Okay, Now that Calzaghe v. Hopkins Is For Real

I'm gonna buy it on April 19, 2008 and so are you if you love boxing. I'll buy it for the same reason I couldn't stay away from Hopkins v. Wright. These are great boxers and when great boxers fight, realfightfans should tune in. It's chess with fists and unlike conventional chess, someone can get knocked out (though to be realistic, when great fighters fight, knockouts don't necessarily follow).

I guess we should have seen this fight coming when we saw Hopkins taunting Calzaghe on stage before the Kessler fight (or was it the Manfredo fiasco?...anyway...). Hopkins' teaming with GoldenBoy Promotions and Oscar DeLaHoya was the best move Bernard could have made in his boxing dotage. I give him credit. At an age where most boxers are scrambling for fights to stay relevant, he's put himself in a position to make big fights with the biggest fighters near his weight and promote them too! Notwithstanding his careful crafting of an anti-establishment image with the now-abandoned executioner's mask and the 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses, Hopkins has managed to amass this kind of juice with a purely counterpunching defensive style that can best be described favorably as an acquired taste and unfavorably as dirty and boring. That he knocked out Oscar on a body punch (then forged a promoting alliance with him!) is more a testament to Oscar's overreaching to test destiny as it is Bernard's weighty hands.

Don't get me wrong. Hopkins can fight and he carefully brings just enough to match and (in most cases) outdo his opponent. He conserves energy, turns his opponents, infights, elbows, ties up and punches on breaks and between breaths. This often ends up discouraging and wearing his opponents down. That very style (and his legendary obsessiveness with training and fitness generally) has allowed him to fight at an elite level into his 40s. But unless Calzaghe ages before our eyes, Hopkins will more than have his hands full with the Welshman.

Joe Calzaghe burst into this US fight fan's consciousness at the same time he did for most, I think. When he unforgivingly dismantled the seeming heir apparent Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy. That night, he was tough to like at first when he returned to his corner after the first round of that fight, telling his cornermen (about Lacy), "he's shite!", that comment proved absolutely true (at least that night, relative to Calzaghe). Lacy, who I thought looked like a mini-Mike Tyson coming in, has spent the last several years trying to rebound from that devastating defeat and rebuild his shattered confidence. Calzaghe fought great that night the way great fighters do. Great fighters fight great on big nights (and by the way, Jeff Lacy should take comfort and confidence from that...Calzaghe brought his best that night because he expected a real test...that he didn't get one may speak to Lacy's overconfidence more than a skill mismatch...although to digress further...Lacy has never looked the same since).

Calzaghe has also fought down to some opponent's levels since, but he again elevated his game to take on the undefeated Mikkel Kessler and showed another gear that the technically sound, young, hard punching and willing Kessler had no answer for. Now...the big question is: will Calzaghe's workrate style pose a problem for Hopkins? Heck, yes! Now...I can't help but wonder if Hopkins sees something we don't because on paper this is not a good fight for him. It may simply be that there's no better fight left out there for Hopkins. He doesn't need Roy Jones and Calzaghe has called him out. Calzaghe has proven he can pack all of Wales into a 60,000 seat venue and the kind of overseas buys he can generate on PPV carries the kind of juice that brings big fighters to the table. Has it enticed Hopkins in over his head? I think so. But then maybe at this stage and with his hall of fame credentials well in hand, Hopkins simply doesn't care.

While Hopkins' style remains intact at his age, that's because it doesn't rely on quickness as much as it does guile and control of pace and position. Hopkins punches and ties up, he shoulders and butts and turns. All of this can be negated by an exceptionally accurate volume puncher with sound boxing skills. If there ever such a fighter, it's Joe Calzaghe. He shoeshined his way to a quick decision against the overmatched Peter Manfredo of Contender fame and he's perfectly willing to let volume replace power as a primary tactic. He'll surely come in high as a kite and prepared to throw 100+ punches a round. I imagine he'll be in perfect condition and carrying the kind of concern into the ring that makes a great fighter fight great. I'm not sure that Hopkins will carry any more concern than usual. He's been in a number of big fights now and probably thinks that he'll be able to discourage and slow Calzaghe with well placed hard head shots...or maybe some body work (which probably is the best route to take). I think that underestimates Calzaghe's willingness to absorb punishment to acheive his goal.

Perhaps Hopkins read Calzaghe's autobiography (excerpted in Ring Magazine) where Calzaghe makes clear he's no fan of taking punishment and has no interest in boxing as a means to prove he's a tough guy. While that's surely true, no fighter amasses the kind of undefeated career that Calzaghe has without being extraordinarily willing. Further, no fighter amasses this many victories consecutively without a single loss without entering the ring every time with the ever-increasing weight of that record weighing heavily on his shoulders. Calzaghe isn't just fighting a big fight. He's fighting for his legacy...to stay undefeated. He's fighting for a claim to a level of boxing immortality that Hopkins can no longer aspire to. He won't give up his "0" easily. He won't give it up without a fight. In the end, I don't think he'll give it up at all. Calzaghe by decision 116-112.