Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Calzaghe

Tomorrow night, Saturday April 19, 2008 reigning undisputed Super Middleweight Joe Calzaghe of Wales moves up in weight to challenge Philadelphia’s Bernard Hopkins for Hopkins Light Heavyweight title at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a battle of pound for pound greats. The fight will be broadcast live on HBO.

This one is a tough fight to pick. Certainly Hopkins has fought the better opponents over the course of his career and at 43 shows no real signs of slowing down, and seems to be at the top of his game. Still, he is 43 and it takes just one fight too many to become an old man overnight. With the exception of his two fights with Jermain Taylor, both close losses that might have gone either way, Hopkins has always found a way to win. A partial list of his victims include John David Jackson, Glen Johnson, Felix Trinidad, William Joppy, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver and Ronald “Winky” Wright.

Calzaghe’s biggest wins, at least to American fans, are over Jeff Lacy, Peter Manfredo Jr. and Mikkel Kessler, all good competent fighters but definitely not in the same league as Hopkins foes, so it makes it a little difficult to gauge. The question for me is not: how good Hopkins is and how much does he have left? The real question is: just how good is Calzaghe really? Hopkins has a habit of starting slow in his fights. He’ll need to step up the pace early and stay close. Hopkins is a grinder and not a one punch knockout artist, so he will have his work cut out for him. Calzaghe is a busy fighter and has a heavier hand than Hopkins. He’ll need to take advantage of being the naturally bigger man and use his speed. Oscar De La Hoya used speed and movement in his fight with Hopkins, keeping the fight close, before being stopped by Hopkins by a body shot. That may be the blueprint for Calzaghe to follow. My pick is Hopkins by unanimous decision.



Hopkins-Calzaghe weigh-in gallery