BOXING MONTHLY APRIL

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 19 Mar 2008, 11:52

Right, time for the monthly review 8)

Pretty good, excellent and timely write up on Haye/Enzo - awesome overhead shot of the effect the big right landing on Enzo had - he's caught for a split second, staring out into arena, just before the roof caved in.

Good preview of Joe/Hopkins too, some people rightly predicting it could potentialy be a difficult night for Joe - as in the whole, new American style hype in the lead up, possibly having an effect on homeboy Joe, during the 2 weeks he's there in the lead up to April 19th

Seemed to get the Joe Louis captions a bit mixed up - one says it's Joe after the Marciano loss, and Joe looks about 20 years old in it.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 19 Mar 2008, 11:54

MightyWarrior wrote:Right, time for the monthly review 8)

Pretty good, excellent and timely write up on Haye/Enzo - awesome overhead shot of the effect the big right landing on Enzo had - he's caught for a split second, staring out into arena, just before the roof caved in.

Good preview of Joe/Hopkins too, some people rightly predicting it could potentialy be a difficult night for Joe - as in the whole, new American style hype in the lead up, possibly having an effect on homeboy Joe, during the 2 weeks he's there in the lead up to April 19th

Seemed to get the Joe Louis captions a bit mixed up - one says it's Joe after the Marciano loss, and Joe looks about 20 years old in it.

Right MW, we'll have to try and merge the threads... great minds and all that!!

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 19 Mar 2008, 11:56

Firstly, I have to say what an incredible pictures they got from the Haye vs Macc fight. The first one of the sequence of especially just shows how hurt and shell shocked Enzo was... really caught it the action well and Enzo was more hurt from that right hand than I gave Haye credit for.

However, just from a personal perspective I thought there was a little bit too much on the Calzaghe vs Hopkins fight. Especially, given the editorial piece in last months (or was it the month before) edition which basically said "Hopkins aint all that".

I would have liked to have read more on the Peter vs Maskaev bill, there was very little mention of Ruiz vs McCline and I am still searching for any reference to the Juan Diaz vs Nate Campbell fight - which is a contender for upset of the year... and something that most British fans I am sure would have liked to have read about given that hardly anyone (including me) knew it was going to be shown on these shores.

Perhaps a piece into the deal BEN television in the UK has with US boxing might be worth while in the near future... cause that took everyone by surprise.

I appreciate that of course there a deadlines and only a limited amount of space - just thought the Diaz upset loss warranted more space than it did.

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 19 Mar 2008, 12:38

What si the BEN deal stu, I assumed it was simply a one off. Have they repeated the fight(s) yet?

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 19 Mar 2008, 13:01

Wales wrote:What si the BEN deal stu, I assumed it was simply a one off. Have they repeated the fight(s) yet?

I've absolutely no idea... would be a good thing to find out.

E · Post by E » 19 Mar 2008, 18:06

stujones wrote:
Wales wrote:What si the BEN deal stu, I assumed it was simply a one off. Have they repeated the fight(s) yet?
I've absolutely no idea... would be a good thing to find out.

BEN just show the occasional 2 bob US bill

TerribleTerry · Post by **TerribleTerry** » 19 Mar 2008, 19:00

E wrote:
stujones wrote:
Wales wrote:What si the BEN deal stu, I assumed it was simply a one off. Have they repeated the fight(s) yet?
I've absolutely no idea... would be a good thing to find out.
BEN just show the occasional 2 bob US bill

Caught Peter v MAskaev on there (thanks to RealDeal), which was a touch

E · Post by E » 19 Mar 2008, 19:16

TerribleTerry wrote:
E wrote:
stujones wrote: I've absolutely no idea... would be a good thing to find out.
BEN just show the occasional 2 bob US bill
Caught Peter v MAskaev on there (thanks to RealDeal), which was a touch

Seriously??? Well done - was it live?

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 09:30

Thanks for the input chaps, always appreciated.

Re Calzaghe-Hopkins, irrespective of Bernard repeatedly being sold as something he isn't, which is a personal irritant to me, it's still a massive fight hence the extensive coverage. And it does have intrigue even if virtually no one seems to be expecting an exciting fight. I'm looking forward to it, even if it doesn't do what it says on the tin.

Glad you liked the Haye shots - was pleased to have found them, our normal sources, Getty and Empics, were at ringside but sometimes it works out well to shoot from the balcony, as Eoin Mundow did for FightWire images. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when a self-respecting agency would be ringside AND in the balcony.

Regarding the Louis pic, know exactly what you mean, Joe does look good for his age, but here is how the pic was captioned on the Getty site and presumably they should know:

"Boxing. New York, USA. 26th October 1951. US boxer Joe Louis is pictured after being defeated by Rocky Marciano by knock-out in the 8th round after their heavyweight title fight, surrounded by admirers."

