BoxRec

It's ironic that Joe, a man who has spent the best part of his career calling out boxers for superfights that never happen, is now calling out Hopkins for his defining fight: a fighter who retired earlier in the year!

Oh yes, and Roy Jones no less, a fighter who has hit rock bottom, and gone through the floor to a level we don't even know about.

Bloody typical.

If ever there was a superfight to me made, it JC v Kessler. Both dual champions, defended their titles on the same night, and shown on the two big stations in the USA and UK. And now both are left looking for a real fight....talk about missing the elephant in the room.

Warren has to pull out all stops and get this made - he'll have no trouble getting ITV and HBO to put up some cash for this one.

Team Kessler managed to lure Beyer over to Denmark, why couldn't Frank have managed to do that at some point for Joe?

FW and Calzaghe need to get REAL, and stop chasing ghosts.

Agreed

I think they know that Kessler is a bad style match up for Joe and would give him a hell of a fight. Can't see it happening unfortunatly, Joe has never really shown the desire to fight the best and only went in with Lacy because Jeff really pushed for the fight (coming to Britain, putting up with Joe pulling out due to fighting a stupid warm up 6 weeks before their fight). Kessler will be the one who has to make all the sacrifices for the fight to happen

MightyWarrior wrote:It's ironic that Joe, a man who has spent the best part of his career calling out boxers for superfights that never happen, is now calling out Hopkins for his defining fight: a fighter who retired earlier in the year!

Oh yes, and Roy Jones no less, a fighter who has hit rock bottom, and gone through the floor to a level we don't even know about.

Bloody typical.

If ever there was a superfight to me made, it JC v Kessler. Both dual champions, defended their titles on the same night, and shown on the two big stations in the USA and UK. And now both are left looking for a real fight....talk about missing the elephant in the room.

Warren has to pull out all stops and get this made - he'll have no trouble getting ITV and HBO to put up some cash for this one.

Team Kessler managed to lure Beyer over to Denmark, why couldn't Frank have managed to do that at some point for Joe?

FW and Calzaghe need to get REAL, and stop chasing ghosts.

I know what you mean. He has a genuine peer, in his prime - Kessler. Not someone too old (Hopkins, Jones & Tarver). Not someone from a smaller division (Wright, Taylor). But someone his own size, someone who has done the exact same thing Joe did, in bashing up a rival title holder.

I would be appalled if Calzaghe-Kessler doesn't happen.
2 undefeated unified champions, in the same weight class!

I don't think Taylor would be favored to beat Calzaghe. He needs to show he can beat another southpaw, Wright. Calzaghe has refined his southpaw skills pretty well. Though he traded too much v Bika, I liked the way he kept Sakio on the back foot. Just some simple feinting, some lateral movement, the odd quick jab and straight left to the body and the other guy was locked in a kind of limbo on the rear foot. Calzaghe is very nimble & I like some of the leftie moves he does. He can unsettle a lot of good fighters from his portsider stance, if he sticks to boxing.

That said: let the middles fight each other. There are 2 very special 160-pounders Taylor & Wright. Some good prospects (Pavlik) and some good titlists/contenders (Castillejo, Sturm, Miranda, Abraham). Same goes for super middle. At super middle there are two superb champions (Calzaghe, Kessler), lots of dangerous young contenders (Bute, Andrade), & an improving prospect (Green). STICK TO YOUR OWN DIVISIONS & BEAT THE OBVIOUS CHOICE OF OPPONENT

Calzaghe has clearly said he doesn't want Roy Jones anymore.

BBC even said it's more realistically that he'd get Kessler over Hopkins

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/6053046.stm

Both Warren and Calzaghe talking up the "possibility" of Hopkins in the US in Feb. Hopkins has said the only challenge he would be tempted to return for is Maskaev.

I think it is as probable as Matt Skelton getting a world title shot next.

I do disagree though with MW original post. Hopkins is the star of the two coming off pretty much a career best win. For Legacy it would be better to face Hopkins AND then Kessler..... Try and build Kessler a bit more in the states by having him fight say Manfredo on the undercard.

As soon as Hopkins announces a return all the claims made by Team Woods that he is the #1 at Light Heavy vanish. Hopkins is the #1 at the weight and despite his age it would be the most important fight for Joe. He could always fight Kessler after, as it sounds like he will be around for a while yet.

