Finally: Calzaghe To Fight Hopkins In Las Vegas
After weeks of speculation, undisputed super-middle weight champion Joe Calzaghe of Wales will fight American Bernard Hopkins in a light-heavyweight bout at the Thomas Mack Center in Las Vegas on April 19.
A win would propel the WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight title holder into a possible career finale against Roy Jones Jnr or Jermain Taylor, and would ensure Calzaghe’s place in boxing’s hall of fame.
However, before Joe can think about Jones or Taylor, he would first have to take care of Hopkins who claimed he would “never lose to a white man”.
Calzaghe has always stated: “I want to look back on my career and say I was one of the best.
“This is a dream come true. People always ask me ‘when are you going to America?’ and now they’ve got their answer,” said Calzaghe, unbeaten in 44 fights and who was crowned undisputed champion in November after he outpointed Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler.
“I won’t be taking Hopkins lightly, but I believe I have the tools to beat him,” he said of the 43-year-old American who has a record of 48 wins, four defeats and one draw, and is one of only seven men (including Calzaghe) to have held world titles for 10 years.
The fight will be a non-title light-heavyweight bout but, while no belt will be at stake, Calzaghe is hoping for support on the scale of Ricky Hatton’s encounter with Floyd Mayweather last year when an estimated 25,000 Britons trekked to Nevada.
Calzaghe has only twice fought outside of the UK previously in his 44-bout career, beating Mario Veit in Germany in 2005 and Will McIntyre in Copenhagen in 2001.
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January 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Looking forward to our 4 day trip to see Joe fight!!!!!
Now all I have to do is learn the Welsh National Anthem
love you
xxxxxxx
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Here’s the perfect link for you:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/bigwelshchallenge/anthem.shtml
Yeah, it’s going to be a great fight!
January 31st, 2008 at 6:45 am
Joe can go all the way, a true champion who can win a fight literally single-handed with a broken hand… Going over the pond will be a great test, but as he says, he has the tools - he has never looked like he was going to lose a fight at any time I have watched him. I wouldn’t expect an early knock-out - I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go to points - after that it’s up to the judges…
February 5th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Looking forward to this one, I really think Hopkins will take this one. It will be interesting
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:35 am
I think it will be close but Joe should win this one.