Roy Jones Jr.

Joe Calzaghe Gives Up WBC Title For Bout With Roy Jones Jr.

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cal57454.jpgBy Sean McDaniel: In a move to avoid having to face his dangerous mandatory Carl Froch, undefeated super middleweight Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) earlier today gave up his WBC super middleweight title, thus putting him in the position to take on Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) for later on this year. In the meantime, Froch will be going ahead and possibly taking on Jermain Taylor for Calzaghe’s vacated WBC super middleweight title. The move by Calzaghe, 36, is especially disappointing one for many of his boxing fans, who had hoped that he would take on a better opponent than Jones, preferably the unbeaten knockout artist Kelly Pavlik, who has been especially keen on fighting Calzaghe.

However, Calzaghe had stated publicly that he’s not interested in fighting Palik, saying that he’s not in the same class as Calzaghe and would only end up losing.

Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. In September?

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calzaghe45344.jpgBy William MacKay: In the latest boxing news, five-time world champion boxer Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) is saying that he’ll be fighting Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) likely in September, and that the fight will possibly be taking place in Las Vegas rather than Calzaghe’s native Wales. This bout will be Calzaghe’s last fight, as he’s decided to skip over the idea of facing undefeated middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, who Calzaghe feels isn’t up to his level. As things work out, Calzaghe’s decision to end with only the Jones fight leaves pretty much all of his boxing fans greatly disappointed, for they wanted to see him fight the power-punching Pavlik, who is considered by many to be the best fighter in the middleweight division bar none.

The decision to fight Jones rather than Pavlik is especially bad, in that it makes Calzaghe look more than a little afraid to many people in the boxing community. Worse, however, is Calzaghe’s excuses to try and explain it away, suggesting that Pavlik would only lose if they fought and that he’s not up to his level, all of which seem rather evasive, as if he’s hiding the real reason why he’s not interested in fighting Pavlik.

Will Roy Jones Jr. Be Calzaghe’s Last Fight?

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jones3322.jpgBy Scott Gilfoid: Last week, undefeated super middleweight/light heavyweight Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) came out and said that he won’t be fighting Kelly Pavlik next, that “he’s not ready for me,” whatever that means. Calzaghe also said that he’s looking at possibly fighting former boxing great Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs), for his final fight, an idea that Calzaghe has been kicking around for some time. They’ve had discussions for a bout, but reportedly Jones was asking for too much money. However, it looks as if Calzaghe has had a change of tune and is interested in fighting Jones once again, preferring him to a fight against the tough Pavlik.

Previously, it was thought that if Calzaghe did go ahead and take the much easier bout against Jones, Calzaghe would then (if victorious) turn around and face Pavlik for what we assume would be the last fight of Calzaghe’s 15 year boxing career. Now, however, Calzaghe, 36, is saying about the possible Jones fight, “it will be a perfect way to finish off my career.” Come again? A perfect way to end his boxing career? Are you kidding me? That, to me, would be the worse way to complete Calzaghe’s boxing career. I mean, if his intention is to leave his many fans feeling unsatisfied by taking on a fighter like Jones, who at 39 is far removed from his boxing prime around a decade ago.

Pavlik-Calzaghe: Bet On Joe Choosing Roy Jones Jr.

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pavlik44242.jpgBy Michael Lieberman: Now that WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) has dispatched with the ugly business of his easy title defense over Gary Lockett last Saturday night, we can now move onto the business of selecting Pavlik’s next opponent. As of now, Pavlik, including much of the world, prefers that super middleweight Joe Calzaghe be he his next opponent. The reason is simple: Calzaghe is one of the most popular boxers in the world, having stayed unbeaten during his entire career and holding onto a piece of the super middleweight title for over 10 years without so much as getting a scratch.

Granted, most of those title defenses have come against less than stellar opposition in comparison to the high quality fighters that exist in the super middleweight division today, but so what? Calzaghe did what he had to do, even if it was against softer opposition.

Hopkins vs. Trinidad or Jones?

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hopkins5532.jpgBy Scott Gilfoid: in the latest boxing news, former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs) is looking for one more big fight before, perhaps, getting out of boxing and wrapping up his excellent career. Richard Schaefer, an executive for Golden Boy Promotions, recently said that the ideal opponent for Hopkins, now 43, would be either Felix Trinidad or Roy Jones Jr., both of whom Hopkins has previously fought in the past. Of the two, Hopkins would no doubt be more interested in the 39 year-old Jones, who previously beat him by a narrow decision 15 years ago in May 1993.

Jones, though well beyond his best years in boxing, still retains much of his popularity with many fans, if not his once great ability. As for a fight with Trinidad, it’s a much less appealing option given the fact that he’s lost three out of his last five fights, and has been mostly inactive in the past six years. Additionally, Hopkins already stopped Trinidad in a 12th round TKO in September 2001, a fight that was never even remotely competitive. Other than a few die hard Trinidad fans, disparate perhaps to see him fight no matter what the circumstance, it would probably be a tough sell to get most of the public to buy into the fight.

Pavlik-Calzaghe In November? Don’t Count Out Jones Jr.

