RING light-heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe marked his second US trip with another huge win, this time dominating a faded Roy Jones, Jr this past Saturday (November 8) to a unanimous decision win.

The expected early chess match of flurries was broken with 50 seconds left in the first round, as Jones badly stunned and dropped Calzaghe with a sneaky right hand following a stiff jab.

A dazed Calzaghe rose and like his previous knockdowns courtesy of Byron Mitchell and Bernard Hopkins, was determined to meet his challenger with a fusillade of hooks instead of retreating to clear his head. Despite a golden opportunity, Jones was unable to time the feinting Calzaghe for a follow-up combo and score a huge upset.

In round two Calzaghe became the clear aggressor, pushing Jones to the ropes and unloading 10 punch combos to the body and head. While Roy was able to pick off most of the head shots, his body remained a constant target of punishment. To adjust, Jones returned the bout to ring center, where he was able to catch Calzaghe with several counter right hands.

Round three saw Calzaghe pick up the pressure and invest heavily in the body, strafing Jones against the ropes and in ring center. Roy’s pet punch, the straight right lead, could not land cleanly as Calzaghe utilized superb movement and feints to keep Jones off balance. Jones’s attempts to walk Calzaghe down behind a high guard fared no better, since Calzaghe’s handspeed and head movement prevented the Pensacola native from landing anything above a few pitty-pat uppercuts and hooks on the inside.

The pattern continued throughout the middle rounds, and Jones began to become more tentative as he found more difficulty keeping Calzaghe in range. Whenever Jones would land a shot, Calzaghe would simply smile, showboat, and return 7 to 8 shots to a prone Roy who languished on the ropes.

Round 7 showed some early hope for Jones. Throughout the first 2 minutes, the former pound for pound king repeatedly surprised Calzaghe with hard, accurate jabs down the pike. However the success was short-lived and Calzaghe twice countered Jones’ lead jab with two slashing straight lefts. The second opened a jagged, nasty cut along Jones’ left eye. Never cut before, Roy struggled to finish the round as Calzaghe continued pressuring him with punches from all angles to the head and body.

Calzaghe’s paintjob on Jones became more pronounced in the championship rounds. Unable to see out the left eye, Roy Jones, Jr bravely started moving forward in a last-ditch effort to catch Calzaghe with a miracle punch.

That opportunity never came, and Calzaghe maintained the punch output, feinting, and body punching that had bedeviled Roy since the second round.

In the deciding round, Calzaghe kept showboating and dropping his hands, giving Jones a chance to pull out a dramatic victory. But the faded legend could not pull the trigger, and in the end gained a pyrrhic victory by remaining on his feet to the very end.

Final scorecards for the bout all read 118-109 for Joe Calzaghe, still the linear and RING light-heavyweight champion.

Now 46-0 with over 20 title defenses, Calzaghe remained hesitant on whether to keep his word and retire.

“I’ll have to sit down and think about it as this could be my last fight,” Calzaghe told HBO’s Max Kellerman. “I won’t make a final decision yet. I’ll sit down and take a bit of a break and evaluate the situation. I’d like to thank Roy for fighting tonight. He’ll always be my friend and I have much respect for the guy.”

Roy Jones, Jr was equally gracious in his post-fight interview, acknowledging at this stage of his career that Calzaghe is the superior fighter.

“When he cut me I was like ‘whoa,’ it was the first time I had ever been cut,” Jones explained. “I love fighting so I’m going to fight until the end. I still gave it my best effort but he was the better man tonight…I’ll talk to my team and family and see how I feel. If I feel good I’ll continue to fight, if not I won’t.”

On the undercard, former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah won a pedestrian 10 round unanimous decision over unheralded Ernest Johnson, despite suffering two cuts from headbutts. Vagabond fighter Emanuel Augustus (38-30-6, 20 KOs) lost his umpteenth controversial decision to young Francisco Figueroa (20-2, 13 KOs). And NY favorite Dmitriy Salita (29-0, 16 KOs) gutted out a tough decision over unknown Derrick Campos (17-6, 10 KOs).

Should Calzaghe Take On Dawson Before Calling It Quits?

J

oe Calzaghe has defeated two prime, then undefeated challengers for his crown in Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, and now two legends in Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr. Still, HBO commentator Max Kellerman sought fit to mention the one fighter left at light-heavyweight who so far has conquered every challenge put in front of him. That fighter is “Bad” Chad Dawson.

“What can I say, there’s always someone young and up and coming, same with Lacy and Kessler,” Calzaghe reasoned. “I’ve beaten two legends this year in Hopkins and an even bigger legend in Roy Jones. I fought them both in the States. I think I showed everybody that I [have] not just fought at home. I took the risk and came to Vegas and New York.”