If Calzaghe fights Hopkins and then retires I would be dissapointed, but likewise if Calzaghe fights Kessler and then retires and we all know Hopkins is definately coming back, I would also be dissapointed.

I would much rather see the Kessler fight, Hopkins is as old as god's dog, and the win over Tarver just proves how overrated and usless Tarver is as a champion. He should never have allowed himself to be flummoxed by a man who was twice bested by Taylor.

And can you imagine the drawn out negotiations they'll have to go through to get BHop in the ring for this? Forget it.

Joe will be in his rocking chair by the time ol' man Hop agrees to terms.

MW: spot on.... the whole show was set up to make Kessler v Joe... and then suddenly they forgot all about him..... Probably due to the ringside rumours that Kessler knocked out Beyer in 3....

I would like to see Kessler v Calzaghe but I couldn't criticise Calzaghe for fighting Hopkins next. Hopkins is a massive name and one of the best around even at his age and would be a massive fight stateside.
Calzaghe can't afford to have any more non fights any more though, that's a fact. I don't think he will get to Joe Louis record either. His next fights should be either Kessler or a big name American. I agree that he has to fight Kessler before he retires though.

No way on earth does Hopkins vs Calzaghe get made, absolutely no hope.

Nor does Tarver, and nor does Kessler.

Calzaghe is sick of boxing, and has three priorities I reckon:

1) Earn a few million
2) Stay unbeaten
3) Retire by the end of next year

He will have two more soft defences against IBF rated middleweights who wont ask for big purses (as with Bika) and then retire cos of his hand.

I'm willing to wager that his next fight is against a no-one (in status terms).

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I would much rather see the Kessler fight, Hopkins is as old as god's dog, and the win over Tarver just proves how overrated and usless Tarver is as a champion. He should never have allowed himself to be flummoxed by a man who was twice bested by Taylor.

Hopkins wasn't really bested by Taylor. Those fights were close and the 1st one is controversial. 2nd could've been a win, loss or draw. Hopkins had obviously restricted his body to 160-pounds for a bit too long. He was far healthier vs Tarver. & Tarver being slower, dumber and older than Taylor suited Hopkins fine. Throw in the fact that you have a genuine great vs a man with delusions of greatness. BH could probably do very well as a light heavyweight. It's like he has a new body, almost.

If it came down to Calzaghe-Hopkins, I would get excited eventually. Hopkins still has a massive reputation and is perceived to be still great.

Yes a fight with Hopkins in NY would be a great event no doubt. Calzaghe said it's the fight he'd travel over there for.

But trouble is, the negotiations would be more difficult than the fight itself.
Can't imagine Warren fancies going through all that again. Last time Hop agreed, then according to FW doubled his asking money the very next day.

There's no way on god's earth I can see this fight coming off, unless Calzaghe and his father are prepared to swallow their considerable pride, take the thin end of the purse, travel to America, and make every possible concession to Hopkins.

Hopkins has the possible prospect of taking on Maskaev, which for his own legacy is a much much bigger fight than taking on Calzaghe, he wants to go where RJJ went, and win titles at MW, LHW and Heavyweight.

From an aesthetic POV, it's bad for Calzaghe to fight Hopkins. Someone who throws sneaky right hands leads & does nasty work in clinches...

I've just read this:

Calzaghe-Kessler negotiations have begun. Warren & Palle have "opened negotiations...for a fight on HBO" (warren's site reported this). A 2 in the morning starter.

However, "Bernard Hopkins may be tempted out of retirement for a $10million purse, while Ronald Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor are also viable options."

And, "early on Monday, former welterweight light-middleweight and middleweight world champion Felix Trinidad expressed an interest in fighting Calzaghe"

Let's hold our breath for Kessler.

Max Molyneux wrote:Calzaghe has clearly said he doesn't want Roy Jones anymore.

