Joe Calzaghe Beats Hopkins or Did Bernard Beat Himself?
April 20, 2008
Bernard Hopkins deserved to lose against Joe Calzaghe. Why?: Because B-Hop’s greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses… Calzaghe (45-0) remained undefeated Saturday night as he rallied in the second half of the fight to outwork Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1) in his U.S. debut at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was a “split decision” which always equals some controversy. Hopkins scored the only knockdown in the first round just 70 seconds into the fight. After the fight Hopkins claims that he took Calzaghe “to school”. But forget all that. B-Hop lost this one all on his own.
Too Much Age: Hopkins is 43 years old, is in impeccable shape, and can stand in there 12 rounds with younger fighters named Calzaghe, Wright, and Taylor. He eats right, trains right, and never blows up in weight in between bouts like most fighters. This is a testament to his greatness, out-of-ring training discipline, and commitment to his craft over the years. He says that age played no role in the fight, but also said that he “paced himself” to go into the later rounds. That meant that he was unable to fight the second half of the fight like the first half. “Pacing” at 43 is not the same as pacing at 33.
Too Much Science: Hopkins might be the smartest, savviest, and most scientific boxer the world has known in the last 15 years. His systematic breakdowns over the more-favored Felix Trinidad and Antonio Tarver weren’t just victories, but tutorials to be shown to aspiring young boxers everywhere. Max Kellerman remarked last night that Hopkins was “the Greg Maddux of boxing”. If he “figures out” his opponent, then he is “the professor”. If not, he is like Maddux today at age 42, hoping the judges give him that extra-wide strike zone. So in those championship rounds called “10”, “11”, and “12” where championship heart – not championship “technique” – is called upon, the judges – and fans — are looking for that fastball over the plate. Yet Hopkins is still content to try to “paint the corners” with his curveball… and will complain when the judges didn’t call the batter out looking…
Too Much Discipline/Too Little Activity: Calzaghe was landing far more blows although much of it was pitter-patter, and Hopkins landed the fight’s cleanest punches. Some boxing purists say Calzaghe’s “activity” shouldn’t be confused with “production”. And if Hopkins were throwing enough punches in return, they would have a great point. But when a close round goes to the scorecards like round 7 where Calzaghe landed light blows for three minutes, but Hopkins landed only one punch – the round’s best punch – it is just not enough. Three punches?: yes. One punch?: it better buckle the knees.
Too Much Counterpunching: Hopkins is a world-class counterpuncher. It is who he is. Counterpunchers have a great advantage. They wait for openings, but refuse to create them. They put unfair pressure on their opponent to make a fight exciting – something Bernard cares little about. Fans come out to see checkers, but Bernard will only play chess. And in most fights it doesn’t matter because Bernard is too busy taking his opponents bishops, knights, rooks, and Queen on route to check-mate. But in a close fight with close rounds where B-Hop is taking a pawn at best, it is the aggressor who forced the action who deserves the nod from judges. Otherwise there wouldn’t even be a fight.
Too Much Calzaghe: Last night Joe C. was that aggressor. Calzaghe called it “an ugly win”, but considering B-Hop’s low volume, counterpunching style, “lose ugly” or “win ugly” are the only two cards on the table (ditto for Winky Wright). After the first four rounds which were controlled by Hopkins, it was Calzaghe who pressed the action, threw more punches, and left more counterpunch openings. Sure, most of it was “shoe-shining”, but by the end of the fight Hopkins wasn’t even applying polish himself…
Other Thoughts:
Scoring: The fight was almost a reverse of Hopkins-Jermaine Taylor I. Due to inactivity Hopkins gave away the last half of the fight instead of the first half. And like both Taylor fights it was very difficult to score. I gave Rounds 1 (10-8), 3 and 4 to B-Hop, rounds 5 – 9 to Calzaghe, 10 to Bernard, and the last two to Joe for a final 115 – 112 score for Calzaghe.
