Calzaghe v Hopkins - Reflections

Before the fight, my head said Calzaghe by decision, but my heart said that Hopkins, being such a legend, might be able to produce one final quality performance. And I also put £10 on a draw at odds of 18/1. So in some ways, I'd say I was right on all accounts!

But why is it that Hopkins never gets awarded close decisions? This felt like a repeat of the Taylor fights. In fact you could argue that Hopkins hasn't really lost a fight since Jones beat him in 1993 - some record. To fight that well at 43 is a great achievement - he ran out of gas towards the end, which was to be expected, and I suppose that ultimately cost him the decision (although the judge who gave it 9 rounds to Calzaghe, 3 to Hopkins, is a disgrace). The bottom line on the judging is: do you prefer quality or quantity? Did Calzaghe ever hurt, or even really trouble, Bernard? I don't think so (he was unmarked at the end of the fight), whereas Bernard clearly had Calzaghe in trouble in the early rounds.

I'm certainly still not convinced by Calzaghe - he doesn't punch hard, rarely hurts opponents, and is basically a pretty dull fighter. Okay, 22 world title wins at super middle - but who did he beat? And now he's moved to light heavy, at a time when there are no young dangerous guys to fight (Hopkins, Jones, Tarver and Johnson are all well past their best). I think Pavlik would beat him, even though he'd have to move up in weight. But I suspect Calzaghe will take the Roy Jones fight, which is a joke - Jones is shot. Calzaghe's got a great record based on a phenomenal work rate, a decent chin - and not having fought any great fighters at their prime. Had he fought Hopkins 2/3 years ago, Hopkins wins - no doubt about it. 5/6 years ago, when he was in his prime, Hopkins knocks him out. Same goes for Jones too. If Calzaghe fights Pavlik (or even a decent light heavy still in his prime, such as Chad Dawson) and wins, then I'll accept that he's a great fighter. If he just fights Jones and then retires, I'm not buying it. Very good - yes; great - no.