Calzaghe-Hopkins and the UK fighting Legacy

Question. If Joe loses to an ancient Bernard Hopkins, where does this leave UK fighting? Boxing is surely very popular in the UK and there are some promising young fighters, but... Hatton had a more impressive resume than Calzaghe, he had actually beaten some name fighters although it could be said they were over the hill. Still, American fans had some respect for Ricky Hatton and thought he would give Mayweather a better fight than he did. At the risk of being criticized, I think most American fans have little to no respect for Calzaghe's resume. He beat a green and overhyped (and injured) Jeff Lacey who showed he has no speed and little skill since that fight. He beat a guy Kessler who most American's had never heard of and those of us who have hold little regard for him as a boxer as he has beaten no one of note.

I like Calzaghe, he is a good fighter, I just don't think he has been tested. These last several years he should have come to America and fought a more prime Hopkins, a less aged Roy Jones and Antono Tarver or even a Glenn Johnson. Instead he stayed in his comfort zone a padded his unbeaten record against less than stellar competition. No ones saying he isn't a very good fighter, its just a lot of guys look like world beaters against nobodies. Its kind of like American Footballer (Soccer) Claudio Reyna, who is far and away in my opinion the best American Soccer player in recent years. He was a man among boys when playing against American Competition and although he was quite good in Europe, never was he ever thought of as among the best players in those leagues. Calzaghe should be a slight favorite vs Hopkins, but if he loses where does this leave the upper echelon of UK fighting? Critics will say another fraud is exposed ala Hamed and Hatton.

Its not like there aren't American and Mexican fighters who aren't protected as well. Lots of fighters build an undefeated record and then get exposed when they start fighting the other top guys. Its just Calzaghe is receiving all time great consideration without having fought more than one or 2 semi legit fighters. If he loses this will be a huge blow to Europe's best fighters. Witter is a decent fighter he will probably beat Maglianni if they fight, Khan has nothing yet, he needs to learn how to box or will get killed over here. For UK fans this Calzaghe-Hopkins fight has to be bigger pride wise than Hatton-Mayweather. Few experts gave Hatton better than a punchers chance vs. Floyd so the outcome is about what was expected. If Calzaghe gets beat by a 42 year old guy he is the favorite against IMO his whole career is proved a fraud. If he beats Hopkins, hopefully he will follow it up with a few more fights in the US against legitimate fighters and can retire with much earned respect, but right now to most American Boxing fans he is an unknown.

UK fans have a lot to be proud of. Hatton is certainly a nice guy, Calzaghe might be as good as you think he is, but do your fighters a favor and push them to come to America and prove themselves against other good young fighters before challenging the best and getting put down. Amir Khan should come over here and fight other good young American and Latino fighters to learn his trade. He may lose a fight or two, but in the end if he has the right stuff he could be a legitimate Champion. If he goes the traditional rout and fights a bunch of nobodies to build his reputation up he will not be ready when he gets thrown in with a true Champion. Just look at Naseem Hamed, we knew he was a joke who was knocking out club fighters, he then had the stupidity to challenge Marco Antonio Berrera and got exposed as a fighter who had never really fought anyone close to world class. Hatton beat a bunch of nobodies, but sprinkled in some over the hill quality fighters. Although Tszyu was old, that win was quality. Castillo was a shell when they fought. Going into the Mayweather fight the experts all saw the same thing in Hatton, no head movement and he telegraphs his punches. I predicted a Floyd TKO in 9 or 10. Look at the big knockdown in that fight, Ricky had been telegraphing that left he threw all fight, he hopped a little and his head bobbed before he lunged and threw it. Floyd had been timing it all fight and finally read it perfect in the 10th. Not that anyone Hatton could have fought would've prepared him for Floyd, but if he would've been in with good fighters all these years no doubt he would've been made to correct several of his weaknesses. There is no substitution to fighting good competition. The best competition is in America, even the middle tier Amercian fighters can be great learning experiences for young up and coming fighters. A fighter won't improve or learn much fighting guys who present little challenge at all. Until UK fighters decide to prove themselves and fight their way up against North American fighters, the whole of UK boxing will not be taken seriously by the American Boxing Lexicon.

