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What goes around...Light heavy by Ben Dirs - BBC Sport (U1657561) 20 April 2008   The accepted wisdom is that Las Vegas is immune to economic downturns: when the economy booms, people come to Vegas to splash their cash. When the economy dips, people still come to Vegas to try to recoup their losses. Sly Stallone, as he had done at the weigh-in, raised his arms as the chants of “Rocky!” rained down upon him Dan Rafael of ESPN simply wrote: “It was very close, a difficult fight to score.”But that’s what boxing’s all about, opinions, and it was mine that Hopkins, although throwing significantly fewer punches, landed the cleaner shots throughout and did enough in the first half of the fight to squeak a narrow decision. Not that Calzaghe will care one jot about the views of an army of breathless hacks. He rallied superbly well from a stunning early knockdown and never stopped punching all the way to the finish line, and it’s that that won him the fight. I’m not sure who Simon Cowell thought had won it, but has there ever been a more surreal sight than the prim pop impresario and Andrew Lloyd-Webber sat ringside at a Vegas fight? Think Hinge and Bracket crowd-surfing at an Anthrax gig and you’re getting somewhere close. Jay-Z was also there, as were Beyonce, Whitney, Chris Tucker, Peter Sampras, Sugar Ray, Bruce and big Arnie Schwarzenegger, proving, up close, to not be as big as I thought he’d be. Sly Stallone, as he had done at the weigh-in, raised his arms as the chants of “Rocky!” rained down from the crowd, and he must be in good nick to do that - it looked like he was wearing a couple of diamond-encrusted tiaras round each wrist. As most had predicted, it wasn’t the prettiest of fights Catherine Zeta-Jones, meanwhile, came draped in a Welsh flag, and it was the two Welsh icons, Tom and Zeta-Jones, who drew the biggest cheers of the night. Cowell, on the other hand, was showered with boos, and probably a fair bit of phlegm, when his entrance was announced. Cat Deeley was also there, and by God was she holding the Brit end up, while I was sat next to Brandy’s mum for the duration of the fight, which might have been exciting for me, if I had known beforehand that Brandy is a Grammy Award-winning R&B star. Tom Jones was given the job of belting out Mae Hen Wlad Nhadau, and at one point I thought Brandy’s mum was going to cry, before the Calzaghe fans proved themselves to be a lot less naughty than Ricky Hatton’s were before his fight with Floyd Mayweather last December by giving maximum respect to the Star Spangled Banner. There must have been a 70-30 split in favour of Calzaghe fans at the Thomas & Mack, and I thought that Brandy's skirt - not the biggest - might come off when Calzaghe made his entrance, such was the blood-curdling reception. Hopkins was greeted much like Cowell, except with perhaps slightly less venom, before the bell for the first round sounded and Calzaghe started making history. Audley Harrison provided the chief support, and his fight was a microcosm of his entire career As most had predicted, it wasn’t the prettiest of fights - Hopkins doesn’t do ‘pretty’ fights - and observers had to make the call when the final bell rang: the cleaner, crisper punches of Hopkins, or the sheer work-rate of Calzaghe. The judges went for Calzaghe and, with that, Ordinary Joe had cemented his place in boxing history: one of the boxing greats, perhaps Britain’s finest fighter of the modern era and a decent claim to being Wales’s greatest ever sportsman. At the post-fight news conference, Hopkins, still maintaining he had won the fight as he exited stage left, had to suffer Calzaghe barking behind him: “You lost to a white man, man! You lost to a white man…” What goes around very often comes around in the brutal world of boxing. PS. Audley Harrison provided the chief support, and his fight was a microcosm of his entire career. Audley, fighting for the first time since being knocked out by Michael Sprott last February, was cheered into the ring by the British contingent and booed throughout the rest of the fight. For all the pre-fight chat, nothing seems to have changed much for Audley, who needed five rounds to get rid of American journeyman Jason Barnett, who looked to be about half the Londoner’s size. When the ringcard girls are getting bigger cheers than you between the rounds, you surely know you must be doing something wrong. Latest 10 commentsRead members' comments or add your own
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tgizza (U5600269) posted Apr 22, 2008 I was at the fight & thought on the night Calzaghe "nicked" the fight by a point, whereas watching it when I got home, could only come up with "draw" Calzaghe hit Hopkins with Punches but not cleanly (because of the style of Hopkins more than anything) & Hopkins did hit Calzaghe with clean punches, but not enough...oh I am jetlagged by the way...
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tellingthewayitis (U10628397) posted Apr 22, 2008 I thought Calzaghe getting the decision in Vegas, without a body as evidence, was less likely than winning sports personality of the year. The american TV must have been looking forward to another superfight payday. BH is old news. He should have fought Calzaghe years ago instead of skipping Super Middle.
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attack_o_mac (U5176484) posted Apr 23, 2008 I thought that hopkins fought a very good fight. He always looks bad, but very affective. styles make fights and hopkins is a southpaw specialist. for all things things he has lost, he has gained in the art of winning fight with rough tactics.
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mikeyphil (U6711778) posted Apr 23, 2008 With one judge giving it 116-111 - thats nine to three rounds - its pretty conclusive. Hopkins lost, and lost comfortably in my book. He didn't come to win the fight.
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ianianto (U11736117) posted Apr 23, 2008 What fight were you watching Ben? What nonsense, Hopkins looked all of his 43 and if I understand African American fighters, he looked more like 45, his real age.
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milkyboy (U1656248) posted Apr 23, 2008 ian... in what way reminiscent of hagler leonard?
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MUFC_RED_ARMY (U10077104) posted Apr 26, 2008 comment by MuteAssassin (U5674668)
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Budgeesmuggler (U10986104) posted Apr 26, 2008 If people don`t like Ben Dirs stuff, nothing is stopping them writing their own articles freelance and selling them to websites.
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MUFC_RED_ARMY (U10077104) posted Apr 28, 2008 I watched BBC 2's re-run of the fight on Sunday and I want to change my scorecard. Comment on this article |
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