By Adam Laiolo: Let me start with the easy stuff before I get to what I really have to say. I am massive Joe Calzaghe fan and have been for years, followed him through a lot, even when it didn’t seem a seriously talented fighter like him would never make it to the top and was destined for boxing obscurity. I am also a fan of Roy Jones, loved watching him beat James Toney at Super-middle and dancing round ‘The Quiet Man’ John Ruiz. But last night was a nothing fight, it should have been an exhibition.
This adds nothing to Calzaghe’s record and takes nothing away from Jones’. Jones legacy is secure, he could lose another five fights and I’d still consider him one of the finest I’ve seen. Joe on the other hand has a great on his record, which is fair enough but it looks good on paper, not much substance behind it. Jones is shot, I firmly believe this was Calzaghe ticking all the boxes for his career. Beat a legend in Las Vegas? Check. Promote my own fights with my new company? Check. Fight another legend in Roy Jones Jr at Madison Sq. Garden?
Check. Now what? Beating Hopkins again or even Jones again wont add anything to the record. I for one have called for Calzaghe to fight Pavlik, mainly because I believe he’d beat him and it would mean more in the end. And it’s not like there wouldn’t have been money in the fight.
Chad Dawson is another, now he’s scraped by an average Antonio Tarver and a badly aged Glen Johnson he’s the next great apparently. Joe wouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever with him, but the USA will see it as if he doesn’t take the fight he’s dodging, if he beats him then we’ll be told Dawson wasn’t that good anyway.
Maybe get Pavlik to come back up for a catch weight fight and beat him. I’m sorry to say but besides those two options, Calzaghe is limited. The division around him is dead or the fighters just aren’t good enough. Lucian Bute, Anthony Mundine, Librado Andrade at Super middle, Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver at light-heavy, I’m sorry to say but none of these are even worth it.
In my eyes there just aren’t the fighters around at the moment to make Calzaghe a great fighter, Dawson and Pavlik could amount to nothing in the end of their careers so beating them isn’t even going to guarantee him some much needed, and wanted, respect. What next for Roy Jones is easier, retire.
Once and now always will be a great fighter, his legacy sealed forever I don’t see what he’s got to prove, sure a Hopkins rematch is tempting but come on, they’ll be 40 and 44 respectively and they could do some permanent damage to each other from staying in the game too long, needlessly. So no, last night wasn’t a super fight, maybe five years ago and it’d have been closer, 10 years ago and it points to a Jones’ win.
But for now Joe, I’d say beat what’s put in front of you, take on Pavlik and Dawson because that’s the best the sport (and money) has to offer around your weight and then retire. I’d hate to see a washed up Calzaghe, carrying on until his early forties and becoming so hell-bent on proving to yourself you can be great one more time. And that’s what I witnessed in Roy last night. A spectacle it was, a real blockbuster clash of legends it was not.
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