The majority of GENUINE American boxing fans respect the standing and abilities of those guys - Calzaghe, Hatton even Naz...If Calzaghe is an UNKNOWN to a boxing fan they're not really a boxing fan, are they?

Only ignorant cunts think you have to fight in America to prove you can fight.

Hope this helps.

haha good reply fenster cc. Maybe pre Lacy the casual American boxing fan wouldnt have heard of Joe c, but surely since then youd have to be pretty ignorant to ignore joes talents.

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Originally Posted by gally

haha good reply fenster cc. Maybe pre Lacy the casual American boxing fan wouldnt have heard of Joe c, but surely since then youd have to be pretty ignorant to ignore joes talents.

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CC back

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

The Super Middleweight Division has not been a particularily strong division, so whatever you think of Calzaghe's opposition he has fought just about the best that was available. I can't think of any Super Middle Weight fights that he could've made that would've got him more respect. Hopkins would not move to 168 because he wanted the 20 defences at 160, there are varying reports as to why the RJJ never happpend, Tarver and Johnson would not've gained Calzaghe any more respect whatsoever. If people can pick apart Kessler and Lacy imagine what they would do to the record of a guy that had already been beaten by 8 or 9 previous opponents.

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

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Are you really speaking for the majority - MOST American boxing fans?

I believe you'll find MOST American boxing fans, on this site, don't share that embarrassing opinion. It sorta makes you look like a VD. NO-way MOST Amercian boxing fans are that thick. ;)

No ones saying he should have an all time great card. His division has been weak, no doubt as evidenced by Roy Jones less than good card, but his card looks very very poor. When you have only Kessler and then a Jeff Lacey with only 21 fights as your highlights it don't look good. Hell there aren't a lot of HOFers he could've fought, but how about guys like Montel Griffin, Virgil Hill, or even Mike McCallum. Even green guys like Harding or Reggie Johnson. Hell Winky Wright would look good on his resume. There are literally a dozen other names that would've added tremendously to his card and his legacy. If he would've fought Antonio Tarver sometime in the last 10 years that would've garnered a hell of a lot of respect from me. Tarver and Glenn Johnson would look better on the record than Kessler and Lacey to many boxing fans. I bet he could get Jermain Taylor or Kelly Pavlik to fight him if he wanted. How about Feliz Trinidad if he upsets Jones? Felix would be a nice victory for Joe and in my eyes joe would be a solid favorite. Calzaghe can fight, no doubt, he just has yet to prove he can beat the best in my eyes. I mean Peter Manfredo was a TV show contest winner and is considered a joke. I consider the Lacey, Kessler, Jimenez and Veit wins to be quality wins, but none of them career defining or great wins. Maybe some of those other guys were Marvin Haglers or Carlos Monzons in disguise and I'm just ignorant of their greatness, but all time great fighters usually have more to their resume than Calzaghe currently has in my eyes.

I won't argue the reasons why his card is so weak, maybe guys ducked him or he didn't want to leave the UK, I don't care. At the end of the day his card is way too weak whatever the reason. Now he is 35 years old and probably past his peak and will have to find several good fights to cement his legacy State Side.

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters.

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I'm American and after the way he played with Kess he showed his skills. That was a huge win for Joe.
I'm not sure what your trying to say when you say 'Most Americans' as if you took some type of survey?

Joes signed sealed and approved as far as I'm concerned.

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

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Nope,you were fine,ignore Fenster's rabid fannydom
The guy pulled the lowest numbers in HBO history
Thats pretty damned unkown
Fenster,Frank Warren isnt paying you nearly enough

I guess I can't speak for most American's, just the boxers and boxing fans I know. Just the ones who knew betting on Hatton at anything less than 7-2 was a suckers bet. Just the ones who know that Calzaghe should be about a 5-3 favorite over Hopkins and should bet accordingly when the odds move from that. Calzaghe looked very good against Kessler no doubt. He looked good against Lacey too. These were good wins, just not great ones to me. It takes a few great wins and several good wins to be an all timer to me. Or a couple dozen good wins if the competition happens to be weak during your era. Joe hasn't approached this for me yet, i hope he can step up to the plate and deliver because I am a fan of his. I also think the UK fans deserve a truly great champion that they have long been pining for.