About that Low Blow: The HBO telecast all seemed to paint the picture that Hopkins was milking a rest after getting punched below the belt in round 10. Now from personal experience, it really does not take a whole lot to be put out of temporary commission after a low blow. Sometimes even the right graze will even do the trick. This is not to say that Hopkins definitely wasn’t taking some liberties, but it is just as plausible that his cup shifted in just the wrong way…
About Legacy: Hopkins should not lose one iota off of his legacy as Calzaghe, Jermain Taylor, or any other fighter won’t be doing much of anything at 43. Even the great Sugar Ray Robinson was washed up by that age. His legacy may even be strengthened in that he was competitive. Along with Archie Moore, Hopkins may go down as the greatest post-35 fighter in boxing history… As for Calzaghe, this fight cements his legacy as one of the greatest fighters of our generation. Despite his undefeated career and recent dominant performances over Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, he has never fought an elite fighter to truly gage his skills – until now.
About “the Whiteboy”: It seemed that Hopkins caused a media stir by saying that he “would never lose to a whiteboy” prior to the fight. Hopkins first made the comment before the fight was even signed – which happened a few days later. It also got widespread attention which in boxing – means widespread dollars. Hopkins – a partner in “Golden Boy Promotions” who once threw down the Puerto Rican flag before his big fight with Tito Trinidad– know the business side of boxing as well as anyone. and has a history of saying anything that might increase the gate. …Having stated that, in his pre-fight commentary, it was Max Kellerman who may have summed up the irony best when he said that the racial aspect: “turns racial stereotypes on its head” since it is Calzaghe who is the faster, more athletic, and flashier opponent while Hopkins is the tougher, more scientific and calculated fighter. Kellerman noted that if Hopkins wasn’t able to close the athletic gap by being able to outthink Calzaghe, then he would “indeed lose to a whiteboy”.
Comments
32 Responses to “Joe Calzaghe Beats Hopkins or Did Bernard Beat Himself?”
Got something to say?
[…] It was a “split decision” which always equals some controversy. Bernard Hopkins scored the only knockdown in the first round just 70 seconds into the fight. After the fight Hopkins claims that he took Joe Calzaghe “to school”. But forget all that. Bernard Hopkins deserved to lose this fight against Joe Calzaghe. Why?: Because Hopkins’ greatest strengths are also clearly his greatest weaknesses… Read More at Sports On My Mind […]
Excellent review and assessment of the fight, MODI. It was a split, but as we talked about, I’d like to know what the judge who scored the fight in Hopkins’ favor saw. Sure, it was tighter than a 116-111 score, but Joe C. won the fight…
I was dissapointed to see that he lost as I too have great respect for what he has accomplished at his age. Waiting to watch a replay of the fight, but this was a good write-up nonetheless. No way should Hopkins legacy be tarnished.
I think at the end of the day age finally caught up with B-Hop. The right hand was there for him all night. Even after Calzaghe got knocked down it was still there for Hopkins to take advantage of. IMO when the openings are there and you can’t take advantage of them, it’s time to hang them up. Couple years ago Joe would have been KO’d.
I think they kind of went to far with the low blow. Apparently none of the commentators have been hit or grazed on the nuts, it only takes one funny angle to have you gasping for air
Side note: I really don’t like Steward as a commentator. Sometimes what he says is completely contradicting what I am seeing with my own eyes. Also, I get the impression that when he gets particularly effusive with his praise of a fighter he is angling for a job. Bring back Roy Jones! Jones, Kellerman and Lamps would be the greatest
awb, i think that you are right. Hopkins my have finally felt his age and just couldn’t pull the trigger. …and I’m glad I’m not alone on that whole nuts thing!
Yeah, i liked Roy too and really like Kellerman… Lampley? … he strikes me as more of a caricature of an announcer than an announcer… but pleeeeeease… get rid of Merchant PERMANENTLY!
Shon, I also need to see a replay since it was so hard to judge…
MODI,
This is a portion of a comment I posted over at your old site before the fight:
———-
“However, I have a general concern about the main Golden Boy Promotion fighters. For Mosley (vs. Cotto), De La Hoya (vs. Mayweather) and Hopkins (vs. Taylor I & II), it appears they’ve all reached the point in their careers where simply being ‘competitive’ and collecting a check seems to take some precedence over winning.
