Calzaghe should stay at 168

[nickd]

I know the move up seems like the right one. If it is to be Hopkins next why not have the fight at 168 for the undisputed/Ring title? Hopkins easily made 170 for the Winky fight he could make the weight. Seems crazy to fight at 175. Titles aren't everything, but Calzaghe v Hopkins is a bigger fight at 168 than 175 IMO especially when you factor in Calzaghe having surpassed Hopkins title defences and then giving the old man the chance to topple him after. Personally not that interested in seeing him fight Hopkins, it would be an ugly maul of a fight.

What other options for Calzaghe though?

Pavilk v Taylor are supposedly rematching immediately.
Jones is fighting Trinidad.

Woods could be in the frame perhaps? Will he fancy it after last night?? He was kissing Calzage's arse bigtime.

[pundit]

I know the move up seems like the right one. If it is to be Hopkins next why not have the fight at 168 for the undisputed/Ring title? Hopkins easily made 170 for the Winky fight he could make the weight. Seems crazy to fight at 175. Titles aren't everything, but Calzaghe v Hopkins is a bigger fight at 168 than 175 IMO especially when you factor in Calzaghe having surpassed Hopkins title defences and then giving the old man the chance to topple him after. Personally not that interested in seeing him fight Hopkins, it would be an ugly maul of a fight.

What other options for Calzaghe though?

Pavilk v Taylor are supposedly rematching immediately.
Jones is fighting Trinidad.

Woods could be in the frame perhaps? Will he fancy it after last night?? He was kissing Calzage's arse bigtime.

I think he's done his part at 168. He should go to 175 and wina belt there. If they litter him with dollars for a Hopkins fight why not take it, but I for my part wouldn't enjoy see Calzaghe beat up a 43 year old.

[n1ebf]

did anyone else think Calzaghe looked marginally slower than he has looked before, specially early on......or could it be that Kessler was just faster than most of Calzaghes opponents so far?

however on the subject of Hopkins I think Joe would still be more than capable of winning. Hopkins should retire before someone hurts him but I reckon he's probably too cagy to go up against someone he thought might do that to him.

[whiskey]

Light heavy division is pretty naff in my opinion.

Seems he can do 168lb ok and there are new challenges, not old headliners to fight.

Hopkins is the only draw really... Pavlik, Miranda, Taylor, Bute, Froch, are all interesting match-ups.

Maybe do Hopkins at a catch-weight then continue at 168lb for another year and retire rich and intact.

[DG.]

did anyone else think Calzaghe looked marginally slower than he has looked before, specially early on......or could it be that Kessler was just faster than most of Calzaghes opponents so far?

however on the subject of Hopkins I think Joe would still be more than capable of winning. Hopkins should retire before someone hurts him but I reckon he's probably too cagy to go up against someone he thought might do that to him.

I thought that Joe did not let his hands go, I thought he hurt BOTH his hands, it was as if he were protecting them.

Yes, he looked much slower, but maybe that was the way to beat Kessler.

[Autobarn]

Joe looked very big last night. He looked like a light heavy to Kessler's super middle! I also thought he was pretty damn quick as usual with more method and thought in his work than in the average assignment.

I would love for Joe to stay at 168 - Froch, Inkin, Brahmer are all due title shots. 168 is better than 175 but Joe struggles getting down to super middle & feels he'll be even better at light heavy. So I think he should go up.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I know the move up seems like the right one. If it is to be Hopkins next why not have the fight at 168 for the undisputed/Ring title? Hopkins easily made 170 for the Winky fight he could make the weight. Seems crazy to fight at 175. Titles aren't everything, but Calzaghe v Hopkins is a bigger fight at 168 than 175 IMO especially when you factor in Calzaghe having surpassed Hopkins title defences and then giving the old man the chance to topple him after. Personally not that interested in seeing him fight Hopkins, it would be an ugly maul of a fight.

What other options for Calzaghe though?

Pavilk v Taylor are supposedly rematching immediately.
Jones is fighting Trinidad.

Woods could be in the frame perhaps? Will he fancy it after last night?? He was kissing Calzage's arse bigtime.

I think he's done his part at 168. He should go to 175 and wina belt there. If they litter him with dollars for a Hopkins fight why not take it, but I for my part wouldn't enjoy see Calzaghe beat up a 43 year old.