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

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Nope,you were fine,ignore Fenster's rabid fannydom
The guy pulled the lowest numbers in HBO history
Thats pretty damned unkown
Fenster,Frank Warren isnt paying you nearly enough

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Unknown to the casual sports fan NOT unknown to boxing fans. GENUINE boxing fans all over the world lapped-up Calzaghe-Kessler, cause GENUINE boxing fans recognised it for the meaningful superb match-up it was.

I would CONFIDENTLY bet MOST American boxing fans on this site have a high opinion of Calzaghe. MOST would rate him top 10 P4P.

I don't know why you hate Calzaghe, Monkey.

But I know you're in the minority of ignorant know-nothings where he's concerned. ;)

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Originally Posted by Fenster

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

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Nope,you were fine,ignore Fenster's rabid fannydom
The guy pulled the lowest numbers in HBO history
Thats pretty damned unkown
Fenster,Frank Warren isnt paying you nearly enough

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Unknown to the casual sports fan NOT unknown to boxing fans. GENUINE boxing fans all over the world lapped-up Calzaghe-Kessler, cause GENUINE boxing fans recognised it for the meaningful superb match-up it was.

I would CONFIDENTLY bet MOST American boxing fans on this site have a high opinion of Calzaghe. MOST would rate him top 10 P4P.

I don't know why you hate Calzaghe, Monkey.

But I know you're in the minority of ignorant know-nothings where he's concerned. ;)

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I dont hate Calzaghe at all
But at the same time,I have no idea who Calzeghe is because Warren treats him like the golden goose.
The guys 35 years old,I think he can achieve fighting out of his comfort zone now.
This routine by Warren isnt going to work this time,Warren's a piker compaired to Arum and King and Bernard routinely tells those guys to take a spin.
Its mainly Warren I cant stand,and he's way out of his depth here
If Joe really wants this fight(and Id prefer B-hop retire,he's 43 for god's sake)Frank isnt going to get it for him the way he's acting
Bernard doesnt need this fight,Joe thinks he does
And what annoys me is UK fans buy every piece of doggrel out of Franks mouth like it was gospel,even though he's lied every other time he's opened his mouth

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by Fenster

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by GRBOXINGFAN

Shouldn't have called Calzaghe unknown, of course all American Boxing fans know him, I should've stuck to unproven. He has not proven himself to most American Boxing fans. Until he beats some good name fighters in most peoples minds he'll be just another over hyped fighter who has been protected and corn fed a bunch of club fighters. And this doesn't just apply to UK fighters, tons of American and Mexican fighters go the same rout and build up a good record, only to get exposed bare when they finally step up to the plate. I like Calzaghe, I'm going to watch some more film on him and then make a prediction for he and Hopkins.

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Nope,you were fine,ignore Fenster's rabid fannydom
The guy pulled the lowest numbers in HBO history
Thats pretty damned unkown
Fenster,Frank Warren isnt paying you nearly enough

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Unknown to the casual sports fan NOT unknown to boxing fans. GENUINE boxing fans all over the world lapped-up Calzaghe-Kessler, cause GENUINE boxing fans recognised it for the meaningful superb match-up it was.

I would CONFIDENTLY bet MOST American boxing fans on this site have a high opinion of Calzaghe. MOST would rate him top 10 P4P.

I don't know why you hate Calzaghe, Monkey.

But I know you're in the minority of ignorant know-nothings where he's concerned. ;)

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I dont hate Calzaghe at all
But at the same time,I have no idea who Calzeghe is because Warren treats him like the golden goose.
The guys 35 years old,I think he can achieve fighting out of his comfort zone now.
This routine by Warren isnt going to work this time,Warren's a piker compaired to Arum and King and Bernard routinely tells those guys to take a spin.
Its mainly Warren I cant stand,and he's way out of his depth here
If Joe really wants this fight(and Id prefer B-hop retire,he's 43 for god's sake)Frank isnt going to get it for him the way he's acting
Bernard doesnt need this fight,Joe thinks he does
And what annoys me is UK fans buy every piece of doggrel out of Franks mouth like it was gospel,even though he's lied every other time he's opened his mouth

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Hmm.. most UK fans seem to take what Warren says with a pinch of salt. But if you believe that then

Give some examples of all the lies UK fans have bought from Warren?

And why do you hate him so much? You ever dealt with him? He shafted you in the past or something?