I’m not questioning their hearts, but they seem a little too comfortable accpeting a lost. Just shrugged shoulders. I just wonder if Hopkins will be willing to walk through that ‘fire’ (if needed) to get this victory. ”
——–
As I watched the last few rounds and heard Hopkins after the fight, that was all I could think of: A guy ’satisfied’ with being competitive.
With that said, Joe C gets credits for the victory, but wasn’t impressive at all. Too much slapping, a little too much clowning, and WAAAAYYY too hittable. It took him about 5 rounds to get over that knockdown. Not that he was hurt, but I think he overestimated his ’speed’ advantage.
I think Roy Jones could give him trouble if they fight next. Roy doesn’t have to worry about one shot power, and RJJ’s hand speed and power are better than Calzaghe’s. But this fight only verifies that Calzaghe NEVER beats RJJ in their primes, at either 168 or 175. No way.
Lastly, I thought HBO’s treatment of the low blow was bull$hit. Look at the replay again. Calzaghe hit him with the thumbless side of the glove with his palms facing upward. It didn’t look so accidental to me. But the man WAS hit low.
Modi - very good summary. As I was watching the fight, I am thinking to myself during the first 2 rounds, man, B-Hop looks good, shoulders were broad, moving well, hitting hard. I had visions of B-Hop vs. Pavlik, RJJ, Taylor, then all of a sudden B-Hop stoped fighting and didn’t throw any combinations. Roach even said it in the later rounds to start throwing combinations. I was very dissapointed in his performance and he post-fight thoughts, if he thinks the fans will be on his side he is wrong.
Also, ESPN had the fight 114-113, B-Hop as well as other members from press row. Not sure what they felt B-Hop did to win other than the knockdown.
The light heavy’s and super middle’s will have potential for some good fights, Joe C, RJJ, Taylor, Pavlik, Lacy, Byrd, Dawson
I scored the fight 114-113 Hopkins. I gave Hopkins 5 of the first 6 rounds, plus round 10. Now, you have to give respect to anyone who can fight an even fight with Hopkins, even at age 43. But I wasn’t all that impressed with Joe C. He didn’t land anything of note for the first half of the fight, and most of his aggression was just pitty-pat stuff. The second half of the fight, he did start landing some real punches, and Hopkins wasn’t doing enough to counteract that, imo.
And I know it isn’t necessarily authoritative, but I do think it’s worth noting that going into the final round, Joe’s corner said Joe was losing, and Hopkins corner said Bernard was winning.
— Sweet Jones, I definitely agree with your overall analysis that Hopkins is “content to be competitive” but i just don’t think DLH or Mosely fits that category in the same way. DLH-PBF? Maybe, Shane-Cotto? I thought that Shane fought his heart out against Cotto, but Cotto was simply better. …Also agree that this is evidence that Joe C never beats RJJ (or even B-Hop) in their primes. However, I think that Joe C. would beat RJJ easy TODAY. Maybe we’ll get to see it.
— AGS, you are so right about the 168-175 division, there are ALOT of intriguing matchups. I noticed that you included Chris Byrd who is coming down in weight. I’m extremely interested to see how that plays out. Also, add Antonio tarver to the list.
– David, now I have to rewatch this one, but I thought that round five was more easily in Joe C’s favor. I know some came out with a 114-113 for B-Hop, but that presumes that all the close rounds kinda went his way. I guess that your scoring system comes into play. I believe the guy pressing the action should get the nod in round that you just can’t pick a winner. Counterpunching is so much easier than being the agressor.
MODI,
I think I would give RJJ the edge against Calzaghe if they were to fight each other. I actually agreed with Steward when he said that Calzaghe looked a bit amateurish in there and did not really have any real punching power even at the end of the fight when he was landing a little better. I don’t think that Jones would be as cautious against Calzaghe as he was against Trinidad. Based on this fight especially I would go with Jones. Let’s get it done!!
Yes, awb. Let’s get it done. But I would just be shocked if RJJ beat him. SHOCKED. Calzaghe leaves openings, but RJJ just doesn’t have that speed anymore to capitilize. I thought his Tito victory had more to do with Tito’s decline than any resurgence on RJJ’s part. …but if enough people agree with you about RJJ… I’m going back to Vegas to bet my mortgae for the next year on Joe C… let’s get it done!