With you on that Pundit, but sadly this seems the most likely fight. Hopkins will want it too, because Calzaghe is hot property right now, and there's a huge payday in the offing if they fight in Cardiff. They may struggle to find a venue big enough to accomodate the punters it would be that big.

I think Calzaghe would piss all over Hopkins at this stage. Nard would go the distance, he's too canny not too, but he would do so by mugging, spoiling and trying to disrupt Joe, rather than throwing leather, boring cynical fight, but If I were Warren, I would make this fight tommorow.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think fortunately for us Terry, Calzaghe is looking for MEGA bucks, so there won't be any filler fights.

He will be looking for a 5 million payday against someone like Hopkins.

I think after that performance he can now command a huge payday with TV money.

Although people would probably like to see him in Vegas, he can make more money fighting at home, because of the massive crowds he pulls in now, what was the official figure for last night's attendance.

Did anyone else notice how genuinely proud allegedly looked. I know he comes in for a lot of flack, but I do think that Frank gets quite attached to his fighters, I think there's a genuine bond between Frank and Joe.

[Matt W]

With Calzaghe's stated intention to retire soon he surely MUST fight a big name next. If he can't do a deal with Hopkins then I'd love to see him hand Froch his ar$e (I have actually come around to liking Froch but think he's going to plateau below elite level). Great British fight that one.

[Deserter]

Did anyone else notice how genuinely proud allegedly allegedly looked. I know he comes in for a lot of flack, but I do think that Frank gets quite attached to his fighters, I think there's a genuine bond between Frank and Joe.

I think there may be a degree of truth in that but the cynic in me thinks that it was also because his cash cow came through the toughest fight of his career and Frank was rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of his forthcoming cut when the Hopkins fight comes off

[jamesmcdonnell]

Bear in mind that Warren has Jay Larkin on board, former president of Showtime, a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and a very nice guy to boot as it happens.


I don't know that Joe needs to go stateside. There's more money fighting here, he could get 60,000 fans for a fight against Hopkins, that alone is going to generate what, 5 million let's say? That's a pretty conservative estimate actually, more like 10 million plus with the really expensive tickets at ringside and hiked prices.

[Syntax Error]

I, too believe that he should stay at SMW.

I would very much like to see Joe fight Carl Froch, from a domestic point-of-view.

It could either be a changing of the guard in a UK sense or JC putting the younger pretender in his place.

Either way, it would be interesting.

[nickd]

Bear in mind that Warren has Jay Larkin on board, former president of Showtime, a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and a very nice guy to boot as it happens.


I don't know that Joe needs to go stateside. There's more money fighting here, he could get 60,000 fans for a fight against Hopkins, that alone is going to generate what, 5 million let's say? That's a pretty conservative estimate actually, more like 10 million plus with the really expensive tickets at ringside and hiked prices.

I think there's as much if not more money in a fight in the US on HBO PPV with a big casino paying a huge site fee. And I don't think Hopkins will travel for it. Time for Calzaghe to go over there it's long overdue.

[Coco]

Bear in mind that Warren has Jay Larkin on board, former president of Showtime, a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and a very nice guy to boot as it happens.


I don't know that Joe needs to go stateside. There's more money fighting here, he could get 60,000 fans for a fight against Hopkins, that alone is going to generate what, 5 million let's say? That's a pretty conservative estimate actually, more like 10 million plus with the really expensive tickets at ringside and hiked prices.

I think there's as much if not more money in a fight in the US on HBO PPV with a big casino paying a huge site fee. And I don't think Hopkins will travel for it. Time for Calzaghe to go over there it's long overdue.

More like it's time for Hopkins to leave the U.S
JC has left Briain a couple of times before, the Yank has never left his home turf

[nickd]

Maybe so, but Calzaghe has long talked about going to the US time to do it I think if he doesn't I think he'll regret it. And he'll lose the (misguided) reputation of a hometown fighter.

At the end of the day if Calzaghe v Hopkins is going to happen HBO will be calling the shots. And I think they'll want in on PPV and in the US as it will maximise the PPV for them. Money talks.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Bear in mind that Warren has Jay Larkin on board, former president of Showtime, a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and a very nice guy to boot as it happens.


