Joe Calzaghe remains undefeated winning a 12-round split decision over Bernard Hopkins on Saturday, April 19, 2008 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Hopkins-Calzaghe score card read 116-111 Calzaghe, 115-112 Calzaghe and 114-113 Hopkins. HBO's unofficial official Harold Lederman had it 116-111 Calzaghe. CompuBox stats showed Calzaghe landing 232 out of 707 punches (33 percent) with Hopkins landing 127 of 468 (27 percent).
Calzaghe suffered a flash knockdown in the 1st round by a right to the chin. The early rounds went to Hopkins but in the 4th round southpaw Calzaghe loosened up, found his range, was getting his jabs off and landing straight lefts. Calzaghe's high work rate had Ol' Popkins visibly tired by the later rounds and milking a low blow for 5 minutes of rest in round ten. It was an ugly fight with Hopkins holding, roughhousing, dirty fighting on the inside, hitting on the breaks and alledging low blows but Calzaghe adapted. With this win Joe Calzaghe is the first fighter to hold the Ring Magazine super middleweight and Ring Magazine light heavyweight titles at the same time.
| Fight | Location | Date | Boxing Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calzaghe vs TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Joe "Pride of Wales/Italian Dragon" Calzaghe
Joe Calzaghe, WBO world super middleweight champion, IBF super middleweight champion, and British super middleweight champion has held his WBO super middleweight title since 1997 and his IBF super middleweight title since 2006. He has won three ABA titles at different weights; welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. In 2006, Calzaghe the longest reigning undefeated super champion won the WBO Fighter of the Year award. In Calzaghe's twenty-one championship fights, twenty opponents have held either world or regional championship titles, fifteen have held or competed for multiple world championships and eight were current or former world champions. The forty-three fighters Calzaghe has beaten have themselves won a total of 1,048 fights.
Joe Calzaghe, The Boxer
On March 04, 2006 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England Joe Calzaghe beat Jeff Lacy by a 12-round UD. Calzaghe dominated the fight for all 12 rounds. In the last round, for the first time in Jeff Lacy's professional career he was floored by a Calzaghe left. Lacy beat the referees count and was on his feet at the final bell, but unsteady. Joe Calzaghe gave Jeff Lacy an absolute battering and a boxing lesson he will never forget. It was the finest performance by a British boxer the world has ever seen.
Joe Calzaghe beat challenger Sakio Bika by a 12 round unanimous decision on October 14, 2006 at the Men Arena in Manchester, England. This was Calzaghe's 19th successful WBO super middleweight title defense since earing the vacant title in 1997 and his first IBF super middleweight title defense since capturing it from Jeff Lacy earlier this year.
On April 7, 2007 at the Millennium Stadium, Joe Calzaghe beat former Contender contestant Peter Manfredo Jr by a 3rd round TKO. Manfredo failed to answer a barrage of punches Calzaghe delivered causing the referee to stop the bout at 1:30 of round three. Calzaghe, the quicker of the two was in command the entire fight. This win was Calzaghe's 20th successful world title defense.
Calzaghe remained undefeated after beating Mikkel Kessler by a 12-round unanimous decision in front of over 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday, November 3, 2007. It was Calzaghe's 21st successful WBO super middleweight title defense as he unified the titles taking Kessler's WBA and WBC belts with the win. Now, having fought and beaten the previously undefeated Kessler, Calzaghe, boxing's new superstar with 4 belts, the WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring Magazine has cemented his legacy as the world's most accomplished super middleweight fighters in history. Calzaghe is boxing's longest reigning title holder having made 21 successful super middleweight title defenses during his pro career.
Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Calzaghe Score Card
