According to the latest boxing news, undefeated WBO/WBC/WBA super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe could be fighting for the last time when he takes on Bernard Hopkins in April 2008. Apparently, Calzaghe doesn’t see many other big names fighters to fight in the near future, besides the soon to be 43 year-old Hopkins, and figures that if he can’t land a big mega fight, he would be better off retiring from boxing.
“I have got two fights left, tops…My next fight could most definitely be my last. I don’t want to fight on for money. That’s not the right motivation. I’ve achieved almost everything I wanted to achieve. I’ve reigned as world champion for over 10 years. I’ve had 21 defenses. I’ve won all four major belts in my division. I think I’m the first European fighter to do that. Not even Lennox Lewis did it, so what else is there for me to achieve?”
However, Calzaghe, 35, has had it relatively easy while a champion, having faced very few quality opponents over this span of time. For the most part, Calzaghe in truth has only fought a small handful of decent fighters and of the bunch, only Mikkel Kessler rates as a true test. The others, such as Jeff Lacy, Sakio Bika, Peter Manfredo Jr, Byron Mitchell and Mario Veit, to name just a few, are essentially B-level fighters. It’s really not much of an accomplishment, if you ask me, that Calzaghe beat those types of fighters. Any good super middleweight would easily handle a bunch like that.
Even worse, is that Calzaghe has been taking an even easier path in recent years, fighting Manfredo, who was essentially and easy payday for Calzaghe, and now Hopkins. It’s one thing beating scrubs and crowing about it, but quite another thing for Calzaghe to act as if he’s accomplished a great deal in his career because he clearly hasn’t. If he really wants a challenge, he should skip Hopkins and fighting someone like Fulgencio Zuniga or Lucian Bute or maybe Edison Miranda. Any of those fighters would beat Hopkins at this stage in his career, and also give Calzaghe the challenge he’s looking for.
Calzaghe, however, appears to be looking for nothing but big money fights from hear on out, even if it’s not a particularly interesting fight on the fan’s perspective. Clearly, Hopkins is a fight almost guaranteed to disappoint most fans because of his boring punch and grab fighting technique. Add to that Hopkins’ advanced age of 43, and it makes it especially unpleasant to want to waste money and time watching this mismatch. Most people don’t feel good about giving money away for nothing, and when they do spend money on things, they want to feel good about it. The Hopkins bout is going to upset a lot of people, who will feel ripped off after watching it.
Calzaghe needs to forget about obsessing on how to make the most money, and focus on fighting the best fighters – for once in his career. If he wants to entertain the fans, he needs to negotiate a deal with Bute, Zuniga, Miranda, Jean Pascal, Librado Andrade or Allan Green. A bout with any one of those fighters would be intensely interest and much more rewarding than trying desperately for a big payday against opponents that are over-the-hill.
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