I think that JoeC won the fight. Most great fighters are untimately defeated by age, I believe that was the case in this fight. Not to take anything away from JoeC, he was the aggressor, and he got stronger as the fight went on and youth trumped age.
I think the city of Philadelphia should tear down the statue of rockie–a FICTIONAL character that symbolize character, hardwork and overcoming adversity– and replace it with a statue of Bhopkins, a real live person of character, hard worker, and have overcome adversity to rise to the pinnacale of his profession.
I had it close but I thought B-Hop won the fight. Joe-C didnt do anything to take Hops belt.. And this punch-stat system is Garbage. No way did Cal land that many punches. As far as scoring more against Hops, I dont’ agree. Winky scored more against Hop than Cal did. Also, notice the pro-Cal crowd, just like the pro-Hatton crowd, as well as the pro-Klitchco crowds. Bottom line: Caucasians will root for any caucasian against a brother, regardless of where the napkin comes from. Cal is basically another one-dimesional fighter. Why Hop didnt stand in the center of the ring and bang him out is a mystery to me. How can he apply that tactic to a more dangerous, legitimate Light-Heavy like Tarver and give Cal all that respect is maddening. I guess thats what happens when you put Freddie Roach (the most overrated trainer in boxing) in your corner. And how a brotha thinks they can get a decision against caucasians fighters without knocking the guy down twenty times is beyond me. In fact had Mayweather not knocked Hatton out, he probably would have got robbed. This goes back to Holmes-Cooney; probably before then. And still with all that, Hop won the fight in my op
One more thing: Steward is the most a$$-kissin’ tom in the history of boxing. He is worse than Foreman ever was. Just as he tried to diminish Mayweathers performances against De-la and Hatton, He did the same to Hop. He made it some like Cal dominated the fight. He may have been the one that started the critisism regarding the low-blow.
Hear hear on that Imhotep!
to finish, Steward needs to be made an example of. Take that to mean whatever you want!
“I think the city of Philadelphia should tear down the statue of rockie–a FICTIONAL character that symbolize character, hardwork and overcoming adversity– and replace it with a statue of Bhopkins, a real live person of character, hard worker, and have overcome adversity to rise to the pinnacale of his profession.”
Imhotep, truer words have never been spoken. …and yeah, father time caught up with B-Hop.
wa-diddy: Completely agree on the scorecards of Holmes-Cooney which were a judging travesty before the knockout. I’m not sure what the scorecards were of PBF-Hatton fight but if they were close in any way, then that is also a travesty. But those were fights where Holmes and PBF put on absolutely brilliant performances. Of course, there has been a history of bias in inter-racial match-ups. Having stated that, Hopkins basically stopped fighting in the second-half of the fight. My best guess to the answer to the “why didn’t B-Hop bang in the center of the ring” question is that he finally felt 43. Years ago he probably picks JC apart for all 12 rounds like he did Tito.
Yes, “put on brilliant performances” and yet the scoring didnt reflect it. One judge had a five round difference , 116-111, even with the 10-8 first round. Come on!! Hop basically backed up the “entire” fight., what for?! He had to know he was going to give away rounds to this guy doing that, fair. He would have been better served just going for his in the center of the ring. Apparently he didnt learn any thing from the Taylor fights. Having said that, those fights were action packed with Taylor throwing real leather, not that featherweight sh!t Cal throws
To clarify, the brilliant performace remarks was about Holmes/PBF. The five round diff is about the Hop fight, of course.
Oh yeah…this site is Mod-acious.
Nice look…whew!!
I missed the fight but the recap is slammin’.
I think RJJ would beat Joe C.
And we can also add Tito to the list of super middle and light heavy’s
“Apparently he didnt learn any thing from the Taylor fights.”
wa-diddy: this is the exact same thing that I thought! And for that reason, I’m in favor of punishing a guy who doesn’t let their hands fly in the last “champioship rounds”. It sets a bad precedent for all future fights. …It kind of reminds me of DLH vs. Tito. In the most technical scoring sense Oscar won that fight, but the decision was good for boxing in putting fighters on notice that if you run the last 4 rounds instead of fight you will not get away with it….
