By Jim Dower: On November 8th, Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) will likely be stepping into the ring for the final time in his 15-year boxing career for a bout against Roy Jones Jr., a fighter that many people consider to be faded and washed up long ago. Calzaghe, 36, has taken heat for having fought almost the entirety of his long career in Europe against mainly European fighters, and only recently has he ventured into the U.S to fight the 43 year-old Hopkins, and now the 39 year-old Jones.
Quite obviously, when taken in as a whole with the lack of what people consider to be quality opponents in Calzaghe’s career, the fight with Jones would seem to be the fitting end to Calzaghe’s career. Instead of facing other more fitting opponents like Chad Dawson, Jermain Taylor, or Carl Froch, we will be seeing Calzaghe face another older fighter as he bows out of the game for good. It’s so sad. Calzaghe’s record looks good on paper, yet when you take a look at it under a microscope, it just doesn’t stand up in comparisons to other fighters like Jones and Hopkins, both of which fought superb opponents during their career. As you’re no doubt aware, Hopkins and Jones are considered all time greats of the sport, and that’s mainly because of the top quality fighters that they’ve proven their worth against throughout their career.
Hands down, both of them never ducked anyone and were never afraid to take on the best. This is why it’s so disappointing that at the end of his career, Calzaghe is choosing to fight an old Jones rather than a younger fighter like the aforementioned Taylor, Dawson or Froch. At least in fighting them, there would be a good chance that Calzaghe would lose the fight and his unblemished record. I can safely assume that there’s not much possibility of Calzaghe losing to Jones, however.
Jones is too old, badly slowed down and pretty much incapable of fighting in the center of the ring for any length of time without having to retreat to the ropes in order to give his weary legs a rest. Now, there are some people who are actually giving Jones a chance against Calzaghe, but I think for those people, it’s more wishful thinking that anything else. From where I sit, Jones doesn’t have even a slim chance at winning. He might have if he had any power, but his speed was his power and that has essentially drained away in the past five years or so.
Like a lot of people, I think Calzaghe would have been beaten down and humiliated against a younger version of Jones. For that matter, even Jones in his early 30s would have been far too much for Calzaghe to deal with. That’s not the case anymore. I don’t even know why Calzaghe is choosing Jones as his last fight, because it seems the worst possible opponent to take given Joe’s largely mediocre resume.
You would think with a whole bunch of stiffs on his record, Calzaghe would want to be finishing strong, taking on someone good for a change like Dawson or Taylor. I would respect that, because at least he would be finishing with some courage and improving his opponents rather than staying with the status quo.
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