Hopkins Wants Calzghe Now

In the past couple of months there has been so much said about a possible show down between Super Middle Weight King "The Pride of Whales" Joe Calzaghe and the Light heavy weight champion "Executioner" Bernard Hopkins. This was a fight that I actually doubted would be made, I just thought the two were flirting with each other throughout the media due to the fact that they were supposed to have met in 2003. When the two came face-to-face at the Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton fight and started verbally assaulting one another, I knew that there was still a chance that the fight would not be made because Hopkins is known as a tough negotiator.

Hopkins who is never at a lose for words had this to say about his rival. “Calzaghe is cute,” Hopkins told BBC Radio 5 recently. “But he ain’t going to be cute after this facelift. If he steps out of his backyard, he will be handed his first defeat. I will beat Joe Calzaghe easily.”

“When I fight Joe Calzaghe, I’m fighting a champion. When Joe Calzaghe fights Bernard Hopkins, he’s fighting a legend. Joe Calzaghe never fought outside the UK (actually he’s fought in Denmark and Germany), he never fought in America. I’ve fought in Paris, I fought in Ecuador. Let’s see how he fights when he hasn’t got 40 to 50,000 of his own fans behind him. To me, a great champion can go anywhere in the world, out of his comfort zone and still deliver. I’m not convinced by him. America is not convinced. Let him leave his home town and try to invade the United States and beat Bernard Hopkins, a great champion, a legend.”

Calzaghe stated: “I understand what he’s doing,” Calzaghe says. “I’ve watched him do it before. He’s going to get in your face and try to intimidate you. But it ain’t gonna work with me. He tried his mind games but I took it and gave him a bit back. That’s what it’s all about and I’m buzzing. At the end of the day that’s the main reason I went over (to Las Vegas for Hatton – Mayweather) to try and make the Hopkins fight.” Calzaghe also stated that this was his last year in the sport. He plans on retiring undefeated and walking away unscathed.