http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1084287/Jeff-Powell-Act-mercy-true-gent-Joe-Calzaghe-shows-class.html Your take?
That's what I saw. Distinctly in the 7th. Calzaghe could have finished Jones quite a number of times.
i def thought calzaghe was going to finish him...but he didnt put the pressure on to get the ko...seemed deliberate
Maybe because after the 6th round Calzaghe knew the only way he could lose was to get careless going for a KO and get tagged? A few years back Calzaghe had no qualms about KOing his good mate Richie Woodhall.....
I agree with all of what has been said: I do think Joe backed off, but I think some of that (at least before the last few rounds) was because he didn't want to get tagged with a counter. I do think he could have finished Roy at the end but didn't want to, which I respect. Roy's not just a legend but a good man and Joe's co-promoter. No reason to try to go all-out for a stoppage. I also think that Roy's declined state in the later rounds is why Joe showboated as much as he did. Joe knew Roy didn't have a lot left, Joe didn't want to wail on Roy but the crowd was getting restless and wanted something. So Joe did his whole hip-shaking thing. Maybe not the best decision, but I can understand why Calzaghe may have done it. Joe was geeked up all night and clearly wanted to make a show for the fans. You could see that when he was walking to the dressing room and when they showed him in the dressing room. He kept mugging for the cameras, and clearly wanted to please the people watching. When he knew Roy was slowing down, then, he increased his own playacting quotient to try to keep people interested. Just some thoughts.
I thought he held back and he could certainly have done a lot more damage to roys eye. He slowed the pace in the last few rounds to make sure Jones got to the line. He was still going for him but not 100% imo. Jones could have tagged him and made Joe a little cautious from 9 on he posed little threat from what I seen.