BBC even said it's more realistically that he'd get Kessler over Hopkins

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/6053046.stm

Max is pretty much the only Calzaghe fan that believes in Joe enough to not make excuses for Calzaghe as to why they should not fight. The rest are scared shitless....The funny part is I don't think they have any reason to be. Joe is a great fighter and he will at least be competitive, and may even win (although I doubt it). Either way, Kessler will go on to be a loooon gitme champion and probably in at least two weight classes.. so even if Joe should loose it will not be a disaster. Time will show that. Of course they should fight. It cannot be more obvious.

the main problem is that Warren has shown throughout calzaghe entire carreer that he is shit at negociating fights. Joe has talked about a gazillion fighters he wanted to fight, but nothing has come out of it. Lacy did, but that was because Lacy really pressed the matter. Warren has got to be the worst matchmaker alive. 2 champs with 2 belts. Both ought to fight for fornicating free! Just get it on, and Warren you better do your job this time, so it doesn't end with Calzaghe fighting just another old stiff.

EVERYONE knows what fight Joe obviously should go for - so stop thinking that people are just ignorant fools, Warren.

http://www.allegedly.tv/drill/News/Ar ... nyone.html

With Leonard with pictures of Leonard holding up a giant Welsh flag.

Warren opening talks with Palle.

C'mon Frank, get the Kessler fight made for Feb!

Why are they saying BHop could be tempted out for 10 mill??
Who on earth is going to pay that? It wont even be a big draw card in the US - not enough to justify that kind of cash you'd think.

Trinidad would pull the crowds though, being the icon he is. It'd be a electric slugfest too & great TV. But not in Tito's best interest though...

viciousmaussa wrote:From an aesthetic POV, it's bad for Calzaghe to fight Hopkins. Someone who throws sneaky right hands leads & does nasty work in clinches...

I've just read this:

Calzaghe-Kessler negotiations have begun. Warren & Palle have "opened negotiations...for a fight on HBO" (warren's site reported this). A 2 in the morning starter.

However, "Bernard Hopkins may be tempted out of retirement for a $10million purse, while Ronald Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor are also viable options."

And, "early on Monday, former welterweight light-middleweight and middleweight world champion Felix Trinidad expressed an interest in fighting Calzaghe"

Let's hold our breath for Kessler.

If Calzaghe fought Kessler, this would be one of the biggest fights featuring a british fighter for a long time. It may not have the mainstream appeal of him bashing up on Lacy, but Kessler has been drawing the plaudits on both sides of the Atlantic for a while now, and it's the one fight that Calzaghe should take to really cement his place at SM.

Yes, it's a risky proposition, Joe is no spring chicken after all, and with his fragile hands taking on a big, young, strong and technically adept fellow like Kessler is not without it's risks. If Joe loses, he can kiss goodbye fights against the likes of Taylor or Hopkins, and his career is pretty much over, as he will have little or no negotiating power, save for a rematch if the fight was close.

However, the caveat to that is that this is the fight which will make it impossible for people to deride his achievements, and if he wins then he gets a chance at a massive cash out fight against a big American name.

I really hope this fight can happen, I think Joe is a great talent, even if some of his career choices haven't been the best, and I'd love for him to take on Kessler, win, and shut the critics up once and for all.

Come on Sports Network, make this fight happen.

Look at what Wright did to Trinidad. Calzaghe-Trinidad would be a criminal assault. Calzaghe doesn't have as good a defense or accuracy as Wright. But he has better handspeed, faster footwork, punches with more variety and hits way harder.

That would be a dreadful fight to make. Unless it was just a showcase. But Calzaghe's had a fvcking showcase fight once, maybe twice a year for nine years.

Agreed, it's ridiculous, Trinidad looked shot to pieces against Wright, Calzaghe would absolutely annihilate him. Please god this fight doesn't happen. I doubt he has many supporters left in PR after that performance anyway.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

viciousmaussa wrote:From an aesthetic POV, it's bad for Calzaghe to fight Hopkins. Someone who throws sneaky right hands leads & does nasty work in clinches...

I've just read this:

Calzaghe-Kessler negotiations have begun. Warren & Palle have "opened negotiations...for a fight on HBO" (warren's site reported this). A 2 in the morning starter.

However, "Bernard Hopkins may be tempted out of retirement for a $10million purse, while Ronald Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor are also viable options."

And, "early on Monday, former welterweight light-middleweight and middleweight world champion Felix Trinidad expressed an interest in fighting Calzaghe"

Let's hold our breath for Kessler.

