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ha ha ha that weigh in was funny as ****, well the commentary anyway "calzaghe has never gone 12 rounds with someone as intense as hopkins" **** that, id say it was the other way around! "the fight is suited to bhop as he will be the one coming forward" hello...have you ever seen calzaghe fight?! It sounds to me that the yanks think Hopkins or b-hop as they like to call him will walk it.
Sweet!! Cant wait for this now!!
RAFA Comment
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Did you watch the 'Fight Network' coverage as well? It was ****ing comical. It looked as though it was being presented from some 17 year old colleague students dorm.Originally posted by Darth Marty View Post
Anyhow i think Setanta have missed the boat not covering the weigh in. All the hype surrounding the fight this week and the miss the second most important aspect of the whole spectacle. Silly really.Comment
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Setanta for all the fights they have got, have really **** coverage of them.Comment
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Yeah i did! ha ha I figured it would be official setanta coverage, instead we get beavis & butthead. Both fighters looked in great shape, will be an interesting fight, if bhop doesnt come out and at least try and boss the ring he will get destroyed, you simply cannot sit back and let joe set the pace. Do you know what time we can expect to actually see the fight over here? RAFA Comment
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Setanta coverage starts around 10pm the fight itself will be about 3am which is not to bad considering it's on the west coast.Originally posted by Darth Marty View Post
Should be a cracker. I'm really looking forward to it. Can't see anything other than a points win for JC.Comment
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What time does this kICK OFFAnybody who criticizes Klopp ever is a James Blunt. Nov 2015
#****CITYComment
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4ish I think?Originally posted by Nicey View Post
Does anyone have a stream lined up? I've found one on live-footy but I'd like a couple of options in case it goes tits up.Comment
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Hopkins is fighting a losing battle for his credibility
If you want a snapshot of American boxing, go to John Mass's little memorabilia shop in the Magic Mile, a ribbon of 170 canopied establishments wrapped around the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino complex in the heart of Las Vegas. The casino owners and their friends, numbered among them Sylvester Stalllone, are clinging to uncertain ambitions for their investment of $11m in Saturday night's fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins - and, if you visit Mr Mass's shop, you will know why.
As I write, the promotion is getting ready to take a bath. The co-promoters, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, are so embarrassed they've already given back $2m of the site fee, scared that Planet Hollywood will walk away from boxing after this.
Barely half the 19,000 tickets for the fight venue, the nearby Thomas and Mack Center, had moved three days before the big event. They're still talking a good fight, long-term commitment etc. Don't blink; these are hard-headed pragmatists. Boxing is fighting for its credibility here. They're going to paper this one. You will see more freeloaders at the Thomas and Mack on Saturday night than outside a downtown soup kitchen.
If Joe's south Wales army of 10,000 or more turn up, they might claw something back; never has an invasion of thousands of boxing fans from the valleys been so keenly anticipated. And the Gallery of Legends reflects the gloom. What, I asked Mr Mass, would a pair of signed Hopkins gloves in his shop bring? $399. And Calzaghe? "We don't have any." Who else then? Evander Holyfield, washed up but still punching, brings $499 for a pair; Kid Gavilan, who most young fight fans will struggle to remember was a great Cuban of the forties and fifties, is also a $499 celeb, and monument to nostalgia. But Joe Frazier, a more distinguished Philadelphian than even Hopkins, can be had for $399, as can Ricky Hatton.
Up there, though, at $499 is Stallone himself. That's the market, that's the way sellers see their boxing product in the alleged capital of the industry: a 62-year-old pretend fighter, an actor who turned Rocky into reality for some wide-eyed customers, outsells a real live boxer headlining a promotion in the actor's own casino by fully a hundred bucks.
This is a city where your worth is determined by sentiment, rather than cool judgment. On that basis, the light-heavyweight collision here on Saturday night between Calzaghe, of Newbridge, south Wales, and Hopkins, from north Philadelphia via various correctional institutions, is already a major disappointment to many interested parties.
Yet Hopkins maintains he is headed for sporting immortality. He declares than an emphatic victory over Calzaghe on Saturday night will secure his place as one of the all-time greats. He will be remembered, he says, well into his own old age - which is not far off now. He is dreaming. Hopkins is a terrific fighter. But he does not deserve a place among the greats. He might well force his way into the sport's hall of fame but no way does he measure up against some of the legends of the past - because, despite his longevity, he hasn't beaten enough formidable fighters of his era in their prime.
Pointedly, he has ducked Calzaghe for years. Let's look at the forties, for many the division's golden era. Read the names: Archie Moore, Billy Conn, Gus Lesnevich, Jimmy Bivins, Ezzard Charles, Harold Johnson - these men were outstanding 175lb fighters. Our own Freddie Mills was even ranked top of the light-heavy tree by The Ring in 1948 and 1949.
And on it went into the fifties: Harold 'Kid' Matthews, Joey Maxim, Bob Satterfield, Floyd Patterson until he moved up with the big boys, Danny Nardico, who beat La Motta. Hopkins doesn't live with these fighters at light-heavyweight.
And what about Joe, appearing at the weight for the first time? He makes no such claims for historical acclamation. He is happy to be lauded for his deeds at super-middleweight, unbeaten over 10 years and 21 defences of his title. That should be enough.
In American boxing, though, the lust is for greatness. Sometimes it's not deserved. Calzaghe has always been a model of modesty, figuratively and literally. The good-looking boy from Wales is not made of superstar stuff, was pleased in the most understated way to be honoured last year as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. It was a rare success for boxing in the wider cultural context of sports entertainment, and Joe was the perfect ambassador.
But unlike golf, which whispers, boxing shouts. Boxing has always been the embarrassing cousin come to visit. It unsettles gran. And Hopkins shouts louder than most. He is describing this fight as a cultural clash for two reasons: to shore up his sense of self worth as a black man from the ghettos of north Philadelphia, his street cred as a reformed street thug - and to shift tickets.
It's not working on either level. Using the race card is not only despicable, it's desperate. To his credit, Calzaghe won't bite. A couple of veteran American fight writers asked what I thought of the Welshman's demeanour at the final press conference on Wednesday. At first I thought his gum-chewing, smiling mien betrayed nerves. Talking with Calzaghe later, it became clear it was boredom. He is tired of the hype. He has never been good at it and now all he wants to do is fight.
Joe Calzaghe might never sell a pair of gloves in Joe Mass's little shop. But he will go home to Newbridge with his credibility intact.Comment
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Good read
Hopkins himself has been been a big draw in American. Given that he's an East coast fighter it's no real surprise that tickets are slow. Hopkins struggles to sell out Atlantic city and other such places on the East coast,Comment
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The Crushing Machine MKIIComment
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anybody know the age difference of these two guys fighting now? looks about twenty yearsSpirit Of Shankly Member 399Comment
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Dunno, but the black fella has a cracking bruise on his temple.Betfair refer and earn code: CCUPPKJHFComment
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oh man it's like a tennis ball. awesome swellingSpirit Of Shankly Member 399Comment
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