– Temple: How on earth did you miss the fight? It was on freakin HBO!!!! About as big a fight that they will ever have without sending to PPV. No excuse! None!!! nada!!! Shit, you better have been visiting someone in a hospital (while asuming that they are completely all right now of course)…
– AGS, with so many thinking RJJ could take JC, perhaps this fight might really jump off. It is extremely sellable… We’ll all have our questions answered
MODI- Nice media portrayal via HBO hype by claiming Hopkins “broke down” Trinidad. Couldn’t be further from the truth. Trinidad punched himself out in rd 10 and was minced meat afterwards. Hopkins did little “breaking down” in this fight. It was an uneventful fight for most of the first 7 to 8 rounds. Trinidad being unable to train for 3 weeks prior to the fight (fighters stop training a week before a fight and this fight was delayed by 9/11) led to Trinidad’s uncharacteristic tiring after a wicked exchange in rd 10. Trinidad defeating an orgy of HBO top billers made for a rather comedic description of how this fight truly evolved. In the end, it was Hopkins who didn’t feel like rematching Tito. He rather go to court with Don King than risk a Tito rematch. What’s funnier is how Hopkins’ defenders claim it’s not about money for Hopkins, but he bitched about the money with Tito (he wanted the bigger share to have the rematch) and then moaned about the money with Jones Jr.
It was GREAT watching Hopkins have to resort to faking it in order to survive the onslaught by Calzaghe. Calzaghe didn’t even hurt Hopkins, but just the thought of being hurt by Calzaghe turned Hopkins into the whiny little bitch we all know he is. Hopkins was NEVER a true fighter. Real fighters sit there and take their lumps even when their careers are over. When Hopkins stepped in there against guys his size and still in their prime, he resorted to the same BORING, 1 punch then hold and rough you up style that has put fans to sleep across the world. It’s fighters like Bernard Hopkins that have turned OFF the American fight fan. When faced against an opponent who can do some damage to him, he holds like a woman and fights with his head, literally. Glad to see Hopkins humiliate himself. Only in America could such a bullshit decision arrive. One judge gave the fight to Hopkins! lmfao…Give me a fucking break!
Jimmy,
I have the Tito/Hopkins fight on tape and I still refuse to watch it. Trinidad is one of my favorite fighters and unfortunately he was broken down by Hopkins. Although Tito’s chin is better than I thought it was because it took B-Hop the whole fight to get the KO. I disagree with you; B-Hop is a pretty tough guy, he’s fought some of the best fighters of this generation and prevailed in most of them. I do agree that his usual tactics are boring, but they are effective. Unfortunately, I don’t think his age let him use those tactics as well as he had in the past and Calzage took advantage of that.
This is why I think that Jones would prevail over Calzaghe if (when?) they meet. It just appeared to me that Hopkins and Jones are ultimately better schooled in the game than Calzaghe and from what I have seen, and I know many disagree, Jones still has his physical abilities working for him and can still take advantage of openings and in this case would not be in with a devestating puncher like Tito or even a good puncher like Tarver or Johnson. Following boxing, if I have learned anything is that styles make fights and I think Calzaghe is Taylor made for Jones almost like Hatton was taylor made for Mayweather
Wow - Jimmy anything to defend your favorite fighters…Tito was broken down by B-Hop and get this, B-Hop used the template the DLH drew up. Stop making excuses for your favorite fighter…Tito got beat by a boxer and always will get beat by a boxer.
Jimmy, nice to hear from you. I guess we will disagree about Hopkins-Tito… that’s cool. what about Hopkins Tarver then? He goes up a full 15 pounds to dissect Tarver… no credit there?
awb, I just don’t see RJJ’s hand speed anymore. Not only that, since his knockdowns by Tarver/Johnson he seems to fight scared. IMHO, RJJ is just washed up and Joe C. isn’t…The difference between Hatton and Calzaghe is handspeed…
Still shovelling that Temple of Tito sh!t, heh?
Sad indeed.
MODI,
I think RJJ handspeed is still superior, though no longer supernatural.