If Calzaghe fought Kessler, this would be one of the biggest fights featuring a british fighter for a long time. It may not have the mainstream appeal of him bashing up on Lacy, but Kessler has been drawing the plaudits on both sides of the Atlantic for a while now, and it's the one fight that Calzaghe should take to really cement his place at SM.

Yes, it's a risky proposition, Joe is no spring chicken after all, and with his fragile hands taking on a big, young, strong and technically adept fellow like Kessler is not without it's risks. If Joe loses, he can kiss goodbye fights against the likes of Taylor or Hopkins, and his career is pretty much over, as he will have little or no negotiating power, save for a rematch if the fight was close.

However, the caveat to that is that this is the fight which will make it impossible for people to deride his achievements, and if he wins then he gets a chance at a massive cash out fight against a big American name.

I really hope this fight can happen, I think Joe is a great talent, even if some of his career choices haven't been the best, and I'd love for him to take on Kessler, win, and shut the critics up once and for all.

Come on Sports Network, make this fight happen.

Definitely. Also, Joe does way better when he's under pressure - and a 4 belt unifier would bring the best out of him. Though he's not fought as sound a boxer as Kessler, I really think his skills & speed from the leftie stance would give Kessler big problems. Beyer doesn't use his southpaw stance to the advantage that JC can. I like it that JC is skilled and aggressive. Really keeps people off balance and backed up. Kessler would have to put on the fight of his life to win it, IMO.


On another note, it will be interesting to see what Lacy & Bika go on to do. I wouldn't put it past either to win a world title one day; that would boost Calzaghe's record. However, absolutely, he should do it the proper way. Kessler. Kessler. Kessler.

I wish he'd just callout and fight Kessler, its a humungous fight. There is no way IMO that Hopkins comes out of retirement to fight Joe.

JC-Taylor\Winky are other massive fights, but I'd much prefer to see him in with Kessler

From secondsout.com

By Ant Evans: Newly unified WBA/WBC super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler has told IBF/WBO counterpart Joe Calzaghe to stop 'calling' out retired champions like Bernard Hopkins and accept a real challenge.

Undefeated 27-year-old Kessler laid siege to Calzaghe's claim to being to very best 168lbs fighter in the world by knocking out WBC champ Markus Beyer in Demark Saturday night while Calzaghe struggled to subdue the raw Sakio Bika on the same night in England.

Now Kessler's promoter Mogens Palle, has issued the following statement, directed at the man he dubbed "Joke Calzaghe" and promoter allegedly.

Referring to a report that Warren offered £1.5million to Kessler to face Calzaghe, Palle claims: " I can tell you that it is one of the most blatant lies in boxing history when he says that he made an offer £1.5 million British pounds for Mikkel Kessler to fight his man, Calzaghe.

"I went to England to meet Warren months ago and I made him an offer. Warren listened and said he would make a counter offer. I waited and waited and heard nothing.

"There was no counter offer and no response of any kind from Warren. Instead, they ran to fight journeyman Sakio Bika.

"Now he an Joe are barking out the name of Bernard Hopkins. They both know that Kessler will beat Calzaghe and that he will beat him whether they might fight in the UK, in Denmark or in the United States. Why doesn´t HBO step up and demand the two unbeaten champions, both holding two belts, to fight for supremacy. Let there be no mistake about it: Kessler wants this fight!"

"Why would boxing media and fans the world over want to see anything other than these to fighters meeting directly?"

Kessler himself added: "I believe I am the best super-middleweight in the world. Joe disagrees with me, fine, but let´s settle it where it should be settled in the boxing ring.

"I don´t know why Joe continues to call out Roy Jones, Hopkins and these other guys. He should want what the fans want which is that he and I get it on. Joe knows in his heart he cannot beat me."

All this is part of the BS and bluster of modern boxing, of course. However, Kessler has earned the right to have his challenge answered by division leader Calzaghe.

One hopes Calzaghe's new bankrollers HBO have the sense and understanding of boxing to realise that Kessler - young and powerful - is best challenger for Calzaghe at 168lbs, not yesterday's news Hopkins and Jones, who would try to pickpocket a win over the Welshman in a boring fight.