a couple of articles which might be of interest.




Schaefer feels knockdown was key
by Ciaran Baynes, 25 April 2008

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told setantasports.com that Bernard Hopkins' first round knockdown should have given him the edge in his fight with Joe Calzaghe, adding that a rematch is possible if The Executioner wants it.
Hopkins knocked Calzaghe down in the first minute of the contest and appeared to go on to dominate the first half of the bout before tiring in the closing stages.
With the fight being so close, the two point margin Hopkins established in the first round was key in many observer's scorecards, including Schaefer's.
"I believe that at the end the knockdown made the difference but with a very narrow split points decision, I think Bernard should have won the fight," Schaeffer told setantasports.com.
"It was a very close fight. A difficult fight to score. I think what was scored was the volume of the punches versus the effectiveness of the punches.
"If you look at one of the judges's scorecards, Judge Giampa, from the second round on, he gave Bernard only one round. I think that says it all."
As for his partner in Golden Boy's plans for the future, Schaefer said he would wait a while before discussing this with Hopkins, but he added that him fighting on, possibly in a rematch with Calzaghe was a possibility.
"I will talk to Bernard now and see if he has any plans for a rematch," Schaefer added.
"I think the fact is he fought a tremendous fight, I think he can fight anyone if he wants to. I think it is up to him."



Froch: Calzaghe should have lost
by Mark Doyle, 23 April 2008

Carl Froch has revealed that he was less than impressed with Joe Calzaghe’s victory over Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night and is of the opinion that the Welshman was not a worthy winner of the light-heavyweight contest.
Calzaghe, a long-time target of super-middleweight contender Froch, recovered from a first-round knockdown to claim a split-decision victory over Hopkins after being given the nod on two of three judges’ scorecards.
However, Froch believes that the verdict was unjust and is promising a far more convincing and conclusive performance when he takes on Denis Inkin in a WBC super-middleweight title final eliminator in Nottingham on May 10.
"I've been a big Calzaghe fan down the years and I obviously wanted him to win, but it was a terrible performance from him and I thought Hopkins did enough on the night," Froch argued.
"Calzaghe was messy and inaccurate with his punches. Nothing really landed on Hopkins. I thought Calzaghe got beaten.
"To be fair to Joe, styles make fights and Hopkins was just looking to spoil later on, but I intend to give a better performance against Inkin.
"I'm treating this as a world title fight even though it is a final eliminator because I think Joe would rather give up the belt than fight me, I’m to fresh and to dangerous," Froch added.