I dont like Warren because he hides his fighters so he can keep making money off them rather then allowing them to build a real legacy
And it shows in the Calzaghe/Kessler fights numbers, a 2.8 share is pathetic for a unification bout
But that sillyness of the negotiations played well in England,and it was all Frank.I mean come on,he tried to get them to sign on to the fight by offering the European TV rights,like that was a real offer.
The sillyness of the stupid Christmas ad is typical Warren crap,its worked before,but come on,does anybody think your going to strong arm a guy who did 4 years in Graterford with a stupid ad in the Guardian?
But everyone in the UK views these little bouts of ridiculousness on Warrens part,as a sign that theyre serious about wanting this fight
Theyve been offered 3 million more then Joe said he wanted to do the fight,now sign on the dotted line,and spare us the silly ads

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

I dont like Warren because he hides his fighters so he can keep making money off them rather then allowing them to build a real legacy
And it shows in the Calzaghe/Kessler fights numbers, a 2.8 share is pathetic for a unification bout
But that sillyness of the negotiations played well in England,and it was all Frank.I mean come on,he tried to get them to sign on to the fight by offering the European TV rights,like that was a real offer.
The sillyness of the stupid Christmas ad is typical Warren crap,its worked before,but come on,does anybody think your going to strong arm a guy who did 4 years in Graterford with a stupid ad in the Guardian?
But everyone in the UK views these little bouts of ridiculousness on Warrens part,as a sign that theyre serious about wanting this fight
Theyve been offered 3 million more then Joe said he wanted to do the fight,now sign on the dotted line,and spare us the silly ads

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Bullshit... you name one fight that didn't come off because of Warren? Hopkins? thats signed and sealed hopkins alone pulled out of that... Glen Johnson? ok no a big talent, but a name, and great win over him in style could of forced america to call for a big fight, Joe pulled out of that 3 times with injury... Warren done his job and got johnson for him THREE times, almost a 4th too if the kessler fight wasn't going to come off... Warren got him Lacy twice...

Would any of his wins of been moe impressive in the us? Any great fighter would tell you, when you step in that ring, and that bell goes, they all feel all alone, don't matter shit what country they are in.

Didn;t Roy Recently say he viewed calzaghe as to big a threat back then, that it was small a reward for beating him? i seen sumin brief about it, think daxx posted it? maybe u can help me out here daxx?

As far as i can see, there is little more Warren could of done to make Calzaghe any bigger than he is now... untill Lacy and kessler came along, it was basicaly Hopkins & Roy, and he made them both more than substantial offers.

For whatever reason Calzaghe hasn't fought very many top fighters. Maybe its his handlers fault, maybe everyone is terrified of him or maybe the money wasn't there or maybe he didn't want to leave Europe to fight, one can only guess. It's unfortunate that his card is so lacking because now that he has the name recognition he will have the chance to fight several of the names he needs on his card to be considered an alltime great. The problem is at 35 years old he very well may be past his prime physically and not capable of displaying his full talents for more than a couple more fights. I hope he takes this chance and takes on all comers before he is too old not to retire.

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

I dont like Warren because he hides his fighters so he can keep making money off them rather then allowing them to build a real legacy
And it shows in the Calzaghe/Kessler fights numbers, a 2.8 share is pathetic for a unification bout
But that sillyness of the negotiations played well in England,and it was all Frank.I mean come on,he tried to get them to sign on to the fight by offering the European TV rights,like that was a real offer.
The sillyness of the stupid Christmas ad is typical Warren crap,its worked before,but come on,does anybody think your going to strong arm a guy who did 4 years in Graterford with a stupid ad in the Guardian?
But everyone in the UK views these little bouts of ridiculousness on Warrens part,as a sign that theyre serious about wanting this fight
Theyve been offered 3 million more then Joe said he wanted to do the fight,now sign on the dotted line,and spare us the silly ads

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You don't seem to realise those press release thingys are posted on promoters sites then picked up by all the other boxing sites on the net. They're for a global boxing audience not specifically aimed at the UK.. So I don't know why you keep referring to "everyone in the UK" or "UK fans?"

This isn't about USA vs UK. NO-one in the UK apart from the hardest of the hardcore boxing fan has ever heard of Bernard Hopkins let alone seen him fight.