In speaking with fans here in the US and across the pond, this fight has already polarized the boxing community just one day after Calzaghe’s win. American fans feel that Dawson has proven himself as unquestionably the best fighter not named Calzaghe at light-heavyweight. And unlike Lacy and Kessler before their fights with the Pride of Wales, Dawson has proven elite fighters on his resume in Thomasz Adamek, Glen Johnson, and Antonio Tarver. This, American fans argue, shows that Dawson has the skills to meet the challenge.

However UK fans have countered that American fans, perhaps salty and disbelieving of Calzaghe’s run through their best fighters, are grasping at straws regarding potential opponents to knock off Calzaghe. For them, Calzaghe has nothing left to prove and should be left alone to retire on top.

While both have solid points, my stance is somewhere in the middle. I disagree with UK fans that immediately dismiss Dawson as not being a viable name for Calzaghe. Joe’s bout with Kessler stands as the lowest watched championship boxing match in HBO history. That of course can be attributed to US fans not being aware of how good Kessler is. Even so, it didn’ t take away the fact that Mikkel Kessler deserved his shot due to solid wins over Anthony Mundine, Librado Andrade, and Markus Beyer.

Dawson is not well-known to UK fans, but that doesn’t diminish the fact he holds wins over former elite world champions Thomasz Adamek, Glen Johnson, and Antonio Tarver, the latter two being former linear light-heavyweight champions. Those wins are greater than any name on Kessler or Lacy’s resume at the time they fought Calzaghe, and even now.

With all that said, Calzaghe is not bound to fight Dawson, and should not be given any flack if he decides to retire. At this point, his resume speaks for itself. However, if he does decide to fight again, the only opponent that makes sense is Chad Dawson. And if Calzaghe wins, his already very high all time standing shoots through the roof.

Poll Answers

Dawson Calls Out Calzaghe

Dawson himself is not wasting anytime letting Calzaghe know where he stands. Last night, the reigning IBF light-heavyweight champion issued a statement challenging Calzaghe to a showdown in Wales.

“Joe has a lot to be proud of and I for one am very impressed. If Joe wants to have his grand farewell in Wales, I am ready to accommodate,” Dawson detailed. “My passport and world title belts are ready to travel across the pond. I’m ready to give Joe the opportunity to draw the curtain on his great career in front of his family and friends and 70,000 fans. It’s the best fight in the light-heavyweight division between two undefeated champions.”

Young Dawson has a point. Let’s see if Calzaghe bites.

Throwback Fighter of the Week: Iran “The Blade” Barkley

Middle, super-middle, and light-heavyweight Iran Barkley came to boxing as a way to escape the streets of his tough Bronx, NY neighborhood. After discarding his membership to the notorious Black Spades gang, Barkley began his pro career quietly in 1982.

Amassing a respectable record of 22-3 by 1987, he lost a unanimous against highly-skilled Sumbu Kalamby in his first middleweight title shot.

A year later, Barkley shocked the boxing world by scoring a come from behind 3^rd round KO of Tommy Hearns. Despite having been cut and dropped, Barkley was able to floor Hearns twice and earn Upset of the Year from RING magazine.

In 1989, Barkley engaged in a classic battle with Roberto Duran, and had the Panamanian legend out on his feet several times. However the determined Duran outlasted Barkley to a split decision punctuated by an 11^th round knockdown. For their work, Barkley and Duran won Fight of the Year.

The accolades didn’t translate into wins, and Barkley lost two more consecutive bouts to undefeated Michael Nunn (MD12) and Nigel Benn (KO1).

Rebuilding, in 1992 he was able to capture the IBF super-middleweight belt from Darrin Van Horn via 2^nd round KO, and moved up to once again defeat Tommy Hearns, this time for the WBA light-heavyweight title.

Again Barkley proved inconsistent, immediately moving back down to super-middleweight and being KO’d by James Toney in 1993, and suffering a 9^th round KO in his last title shot in 1994 against then IBF light-heavyweight champ Henry Maske.
After losing six straight bouts from 1998-1999, Iran Barkley announced his retirement.

Reputed to have grossed $5 million dollars throughout his career, Barkley now lives in one bedroom apartment in the Bronx Patterson Projects where he grew up. Beset by back child support and failed businesses, Barkley at the age of 48 has announced he is returning to the ring in hopes of generating enough money to live on, and to repair heavy scar tissue over his left eye.

Iran Barkley’s record to date stands at 43-19-1, 27 KOs.

Story on Barkley’s financial situation and reason for comeback:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article5093966.ece

Barkley vs. Olajide