've got left to achieve. "The Hopkins fight was tough because all he wants to do is hold and hug you all night.
"I've always had a problem with rushing in, but I've learnt from that against Hopkins - Roy's a good counter puncher and he expects me to throw 1,000 punches. - Jones and Calzaghe have been working the media circuit - "I know that Roy will come to fight, he's got tremendous hand speed, power and a great boxing brain.
"All I can say is don't miss this, it's going to be the fight of the year."
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Joe Calzaghe v Bernard Hopkins:-
He said it was "one of the toughest fights of my career" but Joe Calzaghe was awarded a split decision victory by the judges over Bernard Hopkins.
The fight, held at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas, was witnessed by over 14,000 fans, many of whom had crossed the Atlantic from Calzaghe's Welsh homeland.
Calzaghe got off to a shaky start, being floored by Hopkins' powerful right hand in the first round. But Calzaghe found his feet by the seventh and eighth rounds before being finally awarded his debut light-heavyweight victory.
Calzaghe's attention has now turned to his next fight and insists that he will fight one more time before retiring from boxing.
"I don't want to push it too far, one more fight from me and then that is it, I'm done," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Everyone wants to stay unbeaten and I'm no different. If you carry on too long eventually you will get beaten."
His two most likely opponents are either Roy Jones Jr or Kelly Pavlik and will probably take place later this year.
at Madison Square Garden New York! - After pulling out of the fight sheduled for September 20 due to injury,
- will provide the backdrop for the unbeaten Welsh fighter's swansong in the ring against
, the former four weight world champion. Calzaghe will defend The Ring Magazine light-heavyweight title (175lbs) against Jones. It is fitting that Calzaghe, 36, the world's longest reigning world champion – holder of the WBO super middleweight title for just short of 11 years – who is undefeated in 45 contests, should end his career in the Garden