CALZAGHE-JONES vote results ~ What's next for them? Hopkins, Dawson, Kessler?

Vote!

 

Just one fight till the main event!

I think Roy has a very good chance for the upset if he'll be able to land the right with some power behind it, however I expect Calzaghe to overcome some tough moments to put on the heat and get a clear decision. Late TKO isn't out of question as he'll sit more on the punches, but I'll go with the UD as Jones' legendary condition should be enough to go to the cards...

 

Here are the poll results:

Calzaghe on points:
"He's gone!", 196osh, A Rock, Action, AgentBlue, Akeel, akPITT207, alfonso, Andre, antcull, azzlurg, BadJuju83, bailey77, Baileys_tunes, ballbag, BeaverDan, berserkafied, BHOPSKING, bhwbj, Big N Bad, BigBone, Bill Butcher, bizzer07, BlueApollo, Bodysnatcher, boey_jarton, bored, Boro chris, BoxingGuru, bramy, Brian123, Brickhaus, BritInvasion, brown_bomber, Broxi, capablanca, Carlos J, christo, CLUBBER, clubberlang, Conan, ConcretePete, Confido, coog, d00k, DamonD, Danny_Rand, decyboy86, Djarnis, djb2009, DMV, dougingb, Drunkenboxer, drvooh, eminentair, Erebus, fidds, fightfan312, fleaman, Frankwhite, GoD, Grant1, greengloves, H ., Haglerfans, Hands Of Sponge, Harry, Haye, HOF, Holmes' Jab, hotti_killer, Icky Monker, Irish Steel, IrnBruMan, Jack Presscot, jamel, jc, JediPimp007, JohnnieWalker, Johnnyboy, JonOli, JOSEY WALES, JS63518, jyuza, J_Roth, kaaz123, kel, KERSEY, Kess, kingofkings882, kk17, Knob McDude, KO Boxing, Kojiro, kokoko, konaman, Laudrup, LiamE, light-welter, LightningJoe, liveo, Loewe, loko, loowisoo, lozkin, mac, Machine, Maggs1981, margo82, markclow, MarkSe, MarshallW, MartyParty, maxanthony, MetroMan, mgal7414, mike harrison, Mind Reader, mrcloudylion, mstar, muzkabeatz, NBT, nickfoxx, Nigel_Benn, NJ1979, onourway, Ospreys_Warrior, Pharaoh, pioterbezkitu, pngo, prasake, Prince Laz, PugilisticPower, punchy2577, rakan, raksa, rantcatrat, Realspitts, REdAl, rex11y, RightCross, Rilz, ringvrag_1, Robatron, rrk, RUSKULL, rusticraver, safe_pa, Samurai, Sander, Sankekur, scarface, sebcfc, selfkill, Sevlow, Shake, shelterr, skier47, slapsSOgood, smiffy, socrates, SOMERSETDURAN, spaceman, Sprint, steveedster, sthomas, swankinrosco, TehRileh, TheChamp1000, TheGoldenHoya, themainevent, Thread Stealer, tough_gun, trepid_monsoon, Tricks77, tysonfan, Ubersteve, Warfist, wayne3280, Welsh Dragon, wilsonpilson, Wordup, zeman665, Zidane

Calzaghe by TKO or KO:
aceshigh, alex_daman, Amsterdam, Anharmonicity, Asterion, Astola, AzteK Warrior, bigG, Brighton bomber, cableguy, ChuckYoungblood, clarkie, Cooke, DaHead242, dhralf, dranon, dwilson, Fedor Em, ghostlybadge, gigogreco, gilad, HauntingTheHoly, headhunter, howsertrading, huki, JMotrain, JudeQuigley, KobeIsGod, Lampley, Lemmiwinks, Lewisbell, lewishamboy, M.Alexander, Madrew, magatte, Mastermune, Maza1987, Mendoza, Mercury69, mike464, Nilan30, o_money, PACFAN84, puga_ni_nana, pugilist64, randomer123, rast, reilly, Roege, r_9-Ronaldo, Sai, sitiyzal, sonny73, stiflers mum, Tarkus, tays001, Teatmandead, TFFP, thesham01, tnf1400, wooz, youngmonzon, youthmann