Judging by this site alone, there's plenty of Brits that would root for Hopkins like plenty of Americans would root for Calzaghe.

Your gist of the Warren "lies" situation is - You don't believe Calzaghe's mob want the fight but are pretending they do by releasing lies to the press, right? Maybe you are right, but you'll look a right proper MUPPET if the fight is signed ;)

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Originally Posted by Rob Lewis

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

I dont like Warren because he hides his fighters so he can keep making money off them rather then allowing them to build a real legacy
And it shows in the Calzaghe/Kessler fights numbers, a 2.8 share is pathetic for a unification bout
But that sillyness of the negotiations played well in England,and it was all Frank.I mean come on,he tried to get them to sign on to the fight by offering the European TV rights,like that was a real offer.
The sillyness of the stupid Christmas ad is typical Warren crap,its worked before,but come on,does anybody think your going to strong arm a guy who did 4 years in Graterford with a stupid ad in the Guardian?
But everyone in the UK views these little bouts of ridiculousness on Warrens part,as a sign that theyre serious about wanting this fight
Theyve been offered 3 million more then Joe said he wanted to do the fight,now sign on the dotted line,and spare us the silly ads

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Bullshit... you name one fight that didn't come off because of Warren? Hopkins? thats signed and sealed hopkins alone pulled out of that... Glen Johnson? ok no a big talent, but a name, and great win over him in style could of forced america to call for a big fight, Joe pulled out of that 3 times with injury... Warren done his job and got johnson for him THREE times, almost a 4th too if the kessler fight wasn't going to come off... Warren got him Lacy twice...

Would any of his wins of been moe impressive in the us? Any great fighter would tell you, when you step in that ring, and that bell goes, they all feel all alone, don't matter S*** what country they are in.

Didn;t Roy Recently say he viewed calzaghe as to big a threat back then, that it was small a reward for beating him? i seen sumin brief about it, think daxx posted it? maybe u can help me out here daxx?

As far as i can see, there is little more Warren could of done to make Calzaghe any bigger than he is now... untill Lacy and kessler came along, it was basicaly Hopkins & Roy, and he made them both more than substantial offers.

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No,actually he didnt
What he offered was chump change,and with a ton of restrictions,where the fights going to be,who gets the TV rights,etc,etc
All for a fighter who can only pull a 2.8 share in a unification bout for free in the states
Bullshit indeed,but your the one spewing it

See I told you Fenster,everyone knows that Hopkins wanted the record for title defenses at middleweight
So it would have taken a fortune to get him to vacate
But Frank floats this little trial balloon,and back dates it no less,and heres somebody sucking at that teat.
I told you,Brit fans fall for his b-s
Same old song and dance,"He made an offer"
But they could make more in the states
"It was a great offer"
They could both make more in the states
Shut up you

Some points here.

Hopkins agreed to fight Calzaghe in front of a bunch of people including the then head of Showtime then changed his mind the next day.

Calzaghe fought a dozen times in England against English opposition before he fought for a title. No comfort zone there.

Rather than Calzaghe-Hopkins affirming Joe as a legitimate champion, the fight will actually show a huge gulf between Calzaghe and Hopkins who will lose badly. Afterwards Calzaghe haters will say Hopkins was 43, Calzaghe wouldn't have beaten him in his prime etc. etc.

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

See I told you Fenster,everyone knows that Hopkins wanted the record for title defenses at middleweight
So it would have taken a fortune to get him to vacate
But Frank floats this little trial balloon,and back dates it no less,and heres somebody sucking at that teat.
I told you,Brit fans fall for his b-s
Same old song and dance,"He made an offer"
But they could make more in the states
"It was a great offer"
They could both make more in the states
Shut up you

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Why do you keep saying "Brit fans" "UK fans" -- Shouldn't you be saying "BOXING fans" or "CALZAGHE fans" - at the very least?

I take it you're refering to Hopkins doubling the 3 to 6 million offer? (how many times ::**)

Jay Larkin said this not Frank Warren..