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calzaghe4545464.jpgBy Jason Kim: In the latest boxing news, yesterday it was learned that WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik’s promoter Bob Arum was in early meeting with Frank Warren, the promoter of undefeated WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe for a potential bout in November. The bout, if it were to be made between the two fighters, would be at 168 lbs, making it easy for the 36 year-old Calzaghe to make the fight without having to strip off weight. After all, it’s Calzaghe who is the much more popular fighter at this stage of his career, and because if that, he’s able to make the demands.

Pavlik, though, is perfectly okay with righting at 168, as his normal walking around weight is above that, and regularly has to take off weight to in order to make the 160 lb middleweight limit. As much as Arum would like to see Pavlik be Calzaghe’s next opponent in November, we still may very likely see Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr., for whom Calzaghe was originally negotiating for a bout. Recently, however, the talks have reportedly stalled over money issues, with Jones always a tough to negotiate with when it comes to important fights, apparently wants more money than what’s being offered to him.

Calzaghe vs. Jones Jr. – A Bad Way For Joe to End His Career

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calzaghe4633.jpgBy Aaron Klein: WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) has said that he wants to fight only one more time, cashing out with one more big money fight against likely opponent Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) in November of this year. However, it seems to me to be lousy way for Calzaghe to bow out of the sport, especially when there are infinitely better challenges out there for him to undertake before leaving boxing rather than Jones. That’s not taking anything away from Jones, don’t get me wrong; He’s been a great fighter during his heyday, but that was long ago, perhaps as many as five or more years since he left his best behind him.

For that reason, it’s not a particularly appealing option for Calzaghe to retire with his last fight being almost an exhibition bout rather than a fight that is challenging. I suppose Calzaghe’s main interest at this point is feeding his bank account as much as he can with the little time he has left, yet I see him still able to do that against better fighters, like middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, welterweight Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather or cruiserweight champion David Haye.

Calzaghe To Fight Pavlik Instead Of Jones? Don’t Believe It!

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calzaghe5474643664.jpgBy Eric Thomas: In the latest boxing news, various internet boxing forums are talking about the possibility that undefeated WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) could be facing undefeated WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (33-0, 29 KOs) in the near future, but only if Pavlik can get by his next opponent Gary Lockett, whom he fights on June 7th, at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Personally, I think the news is nothing but a bunch of hogwash, because Calzaghe, 36, is likely not about to face his toughest opponent out there before picking off his scrape opponents, like Roy Jones Jr., who Calzaghe has been reported to be very interested in fighting next.

To me, the Pavlik news is nothing more than a bargaining tool, so as to get the 39 year-old Jones to the table at a lower price than what he could ask for if there were other available big-named opponents for Calzaghe. Though I think if push comes to shove, Calaghe would face Pavlik next rather than Jones, but that would only be after they had exhausted every attempt at making the Jones fight work first.

Roy Jones Jr. – Can He Beat Calzaghe?

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jones46234646.jpgBy Eric Thomas: With hardly a week gone by since his controversial victory over Bernard Hopkins last Saturday night, undefeated Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs)has made statements that he has an interest in possibly fighting either Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) or middleweight Kelly Pavlik in his next and final bout of his career. Most of Calzaghe’s comments have been aimed at him fighting the 39 year-old Jones, so that is the direction – the weakest – that I expect Calzaghe to head in for his next and final bout of his career.

We have a pretty good idea of how Calzaghe will look against Jones based on how he performed against Hopkins last Saturday night, which wasn’t all that good to be honest with you. The quality, or lack thereof of Calzaghe’s performances, couldn’t have been missed by the quick eyes of Jones, who can spot a weakness in an instant in a fighter. In Calzaghe’s case, there were a plenty of them, starting with his inability to get his punches off against the bigger, more powerful Hopkins. Jones, 39, considered to be over-the-hill by many of the boxing world, still has roughly 80% of his original skills intact, which may be a considerable drop off for him, but it still leaves him with more than enough skills to beat 95% of the top light heavyweights in the division.

Calzaghe-Tarver: Should Joe Be Fighting Antonio Rather Than Jones?

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tarver573446.jpgBy Erik Schmidt: In the past week, we’ve been hearing a lot about Joe Calzaghe considering a fight with Roy Jones Jr. for his next and perhaps final fight of his career. However, I think Calaghe is forgetting an opponent that is even more deserving than Jones, and that’s Antonio Tarver, who recently defeated IBF light heavyweight champion Clinton Woods by an easy one-sided unanimous decision a couple of weeks ago.

Tarver, now 39, is at the top of his game and perhaps the best light heavyweight in the division right now, whereas Jones, also 39, has looked poor in recent years, losing twice to Tarver, once to Glen Johnson and looked mediocre against a faded Felix Trinidad. Tarver, on the other hand, looked positively superb against Woods, whom he dominated thoroughly, winning every round of the fight.

People had been saying that Tarver was over the hill going into the bout with Woods but he quickly proved all his doubters wrong. Calzaghe, who is considered to be one of the greatest of all time fighters in boxing, can’t lay claim to that title unless he beats Tarver, and one or two other champions before he’s finished.