Jones on points:
Alo2006, ayala, Bad_Intentions, barinyu, BeReal, BewareofDawg, big guy, BobDigi5060, bolieu_mtl, Boom_Boom, booradley, Caliboxing, carebearlau, champianboxer, d0pestradamus, drama, ec111, egreezy, El_MorsillonPR, Exposed, Fab2333, FLO, Gambino, gutto, G_RapPBF, har4u, hayefever, Healy, Heavyrighthand, hellblazer, ibar78, Imperial1, JayDawg, JbLtheTitan, jimmie, jkdking, Kampioni, KDot10, KilltheKing, leichtgewicht, MexicanJew, moneymay, NoCable, OBCboxer, PanchoVilla, pasky2000, platnumpapi, Po3, proevoyoda, qcolts, québecwarrior, Quirinal, Ray Mercer, RealIzm, realsoulja, Rebel, RedGlovez, roscoe, sdsfinest22, Seven Chance, Shaolin Box, sire, ssabripo, standing 8, sugarngold, SWAGGER, TheH1tMan, thePRESIDENT, the_what, Thunderlips, TIME-BOMB, tito4eva, unclepaulie, Undisputed P4P

Jones by TKO or KO:
Achilleslststnd, AddTheNew, amandawallace, AmericanSugar, arkitek1977, Bobby Tony, Borincano, brut_edge, bxrfan, C HOP, Caponecartels, ChampionsForever, charlievint, Chris2132505, colin7878, DacianWolf23, derekw1, djtech2k8, dougm1970, draw99, Drusome, Dunks, edouardleniqueu, eltorrente, ENGLISH_TITAN, exwrestler, fatdrunkenslob, Florida boy, gamay, gman_mtaylor, Hex-One, hussleman, Icarus, icemax, jaycuban, joito3, joreal, kavlas, klion22, luy32, Marcos, mdulik, mkwalter, Monstar, MRBall, muffer, NeckBreaknAiken, pentycofe, PopeJackson, Pro, Problemchild215, right_hook_roye, Ring Master, rodadus, ronaldomilan, roy7, SFPLAYBOY415, smoochp, TalkBoxing, Taylex, theboy_racer, thunder, tstone, Wolfticket, zander, Zavy, Zhaakal



And some fight action photos:

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And the compubox numbers:

-----------Total Punches-----Jabs----Power Punches

Calzaghe--344 / 985------120 / 362---224 / 623
---------------35%----------33%----------36%

Jones------159 / 475------12 / 149----147 / 326
---------------33%-----------8%----------45%

 

Okay, GIF time boys and girls!

Here you can perfectly see that in fact it was a forearm 'shot' that knocked Calzaghe down. Max: 'It looked like he hit him with his forearm'. Manny: 'yeah but he still didn't see the punch!'

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Roy had his moments. Here you see Calzaghe taking a wicked uppercut, probably better than anyone Kessler landed on him. Rate his chin after this

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Here's the punch probably opened the bad cut:

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And the 'controversial' showboating:

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Like I've said, it's the right that causes problems for Joe all the time, and he got caught by some short rights early. But man what a tough dude, seconds after the knockdown he fought back!



My 2 cents

First and foremost: it was a very entertaining fight, maybe not from ours, but the non-hardcore standpoint, something boxing really needed: knockdown and great recovery, precise punching and sick amount of combination punching, brawl, ring smarts, blood, guts, heart, altogether something to show the average viewer about our great sport... too bad it was PPV, 500.000 buys (impossible) would still mean that very few actually watched this one...

By the way in the end, 14,152 fans turned up in the MSG to make an electrifying and 2-sided crowd, both chanting for Roy and Calzaghe, and both praising the winner and the loser after it was over.

In my opinion Jones was in the best shape (especially mentally) SINCE the Ruiz fight. Far from the prime unfortunately, but his magic was enough to put Calzaghe on his ass, although the 'shot' was a forearm. Quite interestingly the articles fail to mention that it wasn't a punch that sent Calzaghe down, but you can’t take away Roy’s moments...

What a heart BOTH guys have! Roy to go all 12 and still expect opportunities to catch Calzaghe, Joe for getting up and fight an excellent fight with controlled anger.

Pro boxing is about a show, so showboating can't do bad. Roy did it for a decade the same reason Joe last night: convincing the judges and make the opponent uncomfortable. You guys have to understand that this is not about the fighter’s ego, disrespect or anything, it's a tactic and even vs. mediocre opposition Jones used this to never let them in the fight. Hell, what about Hopkins' showboating in the Pavlik fight? I though it was cool... But I agree that Calzaghe did it a bit too much. But there was a point to make.