..."A teleconference was set up in my office in New York for July 30th, 2002, and on the call was myself, Don King who was in the room, Frank Warren and Bernard Hopkins' lawyer, Arnold Joseph. Along with Arnold was a woman named Linda Carter, who was there on behalf of Bernard. We asked Arnold if Bernard wanted to fight Joe Calzaghe and we asked him how much money would he want if he did. The response we got was $3million and the fight would have to take place in the United States. After a little scratching of the head, we said 'Okay, done.' Frank Warren agreed on the spot, Don King agreed and we agreed so as far as we were concerned all parties were singing off the one hymm sheet. Arnold excused himself with Linda and I can only assume it was to call Bernard. Either that day or the next day, they came with a new demand: $6million, dobule the sum that had been agreed, the deal blew up.....he had then and still has no desire to fight Joe Calzaghe, that much is pretty clear."


Let me guess Jay Larkin is lying, right? ;)

You mean the recently canned Jay Larkin,who didnt work for either Joes or Bernards production team?
You mean that unemployed Jay Larkin right?
Or is there another one out there
Gullible as the day is long you lot are
Let me clue you in,Calzaghe's stateside cable company is HBO
Bernard turned down a multi fight deal with Showtime right after the Trinidad fight
So how,exactly,would the head of Showtime boxing be in any position to have had either of them in a room agreeing to a fight.Especially in conjunction with a promoter Bernard doesnt use unless he has to,which he would have had no reason to do in this case.
No please,this ought to be rich
I mean other then the wrong network and the wrong promoter,the stories totally valid right? ::**

The British Fighting legacy was long ago secured by guys like Jimmy Wilde, Randolph Turpin and Ken Buchannan

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Originally Posted by Cuchulain

The British Fighting legacy was long ago secured by guys like Jimmy Wilde, Randolph Turpin and Ken Buchannan

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cc Damn right.

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

You mean the recently canned Jay Larkin,who didnt work for either Joes or Bernards production team?
You mean that unemployed Jay Larkin right?
Or is there another one out there
Gullible as the day is long you lot are
Let me clue you in,Calzaghe's stateside cable company is HBO
Bernard turned down a multi fight deal with Showtime right after the Trinidad fight
So how,exactly,would the head of Showtime boxing be in any position to have had either of them in a room agreeing to a fight.Especially in conjunction with a promoter Bernard doesnt use unless he has to,which he would have had no reason to do in this case.
No please,this ought to be rich
I mean other then the wrong network and the wrong promoter,the stories totally valid right? ::**

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Calzgahe's HBO debut was Sakio Bika. ALL his previous fights had been on Showtime ;)

Read this it's from 2002 - in an interview with Maxboxing.com.

Hopkins stated: "Right now I'm negotiating along with Don King and Jay Larkin of Showtime. Who we spoke to and we're going to talk to him about two fights, maybe my mandatory too, which makes it a three-fight deal.

"It would be the mandatory, Harry Simon and Joe Calzaghe. While Calzaghe fights for that other super-middleweight title, I'll wait for that and knock off Simon after the mandatory and fight the WBO title."
http://archive.southwalesargus.co.uk.../17/72933.html

So.. there's no way Jay Larkin could have been involved in any discussions about a possible Hopkins-Calzaghe fight, right?

Let me guess HOPKINS is LYING? ;D

Interesting that it only exists on a South Wales rag,when everything he said here was he wanted the defenses record at middleweight,and who leaked this story?
Why Frank Warren of course
Interesting he had just turned down a 3 fight deal with Showtime,but suddenly wants a two fight deal with them
Oh do please

Now if you wanted to make a case he dodged a rematch with Tito at middleweight,youve got a pretty good case.
I have no idea what Tito's people were offering though

Hold-up. Let me get this staight. You're now claiming - Hopkins is lying.. or Frank Warren fabricated an interview with maxboxing, to leak to the press, just like Jay Larkin fabricated a meeting between all involved discussing the possibility of a Calzaghe-Hopkins fight? That's it, right? ;D

Is the BBC good enough for you? Here's the story again with the Hopkins lies.. Or is it Warrens fabricated maxboxing interview ;D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/wales/1991289.stm

This is from Thomas Hauser. This article refers to Hopkins scuppering a $10.5m three-fight deal with Showtime that included a fight with Calzaghe.
http://www.secondsout.com/USA/colhau...cs=208&cs=8636

Ditto this link
http://www.puertorico-herald.org/iss...at0635-en.html

;)