Joe Calzaghe against Bernard Hopkins - a "Superfight" for 2004?

By Murali Para

09.10 - A match between Joe Calzaghe, undefeated WBO supermiddleweight champion, and Bernard Hopkins - undisputed middleweight king - has been contemplated for some time now. It looked to be a real possibility last year when negotiations for the fight appeared to be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. What happened to cause these negotiations to stall is a matter of speculation. Some people say Hopkins was unhappy with his purse split because he had not realised Don King would have to take his own cut out of it. Others claim that Frank Warren - Calzaghe's promoter - was demanding options on Hopkins following a potential Calzaghe fight and this aspect of the deal was what Hopkins objected to. It is difficult to say unless you were at the negotiating table and I don't have any inside information here. What I would say though is that both fighters are still talking about the fight. And Calzaghe's 2nd-round stoppage of former WBA champ Byron Mitchell in June of this year has heightened interest in this match-up in the boxing world. I think most fight fans would welcome the fight and - like Lewis-Holyfield - it seems to be one of those British-American clashes that has people very much divided in their opinions of who would triumph. I believe the fight could be one of the most exciting of 2004 if it could be made. I wanted to look at the form and the qualities of the two champions and consider how they might match up stylistically.

Let's start with Joe Calzaghe, 36-0 (29). Following his recent knockout of Byron Mitchell, he has been installed as the no1 in the world at 168 pounds by Ring magazine, Boxing Monthly and several other independent sources. It now seems that those who rate the fading Sven Ottke as the no1 are in the minority. Calzaghe has held the WBO supermiddleweight title since he beat Chris Eubank in 1997 and has beaten a total of 5 former world champions - Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, Richie Woodhall, Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell - two of these by stoppage.

Calzaghe's strengths are his fast hands, decent power, good chin and impressive work-rate and conditioning. Many would claim that Eubank and Brewer were slightly beyond their prime when Joe fought them but what you cannot dispute is that these fights were very one-sided in Calzaghe's favour. Calzaghe outfought both of these strong fighters in a very convincing manner, dropping Eubank in the opening round of their fight. Calzaghe is difficult to beat to the punch and his speedy barrages of shots make him a very tough opponent. His good chin is underlined by the fact that his knockdown against Mitchell was his first - as amateur or pro - and that he got up off the canvas to drop Mitchell only moments later. What is perhaps true is that, like many southpaws, Joe can sometimes be vulnerable to right hands. We saw this in his fight with Robin Reid but - although this was a somewhat below-par performance by Calzaghe's standards - I still felt that the win was a clear one. Furthermore Calzaghe's chin is so good that usually this has not been a problem and Joe's hand speed and combinations mean that he has always been able to outland and overwhelm his opposition. With his recent 2nd-round stoppages of Pudwill and Mitchell - both fighters who took Ottke to points - Calzaghe is at the height of his powers and a formidable opponent.

Bernard "the Executioner" Hopkins, 42-2-1 (31), is the undisputed middleweight champion of the world and, until Roy Jones beat John Ruiz, he was Ring magazine's long-standing pound for pound no1. Few people would dispute that Hopkins is the no1 fighter at 160 pounds following his impressive picking apart of Felix Trinidad over 12 rounds some two years ago. Hopkins has broken Carlos Monzon's record for number of middleweight defences - although for much of his reign he defended only one portion of the title - and most consider him one of the all-time great middleweights.

Hopkins uses good combinations and has a sound defence and decent movement. Despite two knockdowns in his first fight with Segundo Mercado and one after the bell against Echols, Hopkins' chin is mostly reliable. Hopkins' defining fight is his win over Felix "Tito" Trinidad in 2001, when the unbeaten Trinidad was the favourite and was considered one of the pound for pound elite. Hopkins surprised most people by outmanoeuvring the hard-hitting Trinidad and beating him decisively via 12th-round stoppage. Hopkins hit Tito constantly with jabs and counter rights throughout the fight. In terms of boxing skills, Bernard is very sound. Where he might be somewhat overrated I feel is his power. Hopkins' approach seems to be to break down an opponent technically over the course of the fight as he did with Echols in 10 rounds, Glen Johnson in 11 rounds and Carl Daniels in 10 rounds. In terms of recent form, Hopkins has looked reasonable but not spectacular. He has fought only once a year so far in 2002 and 2003 against Carl Daniels and Morrade Hakkar, quite average opposition considering that Hopkins has been linked to fights with Toney and Calzaghe. There are however no signs of Hopkins slowing up at the age of 38 and, as a late-developer, he is very much in his prime. If anything I think Hopkins looked sharper in his last fight than he did against Daniels.

The way I see it this fight will be a match-up of two well-schooled, technically adept fighters who both have many strengths. But I think Calzaghe has too much for Hopkins in his present form. The only time recently when I thought that Hopkins might have had a chance against Calzaghe was after Joe's performance against Miguel Jimenez where hand injuries adversely affected his showing. But the Calzaghe who beat Brewer and Mitchell is a different fighter. His speedy barrages of punches and solid left hooks would overwhelm Hopkins who would be outworked over the course of the fight. Hopkins' defence might pose a few problems for Calzaghe initially but Calzaghe's superior firepower would prove too much for Hopkins eventually. Similarly Hopkins' ring movement might make him elusive at times and he might land some of his clever counters but he doesn't have the power to hurt Calzaghe unless he could land multiple combinations - something I don't think Calzaghe would allow him to do. As Bernard has a very good chin it is likely that he might last the distance but a late stoppage for Calzaghe is a distinct possibility as well. So my reading of the fight is that Calzaghe would overwhelm Hopkins and outwork him for a clear unanimous decision or late stoppage.

But whatever the outcome it would be a fascinating encounter.