Oi, sues2nd, you still haven't honoured your 3 month avatar bet with me...

I am thinking about a guy that dances with the stars, performs in wrestlemania, talks a whole lot of brown **** and does exactly what Roy used to do, potshot and move around on his bike... Ricky took the fight to him and he put his forearms, forehands and elbows on his throat! Then he goes to Wrestlemania to play around with the Big Show... Boxing is suffering from terminal disease in my opinion.

John Rawling had the fight level as most of the ringside press had, Richie had it 95-95 going into the last round ( Woodhall gave the 10th to Hops and the last two to Joe, same thing as Barry McGuigan 115-113)... Steve Bunce had it wide but he said don't fight Roy, bring Bernard to Cardiff and put on a show for 75 thousand... Happens that Barry also said that the Bernard fight was too tough for Joe and he would fight Jones to get this retirement pension... Joe said after the fight that Bernard was still a great fighter at age 43 ( watch the Setanta interview in the locker room).

 

There were many indicators before the fight that led people (me included) to believe it would be a hard fought victory.

It was clear before the fight that Calzaghe was taking Hopkins far too lightly, Enzo had no specfic strategy, Calzaghe's debut at 175, debut in America, Hopkins dirty tactics, his straight right hand, Calzaghe's openess to counters when flurrying, the fact that it was clear in the Kessler fight that Calzaghe isn't as powerful as he once was.

Calzaghe underperformed because he thought he would walk over Hopkins then got nailed and was gun shy for the first few rounds. He's also at the tail end of his career and past his physical peak.

Hopkins got away with huge amounts against Wright and there was no reason to expect he wouldnt against calzaghe. Cortez isn't fair or firm.

Calzaghe has said lots of times that he barely watches his opponents. Enzo just lets Joe go in there and do his thing and tell him he's a twat when he gets it wrong. He's always had the physical attributes and savvy to get away without strategy and against a cagey fighter like Hopkins that was always going to be a problem.

This has been a bit of a ramble but I hope it shows that there were lots of reasons to suggest this was going to be a close fight.

 

...in your opinion

 

i agree, it was never going to be blowout. hopkins is a tough fight for anyone.

 

John Rawling clearly emphasized how credible was of a 43 year old that could have competed physically and technically with a animal like Joe ( right at the end with him and Richie Woodhall live from Vegas and many Welsh supporters in the back with flags)... If you look clearly into it and hear very wise Richie Woodhall commenting, you can more easily check how Bernard had the timing and reflexes to get that right hand in, how he moved away subtly from jabs and lefts and ducked big shots, how he tried to flurry with the fast handed Calzaghe ( 9th, 10th and 11th) so it wasn't just 2 rounds ( and it was dead level at midway)... It was not about who inexplicably failed or who was allowed to get away with it - there is no other fighter that would have done that with Calzaghe. I want to see Chad Dawson going toe to toe with Joe to see how much of a bright young athletic star Max Kellerman tells him to be.

 

I think it clearly demonstrates how many people overrate Calzaghe, underrate Hopkins, vice versa or both, or plainly fail to see how styles will come together to create outcomes

 

I mean why did Max Kellerman talk about "young athletic star Chad Dawson in a old LHWT Division" during the HBO Broadcast of Hopkins-Wright... And again in the post-fight comments for Calzaghe-Hopkins! It's easy to understand Max loves the dude but he doesn't have to bring his name up every and any single time... I mean, I think Bad Chad is slick and fast but he was rocked by that counter right from Glen in the 10th... Why don't Chad and Eddie M Muhammad put their WBC title on the line against Joe and stop calling out Antonio Tarver? I tell you why- Chad can't take what he gives...