I don't know that Joe needs to go stateside. There's more money fighting here, he could get 60,000 fans for a fight against Hopkins, that alone is going to generate what, 5 million let's say? That's a pretty conservative estimate actually, more like 10 million plus with the really expensive tickets at ringside and hiked prices.

I think there's as much if not more money in a fight in the US on HBO PPV with a big casino paying a huge site fee. And I don't think Hopkins will travel for it. Time for Calzaghe to go over there it's long overdue.

I believe the money from the gate will well and truly eclipse any site fee.

The site fee is a nice sweetener, but it's not going to be than a few million dollars. The venues in the casinos only hold about 15,000 tops, the MGM is I think the largest, not sure, but it's nowhere near as big as even the MEN.

I disagree that at this stage Calzaghe has to fight stateside, why bother if the money is better here. A few years ago I think he should have done so, because he could have been a big star in America following the Byron Mitchell off the floor win, but now, I don't really see the advantage.

[BAMBI]

how much did Joe get for this fight with Mikkel?

[stujones]

Hopkins looked pretty finished for me vs an aging over weight Wright. It certainly wasn't the tarver performance. I would like to see Joe vs Froch next. I think Chad Dawson could cause problems in a dull fight. Froch though is another very strong Super Middle and probably a better natural finisher than Kessler. I am not saying Kessler is not as a good as Froch and it could well be the case that Froch cannot land AT ALL vs Joe. However, if he does I suspect he will cause similar damage and wouldn't take stock quite so often.

Rawling has taken some stick for his comentary, but I do think Joe (especially in the 7th) was within a punch or two of going down and Kessler was maybe a little guilty of having a poor finishing instinct. Perhaps, Kessler knew Calzaghe wasn't as badly hurt as it looked to me - but I did think a conserted effort might have caused a count.

Think it would be the best fight and stylewise Froch could cause problems. Forget the Middles - not big enough, not good enough.

[pundit]

I think Calzaghe should go for a belt at 175. Two-division champion is what he should aim for.

[DG.]

Did anyone else notice how genuinely proud allegedly allegedly looked. I know he comes in for a lot of flack, but I do think that Frank gets quite attached to his fighters, I think there's a genuine bond between Frank and Joe.

He is attached to his MONEY MAKERS.


Hatton - Calzgaghe - Khan.

All others mean nothing, imo.

[Autobarn]

Bear in mind that Warren has Jay Larkin on board, former president of Showtime, a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and a very nice guy to boot as it happens.


I don't know that Joe needs to go stateside. There's more money fighting here, he could get 60,000 fans for a fight against Hopkins, that alone is going to generate what, 5 million let's say? That's a pretty conservative estimate actually, more like 10 million plus with the really expensive tickets at ringside and hiked prices.

Larkin, the guy who masterminded Calzaghe v Trinidad. I'm not joking. Thank eff it didn't happen.

If they go to America it's only for a PPV fight, IMO. He'd need Hopkins or Pavlik for that. Hopkins might not want it this stage. Pavlik isn't ready yet, so who knows Joe may wait for him with more marking time title defenses.

If Taylor gets revenge on Pavlik, Taylor will be a top super middle without a title so he'd want a shot. Roy Jones' stock has plummeted so badly with recent overpriced, low profile PPVs, so at least that won't happen.

If Joe waits out Pavlik/Taylor and stays at 168, I'd love to see him fight Froch or Inkin, hungry guys who are no longer young waiting for their title shots.

If Joe fights anyone world class or holding a title in the UK, he can obviously make loads of money drawing massive crowds at this or that arena. So I won't write off Woods.

[Autobarn]

I think there's as much if not more money in a fight in the US on HBO PPV with a big casino paying a huge site fee. And I don't think Hopkins will travel for it. Time for Calzaghe to go over there it's long overdue.

More like it's time for Hopkins to leave the U.S
JC has left Briain a couple of times before, the Yank has never left his home turf

Hopkins has fought abroad, plus without the cushion of a title.

he did once, because he had to make things happen with no fanfare beind him. to his credit, he tried, failed, came back better & persisted to become 1 of the better boxers of his time

But I've been a bit fed up with him since the Eastman/Taylor bouts

[Dirk Kelly]

I'd love Joe to have one more fight at SMW, even pay to see a filler so he can surpass Ottke's number of defences. I think they're tied at the moment!