Convinced now? No I'm not, either lol.

All the best

PS Point taken and totally agreed with re the Diaz fight. Bad call on my part, decided to run the Peter and Klitschko fights into a heavyweight situation roundup rather than waste pages on two "dead" reports and ended up with egg on face when that result came in on deadline and with the rest of the mag finished. Apologies.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:01

Liked Johnny Nelson's comment, saying Joe wouldn't let Hop get into his head, because Joe is ignorant! Lost in translation maybe??

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:07

Know what you're saying warrior! I brought that up with Mick Gill, the writer, and he said that was what Johnny said and what he meant was that Joe just isn't that clued up at that level - which, I suppose, is ignorant!

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:10

Glyn Leach wrote:
Regarding the Louis pic, know exactly what you mean, Joe does look good for his age, but here is how the pic was captioned on the Getty site and presumably they should know:

"Boxing. New York, USA. 26th October 1951. US boxer Joe Louis is pictured after being defeated by Rocky Marciano by knock-out in the 8th round after their heavyweight title fight, surrounded by admirers."

Convinced now? No I'm not, either lol.

This, apparently, is Joe after the Rocky fight...looks a lot better than I thought he would to be honest. The Getty shot looks like he's just swatted a bum of the month inside 30 secs

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:14

Glyn Leach wrote:Know what you're saying warrior! I brought that up with Mick Gill, the writer, and he said that was what Johnny said and what he meant was that Joe just isn't that clued up at that level - which, I suppose, is ignorant!

Ha, very good

Gym mate Nathan Cleverly goes to the other extreme, and describes Joe in BN as an "intellectual"....while admitting that Rees and Pryce are a bit on the thick side!

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:15

Wonder what they think of Nathan lol

Autobarn · Post by **Autobarn** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:19

The Diaz fight I feel is very relevant because, although we were just all begining to think this kid is the goods and he loses, this result gives every promising young lightweight in the UK (and there are PLENTY of them, with more moving up from super feather) plenty to think about.

Lenny · Post by **Lenny** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:37

Terry D wrote:
MightyWarrior wrote:Liked Johnny Nelson's comment, saying Joe wouldn't let Hop get into his head, because Joe is ignorant! Lost in translation maybe??
Maybe he means arrogant. Although you can never ever win an argument with someone who is truly ignorant as they will never be able see if they are wrong or not.

Hopkins is well versed in fighting southpaws and will take a fair bit away from Joe using this knowledge. John David Jackson taught Hopkins how to fight a southpaw, years before they fought, and once you have that knack you never lose it.

What might get to Joe, although I doubt it, is that he is the guy with a lot to lose. Hopkins loses and it is to a younger and fresher man. Calzaghe loses and it wipes out the Lacy and Kessler wins. Old man, old man at a non-optimum weight, boring old man who throws 2 punches every 3 rounds etc. A loss for Joe and all the criticism Hopkins gets will be given top serve and thrown onto Joe, I cannot see a good fight to rebuild him if he loses this one, Woods maybe but say Woods beats Tarver, who is very beatable, and Joe loses Woods is suddenly in the drivers seat.

Yeah you feel if Hopkins wins then it puts the final seal of approval on a great career. Beating the best guy at super middle as a 43 year old to go with his excellent middleweight career and the Tarver win at light heavy.

Joe wins then hey, Hopkins is 43 years old. He lost twice to Taylor almost 3 years ago who in turn lost to Pavilk. His a career middleweight with crap stamina who has only stopped one fighter in the last 5 years and that was De La Hoya, a welterweight.

Credit to Joe if he wins and overcomes one of his toughest tests to date but he has a lot more to lose than Hopkins. But then Joe has always been in this situation I suppose since Eubank.

Can't help thinking about Joe has a tough time when boxers are a bit dirty, ugly fighters (Salam, Bika). Hopkins is a complete different class to those guys, I don't think he can win on workrate alone

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:39

Autobarn wrote:The Diaz fight I feel is very relevant because, although we were just all begining to think this kid is the goods and he loses, this result gives every promising young lightweight in the UK (and there are PLENTY of them, with more moving up from super feather) plenty to think about.

Very definitely and just got off the phone to that Farhood fella a moment ago re that very subject - the picture will change even more post Katsidis-Casa and SF will be doing a piece on the whole lightweight scene inclusive of Khan's next fight.

Eraserhead · Post by **Eraserhead** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:50

MightyWarrior wrote:Liked Johnny Nelson's comment, saying Joe wouldn't let Hop get into his head, because Joe is ignorant! Lost in translation maybe??