Back to the fight itself. IMO Roy was in excellent shape for his age, which is 39, and in fact it was Joe's crisp body punching that slowed him down and cut down his punch output. If you focus solely on head-hunting, you could say Joe was very ineffective in most of the rounds, but he landed 1-2-3 combos to the body making a loud sound every time he landed. Roy's bodywork was good as well at times, just wasn't enough. Jones clearly spent too much time on the ropes without throwing more. Of course it's very difficult to land against Calzaghe after a few rounds, as once again the Welshman adapted to the opponent to take away his key punches (jabs, rights, combos), even putting his head in if to say: 'you can’t hit me'. The cut, caused by a punch clearly affected Roy. Fortunately for him, after the HORRIBLE work on it at the corner, it didn't get worse (it was pretty bad already), therefore he could see the final bell.

I don't know if anyone else noticed or saw this way, but IMO Calzaghe clearly stepped off the gas in the last two rounds, probably not wanting Roy to get badly hurt. After all, they’re cool. Compubox show he almost cut in half his output. More showboating was the result, but at least Roy wasn't caught by another 50 punch. I think Joe wanted it to go to the distance. They are good friends, both gave respect before and after the fight, Joe even said it was an honour to fight the great Roy and thanked him the opportunity. The promotion was good, the undercard wasn't, it was horribly bad.



Where does this 5 years late but still big, entertaining fight stand?

With Solo Boxeo being cancelled, rumors of HBO and Showtime cutting the annual budget, unfortunately Vazquez and Marquez are not enough to save boxing in the US. Big names like Jones and entertaining fight like this one might. But the future looks horrible. Imagine: in the Great Depression, some great fighters emerged to give entertainment and hope for the masses. Today, boxing is an elite sport. Arenas half empty, horrible ratings getting lower and lower and of course the PPV curse. HBO/Time Warner, Arum and Schaefer just don't get it. PPV was supposed to be formula for THE BIG EVENT, like the Superbowl of boxing, once or twice a year. Nowadays, it’s the curse of boxing.

The ONLY reason Time Warner puts money in boxing is because PPV. The only way they can make PROFIT in the end of the year is because PPV, without it, they couldn’t afford all the big fights. But! PPV is now for a small amount of hardcore fan base. Boxers fighting on PPV undercards and main events will never be popular for the masses, only the paying audience can see them, and there’s less and less numbers of them. Oscar is going to retire soon and even Golden Boy Promotions won’t be able to put boxing back on the map. There’s no big name today among the youngsters. Amateur boxing was dead years ago. And as PPV produces less and less money, Time Warner will cut the budget more and more for HBO boxing. Less budget means less superfights, less entertainment, even less PPV. You cans predict where it ends.

There’s no such thing as HBO Boxing without PPV as I’ve said, it’s the only reason Time Warner puts money in it. But without national-wide, free TV broadcasts, there are no future superstars for the masses, the time of Oscars, Shanes, Tysons and Roys are over, and not even Top Rank, Don King or Golden Boy can afford to go free TV, as it would take YEARS, maybe a DECADE to build up free TV boxing and bring back the ratings. Maybe Saturday’s entertaining show - from the average viewer’s standpoint - can bring a bit of an attention back. Pro boxing that once was the leading sport to give the masses entertainment, a cheap opportunity to root for an icon and hope has became an elitist entertainment with expensive tickets, cable subscriptions and PPVs. Is 2008 the final big year for boxing in the US? Was Jones-Calzaghe, a fight between a 39 and 36 year-old, one of the last super fights?

I hope not.

It’s time for both combatants to retire, nothing left to prove for Roy Jones Junior and Joe Calzaghe, close to 40, their legacy is intact. 10 years from now, this weekend will be a excellent one to remember, so let’s be happy that we was able to be part of it!

 

One more thing... Calzaghe should take some time off with the decision whether to call it a day or not... shouldn't decide before January 2009. He might or might not get the #1 spot on the P4P rankings early next week (at GBP's own The Ring it would be a surprise), but after PacMan-DLH, IMO it won't be a question who's the #1. Closing the year as The Ring's #1 and retiring as the game's best would be a nice achievement on his resume.