'Legend killer' Calzaghe defeats Hopkins in split decision
Welshman Joe Calzaghe continued his superb year after he bounced back from a first-round knockdown to claim a contentious split decision victory over Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Roy Jones is next in Calzaghe's sights.
The 36-year-old Welshman was downed by a right hand in the opening exchanges and struggled to find his range early on.
Hopkins, 43, continued to have success with his right, but Calzaghe outworked him in the latter half of the fight.
One judge scored it 114-113 to Hopkins, but the two others saw Calzaghe winning by wide margins of 115-112 and 116-111.
The win extends the Newbridge southpaw's unbeaten record to 45 fights, while Philadelphia's Hopkins falls to 48 wins, five defeats and one draw.
Calzaghe said: "It was one of the toughest fights of my career.
"He is very clever. He was so awkward. It wasn't pretty, but I won the fight.
"I'm a legend killer - I just finished B-Hop, maybe Roy Jones is next."
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Posted by GamingNut – 22 Apr 2008, 3:55 AM
What is with all these guys calling themselves Legend Killers now? Not to say it isn't true or unwarranted, but it is getting kind of cliche. Also, he had an obvious advantage by being a bit younger and arguably in better shape as well.