Calzaghe tried to fight Hopkins in the early 2000's

Done.

Agreed.

I just don't like hearing that Calzaghe ducked Hopkins.

Bernard's greed and lack of proper management prevented him getting the $$$ he deserved in his early career.

Fortunately for him, he came out allright in the twilight of his career. And he seems to be doing just fine in the promotion business.

I'd like to see and hear him in a Max Kellerman role.

 

Why would Hopkins duck a fight with Calzaghe only to fight him later on when he was 40+ years old?

Maybe it just didn't make sense at the time. Hopkins was still making his defenses at 160 and ended up making 10 million for a fight with Oscar. So if you want to talk about the money, Hopkins ended up making much more money.

Calzaghe wasn't even a name until he destroyed Lacy. If he wanted a fight with Jones he should have moved up and got into contention. Instead he was content staying home and fighting Tucker Pudwills and not building a legacy. Frank Warren questioned the ticker of the man...did he really want a challenge? Did he have the heart for it? Calazghe has been the underdog in about maybe 1 or 2 fights his whole career. He was content to reitre after beating a shell of Roy Jones.

You know, I think Calzaghe is/was an a great talent. But his record stinks and I don't think he tried hard enough to make the big fights or tackle the bigger challenges.

 

The answer is quite simple- money and calculated risk. Remember, this is right after Hopkins landed the Trinidad victory in which he was payed only a fraction of what Tito got, and he hadn't cashed in yet. While Calzaghe offered the biggest payday at the time, he also presented a greater risk to **** up future paydays Hops was gunning for. Bernard chose to wait and collect smaller mandatory paydays with easier opponents while holding out for the gold mine that would become the Oscar de la Hoya fight.

Fortunately for Bernard, he got that fight and that payday. And made the most of it.

Fast forward a few years, and all the sudden, in the twilight of each man's career, their paths cross again. This time, Joe brings a payday that Hopkins decides fits his risk-reward profile quite nicely. Calzaghe couldn't be happier to take the fight and even came to the US to make it happen because, guess what? That's where the money was for Joe, too. With wise financial management, each man's great-grandkids are now able to be financially taken care of.

It's all about economics, and as much as boxing fans don't want to hear about it, it dictates the way careers are managed now. Personally, I think the benefits of that outweigh the drawbacks. Let's not pretend for a second that Hopkins and Calzaghe weren't managed by the same philosophy. As a drawback, we never got to see either man really pushed in their primes to levels they could've reached- but they've also left the sport (assuming Hopkins doesn't hang around too much longer) with a fortune, a Hall of Fame career, and their health intact.

Like it or not, the two will always be linked. There's too many similarities for those who aren't fixated on splitting hairs on the differences.

 

Very well put. Good to see some rational thinking here. :good

 

Calzaghe was average in the early 2000's.

 

Well a rematch with Tito and fights with De La Hoya, Jones Jr and Toney were all talked about between 2002-2003 period.

But of course Tito retired, he did fight De La Hoya, Jones Jr and Hopkins couldn't agree on the split and after Hopkins signed to fight Toney in 2003 for an agreed amount, King tried to pay him half the contractually agreed amount and so Hopkins backed out.

Fact is Hopkins did have more lucrative options then. They may not all have panned out but he did end up making a lot more money without having to leave middleweight.

 

Agreed with Brighton Bomber's posts.

 

Yep, the guy knows what hes talking about:good:smoke

 

lol at agentsmith

you've completely owned this thread.

 

Toney/Hopkins was set for Aug 2003, King offered Hopkins a sum which was contractually agreed to, I will take your figure of $3 mill. All parties had agreed and signed the contracts, King then attempted to halve Hopkins share despite having agreed a larger sum. Toney agreed to take a pay cut Hopkins didn't. Based on Hopkins history of being screwed by promoters like Butch Lewis I don't blame him for backing out.

Hopkins/Jones is a completely different argument. Personally I thought both were to blame for the fight not taking place. Jones was the bigger star and did have the win over Hopkins but he had a distinct lack of big names to fight. In fact he was forced all the way up to heavyweight to get a big fight. Hopkins had more options open to him.

As for De La Hoya being years later. The original 3 fight deal with showtime for a fight with Calzaghe would have meant a fight about summer 2003 at the earliest as Hopkins had a mandatory against Hakkar. The second offer of $2.5 million was for Feb 2004 and Hopkins fought Oscar 7 months later. So it wasn't years later.