I think ignorant was correct - you definitely need a certain ignorance to reach the top. Guys like Calzaghe and Haye are oblivious to the notion of defeat or of any man being superior to them. Although defeat can happen at any moment, the real top, top fighters in the world are ignorant to the chances of it happening. You only have to watch Joe box to know he's ignorant to the concept of defeat (hands down, cocksure, in his element at all times). Certainly not a weakness or a negative trait to have. All the greats will have been ignorant in some respect.

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:12

I'm sure Johnny didn't mean it as an insult

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:29

I always describe Joe as having 'champions arrogance.' To be as good as Joe is, you have to be an arrogant swine. It's not an insult, it's just that the levels of self belief required to be the best are likely to make a man arrogant.......almost to the point of ignorance?

Joe simply refuses to believe he can be beaten. Bernard is a master intimidator for sure, but I don't think he can dent Joe's cast iron shroud of self belief.

He's rather like Batfink, except it's his arrogance rather than his wings which are like a shield of steel.

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:30

According to George Orwell in 1984, "Ignorance is strength".

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:43

That's doublespeak Glyn and you know it..

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:46

Indeed James lol. I only remember that because the thickest kid in my class at school could not have been happier than the day he heard that - it became like a battlecry for him

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 20 Mar 2008, 11:55

Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins finally square off next month at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (April 19).
These two have been close to a showdown for several years but one stumbling block or another scuppered every opportunity, usually when Hopkins turned round at the final hour of negotiations and demanded more money. But age has a way of mellowing even hard-noses like Hopkins and the 43-year-old Philadelphia legend now realizes he needs a man whose stock in the States has raised enormously over the last couple of years after marquee wins over Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler. Calzaghe is a super fighter, a super payday.
The Welsh great made 21 defences of his world super-middleweight title before announcing his desire to move up in weight to secure a fight such as this in America, shades of Ricky Hatton. He's never fought there but proved himself the best in his division dusting up Florida's Lacy in March 2006 in Manchester (Calzaghe landed 1006 punches) and Denmark's Kessler last year in Cardiff on the way to unanimous decisions. Lacy and Kessler were young and unbeaten going in.
Calzaghe also scored a hot decision over Cameroon "Scorpion" Sakio Bika in Manchester in October 2006, the man who went on to win the third series of Contender.
Not to be outdone (make that never to be outdone), Hopkins made 20 defences of his world middleweight title and proved himself the best in his division with wins over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Glen Johnson and Felix Trinidad, before a couple of losses to young Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor in 2005 essentially retired him. But the man known as "The Executioner" gave it one more try - way up at light-heavyweight - and showed all his ringcraft to outclass Antonio Tarver in Atlantic City in 2006 in a stunning upset. He then outscored another top southpaw in Ronald "Winky" Wright last year in Las Vegas and all of a sudden was back up there as one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing.
Calzaghe, of course, is also southpaw.
So two fighters who reigned supreme in their divisions for over a decade, two modern greats, get together late in their careers to decide the sport's best light-heavyweight. The 36-year-old Calzaghe is unbeaten in 44 fights (32 early) in 15 flawless years as a pro; Hopkins has lost only four of 54 fights (also 32 early) and once went unbeaten in 12 years. Breaking it down further, Hopkins lost his pro debut in 1988 - and only the mighty Roy Jones Jnr and Taylor have beaten him 20 years on (Taylor twice, of course, when Hopkins was tight at the weight).
He's never been stopped.
To the big fight. Ex-convict Hopkins proved he could handle light-heavyweight surprisingly well against Tarver, which is something Joe has yet to prove. But Calzaghe has skirted the weight for a few years and was one week away from challenging then IBF champion Glen Johnson in 2004, before pulling out with a bad back. He won't be dwarfed in there. More of a factor is his lack of familiarity away from home. Joe apparently seriously dislikes flying and has boxed only twice outside Britain as a pro: in cosy little Denmark (against an American no-hoper) and in Germany (against a man he had previously destroyed). "Everyone who Joe fought had to come to the UK, his backyard," said Hopkins. "He'll get a taste of his own medicine." It's never easy to win a big fight away from home, not least against a man like Bernard Hopkins, a man who knows how to unsettle opponents; all the cute moves in and out of the ring.
And he can fight.
Yes, Calzaghe is much the faster, busier man, but we all remember remember Britain's Howard Eastman struggling to get to grips with slippery Hopkins in Los Angeles. The bigger, talented Tarver got nowhere. Joe really needs to stay focussed to win this, stay on the outside, pump out the jab and punch in bunches - think of his Lacy masterclass. He must not get drawn into a tactical affair and allow Hopkins to pick those hard, flashy punches and then hold. Hopkins is 43, to remind you. He needs breathers.
One thing is for sure, it is going to be fascinating.

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 20 Mar 2008, 12:42

all gone

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