I can easily see RJJ using the same earmuff defense, pot shot style that B-Hop used in the first 6 rounds against Calzaghe for the entire fight. Roy should be able to land that lounging lead right all night, and I think RJJ could bother Calz with his various punch angles, hard counter shots and the body work (two very underrated aspects of RJJ).
I also think Calz propensity for coming in swinging wildly could lead to knockdowns (like the BHop fight). And I don’t think Calzaghe’s power scares RJJ at all.
I see the fight unfolding just like the early portion of the Calz/BHop fight, with Roy having the much more dynamic offensive arsenal than Hopkins throughout the 12 rounds.
Sweet Jones,
That is my postion on a RJJ/Calzaghe fight exactly (great minds!), except Jones would not hold as much. So true that he would not fear Calzaghe’s power because he doesn’t hit that hard (Lacy might disagree-whew) and Jones is the bigger man. And that rushing in style, wildly throwing punches would suit RJJ jus’ fine. Wow just talking about it is getting me hyped. Let’s get it done!!
Another thing to think about is Calzaghe against Glen Johnson and Dawson. What do you guys think? Dawson v. Calzaghe would be a war, but again, Dawson is a better puncher. He might be able to outwork Johnson though, but that guy is seriously tough.
Sweet and awb, you guys are both brilliant minds indeed, but I’m just not seeing the same handspeed from RJJ as you guys are. Honestly, I think B-Hop is a much better tactical fighter than RJJ who mostly got by on his ridiculous speed. Like Jones Calzaghe gets Knockouts through an accumulation of punches and combos… B-Hop is so hard to hit that you have to take something off for accuracy… kinda like a batter choking up to get a single…
awb, Dawson vs, Calzaghe would be quite nice and the best skilled matchup, but Calzaghe-Johnson would be the most entertaining by far… they’ll get my money either way…
MODI- Yeah, we will disagree there. As someone who has fought, the term “breaking down” would be more like what Calzaghe did to Jeff Lacy, Miguel Cotto did to Quintana, Cesar Chavez did to Meldrick Taylor, Pavlik did to Edison Miranda. If you go back to the Trinidad Hopkins video, Trinidad and Hopkins were dancing fools in the 8th round. From rounds 1-9, all you saw was Trinidad and Hopkins exchanging blows with Hopkins getting the better of the exchanges. Breaking down is a term used by the Hopkins camp and exhaulted by the American media. HBO loves to point out that Hopkins “broke down” Trinidad. What you saw at the end of the fight was Trinidad exhausted after he punched himself out during a vicious exchange with Hopkins in round 10. Don’t believe me? Go watch the fight again and go see how many solid punches Tito took from Hopkins from rounds 1-9. You won’t count to 15, my friend.
As for Tarver, Tarver is nothing more than a one trick pony who attained his notoriety by beating a washed up Roy Jones Jr. Let Tarver step in there with a live body and he gets earwaxed. Tarver is another in a long line of HBO creations.
Why aren’t you ragging on Hopkins for humiliating himself, Modi? He looked like Oscar taking dives in the fight. As soon as Calzaghe upped the tempo, Hopkins resorted to cheap tactics to buy time and prevent getting FLOORED. Why isn’t the American media ripping Hopkins? That’s their boy, that’s why! Hopkins wanted NO PART of engaging with Calzaghe and his belly flops were ABSOLUTELY COMICAL! HBO should be ashamed for not calling out Hopkins for humiliating himself and HBO out there.
AGS- It’s pretty tiring hearing how “Oscar’s blueprint” was used by Hopkins to defeat Tito. Another in a LONG tired list of fallacies. Fact of the matter is, Hopkins signed away his rights to Don King BEFORE the Tito fight because he never thought he would defeat Tito. Oscar’s “blueprint” left Oscar RUNNING for the last 5 rounds of their fight to prevent him from getting knocked out. What people don’t recognize is that Tito was behind by only 3 points on 2 of the judges scorecards going into the 10th round of the Hopkins fight. The final tally before the stoppage was 107-102. People keep insisting this was a shutout fight, but that was hardly the case. Once again, the first 5 rounds of this fight was pretty much UNEVENTFUL. Don’t believe it, just go watch the fight again.
[…] Joe Calzaghe Beats Hopkins… or did Bernard Beat Himself? (April 20, 2008) […]