CALZAGHE COMES OFF THE CANVAS TO BUST ROY JONES JR
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 Nov 2008
Undefeated Joe Calzaghe, the proud but gentle Welshman came off the canvas in the opening round to wear down Roy Jones Jr after the first two rounds to bust the one-time world?s No. 1 pound-for-pound icon at New York ?s famed Madison Square Garden , Sunday, Manila Time in a fight telecast by the ABS-CBN cable sports channel "Balls".
With the win the 36 year old Calzaghe retained his Ring Magazine light heavyweight title which in the face of the many controversies surrounding the world boxing organizations appears to be gaining wider recognition among fighters and fight fans since it also saves them sometimes ridiculous sanction fees.
Jones dropped Calzaghe with a big right hand in round one but Calzaghe showing the same tremendous heart he demonstrated when he got off the canvas to beat another legend Bernard ?The Executioner" Hopkins fought back furiously to turn the tide and dominate the fight with his unorthodox style and sheer volume of punches.
Jones, apparently caught in two minds of whether to press the action or back off and take his time, stood in the center of the ring for a few moments when the bell sounded and looked at Calzaghe.
Jones hurt Calzaghe again with a big right hand after the Welshman cornered him and threw a flurry of seemingly pitter-patter punches in the neutral corner.
That set the tone for Calzaghe's come back as he continued to hammer Jones to the body and catch him with several combinations to the head in round three and picked up the tempo of the fight. In round five Calzaghe was clearly beginning to turn the fight around as Jones' age began to tell even as Calzaghe's punches began to get more effective.
In between rounds Calzaghe's father/trainer Enzo told him "don't be careless" as his son kept his hands down and often stuck his chin out virtually mocking Jones even as he shimmied when Jones connected, pretending to be wobbly.
When Jones was cut on his eyelid below the left eyebrow and Calzaghe began to slice him up with his punches Bernard Hopkins who was at ringside probably began to realize that a megabuck rematch with Jones who beat him once in his career was slipping away.
Going inro round eight Calzaghe had the momentum and the sheer volume of punches (210-98) was enough to make the difference after thge first round knockdown. Jones was beginning to show his age (39) as Calzaghe had another good round to lead on the unofficial scorecard of the TV panel of Dave Bontempo and Tony Page 77-74.
Doctors checked Jones' cut which was bleeding once again but allowed the fight to continue as Calzaghe continued to dominate. Showing his tremendous physical condition Calzaghe began to punish Jones with impunity as the doctors took another look at the cut.
Jones connected with a rare right hand but the undefeated champion was in command at the end of the penultimate round. Jones needed a knockout to win but he didn't have the legs, the speed or the power to accomplish what he needed and Calzaghe stood his ground secure in the thought that his unbeaten record would remain.
Most of the fight - after the first two rounds - Calzaghe overwhelmingly outpunched Jones by a wider than 2 to 1 margin with the official punch stats registering a whopping 344-159 in punches landed in favor of Calzaghe. The the respected TV panelists had the Welshman the winner by a lopsided 117-110 with all three judges Julie Lederman, Jerry Roth and Terry O' Connor giving Calzaghe an even wider 118-109 margin.
With the triumph Calzaghe improves to 46-0 with 32 knockouts while Jones drops to 52-5 with 38 knockouts.
Calzaghe said in a post-fight interview by Max Kellerman that he "didn't see the punch coming. It was a good shot but by the end of the day its the fourth time i've been down. I come out stronger, compose myself."
When asked whether it was his last fight Jones replied he would "go back and talk to my team, talk to my family and see how I feel. If I feel good I will still continue to fight if I don't feel good I won't fight anymore. I did my best and I lost to a better man."
Top photo: Joe Calzaghe of the United Kingdom (R) and Roy Jones, Jr. of the United States meet at the center of the ring before more than 14,000 fans at the Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Photo by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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