NEW YORK, NY (October 28, 2008)–Less than two weeks from now, the worlds of two of boxing’s greatest fighters, Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr., will collide in the ring in “Battle of the Superpowers” November 8 at Madison Square Garden and live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Both fighters are deep in training as they buckle down for their final days of preparation. Calzaghe, in his modest gym in Newbridge, Wales, and Jones in rural California, Pennsylvania; two different settings equally fit for shaping a champion. Below are both fighters’ thoughts as the fight quickly approaches:
ROY JONES:
“Fighting Joe makes you get up, because when you sleep at night, you dream about him punching. You lay down to bed you thinking ‘oh goodness, I got to be doing something because he punching right now.
“When you wake up in the morning you say ‘Oh gosh I’m already hours behind, he’s probably been up for an hour already’ so you got to get out of bed because you know he’s somewhere punching. That’s all he does is punch so you know he is somewhere punching. So you got to get up and go if you are going to keep up. You really have to get up at 4:00 am to keep ahead of him. So it’s very difficult but hey it helps because it makes you get up off your behind. Days you don’t want to get up, you get up because you know Joe is out there somewhere punching.
“You have to draw a mental picture of what you want to be on fight day. And everyday you should be doing something to draw closer to that picture. Today was an endurance day, a day that’s going to be most critical in the fight because Joe is capable of doing a lot of things–you have to change your rhythm, change your pace because he throws so many punches. He isn’t going to care whether you are tired or not. He isn’t tripping off that, he hopes you are tired. He’s still throwing 110 a round; he doesn’t care what you do. You have to be able to change up and adjust to that.
“It seems like I have had five different careers. That has been my life. Take a knock out and get back up. I am stronger than I was before.
(On doing business with Calzaghe)
“For me, it’s easy. Business is 50/50. We tell each other like it is and like it should be. It is not weird. We don’t have anyone who owns us. We are our own people. We did not need a mediator to make the fight happen. However, we might need a mediator to get me off of him on November 8th.
“Calzaghe is thinking, ‘If Roy Jones hasn’t completely turned back into his old self, I have a chance of winning.’ “At this fight, you will see Roy Jones and you will see Joe Calzaghe. You will see who wins and who loses. You will see greatness.
“Joe Calzaghe’s style of fighting is different than mine. Calzaghe punches more than anyone I have ever seen.
(On his personal choices)
“My biggest regret in my career is that I didn’t show my face more. Who wouldn’t want to see this face? I denied a lot of people a lot of smiles. I’ve been cheating all of us the extra baggage like I used to give, because my heart was not in it. My bag of tricks is back open. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
“I am excited to fight at Madison Square Garden. It is the biggest fight in the best place. It really is the Mecca. I used to hate fighting in New York because it is cold, but global warming changed things.
“I am a little smarter and older and I realize that when you have God fighting for you, nothing can go wrong.
“My little sister tells me, that I am God’s comedian. My life is having fun and making people laugh. If I’m not having fun, I’m not being me.
“When I was on top, I saw everything and everyone within four weight classes of me. If they didn’t have their eyes on me, I had mine on them.
“Who doesn’t want to fight me? This definitely has to be one of the best fights of Calzaghe’s career. People have been telling him to fight me for years.
“I’ve got a fair heart. Boxing is not a sport for someone with a fair heart. I am a fighter. I can’t play in the World Series. I can’t play in the Super Bowl. I can’t play in the NBA Finals, but I can still fight like hell.”
JOE CALZAGHE:
“Roy Jones can get a southpaw, but it’s not going to be me–Jones is going to be very clever. You try to get fighters that are quick, but it’s not exactly going to be like the guy you are fighting.
“I am a come-forward, very aggressive fighter. I can box as well, mix up my style but first thing is I like to get stuck in, I like to get involved in a war. That’s just my heart. That’s the way I fight, that’s what I’ve always done. Sometimes it’s not the smartest thing to do, but that’s what I’m all about. I want to give the fans value for money at the end of the day–this is it. This is everything to me. This fight is everything to me still. It’s just as important to me as my first defense.
“I’m just as hungry for this fight as for my first fight. So make no mistakes about it. I’m going in to do a good job.
“I feel like I’m going to go in there and do what I do best. I’m not really concerned with what Roy Jones brings to the table; I’m concerned with what Joe Calzaghe brings to the table. And if I bring my “A” game, then it’s game over.
“It all comes down who wants it, who wants it most. And I don’t believe anyone wants to win as much as I want to win. And that’s been the secret to being champ for so long. I leave everything in the ring. And I will leave everything in the ring on November the 8th, believe me. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to lose this fight. I will not lose.
“I just want to go in and win this fight. I’ve been boxing for 25 years, and I just feel like I don’t want to fight anymore after this fight. I think that it’s important for me to end at the top. Hardly any fighter has managed to do that. To be undefeated for 46 fights would be amazing. I basically have beaten everybody to beat and I don’t think there’s anything else to achieve.
“I train less as I get older. I fight about twice a year, so I suppose half the year I’m not doing much. I’ve probably been training for the last like 10-12 weeks, so I’m in great shape.
“I basically picked my last two opponents and they were the most difficult opponents I could pick. Number one was Mikkel Kessler. I took care of business there, and I could still maintain middleweight. I basically drove him to the challenge and I always knew Hopkins would be a perfect style for me, but I went to America for Hopkins and came out on top there. As far as I’m concerned I fought the best fight I’ve been able to fight.
“I can’t just fight the way I fought against Hopkins against Jones. Style makes fights. I always knew Hopkins had a style I wouldn’t like. He’s very defensive. He doesn’t throw many punches. He waited for me to lead and I felt I almost had to force the fight. If I didn’t come forward there wouldn’t have been a fight. I think everybody would have walked out halfway through. Roy Jones likes to be a showman. He
likes to fight. He likes to try and dazzle so I think that’ll play into my hands because he isn’t going to stay back, stay back, stay back.
“It’s difficult to stay motivated as you get older. And that’s part of the reason I’m going to retire. I think physically I feel just as good as I felt five years ago, but I think mentally it’s more difficult. The more you achieve in boxing and the more fights you have, it’s more difficult. That’s why I need big fights, like Kessler, Hopkins and now Roy Jones. I need these fights. I honestly believe after this fight there’s nothing really for me to go for, nothing to get excited about.
(On having being a part of Calzaghe/Jones 24/7)
“They’re (the cameramen) like part of the furniture now, so I just ignore them. I just carry on and they’re pretty cool. When I tell them to turn the cameras off, they turn the cameras off. But I suppose it’s what you have to do to, they want to sell the Pay-Per-View and make this a massive fight.
“I’m in better shape for this fight than I was in my last fight. With Hopkins, not everything went according to plan. Sparring wasn’t great. I had a few injuries and a few little things along the way and I wasn’t 100 percent. But for this fight, I’m feeling much better, much more positive.
“My hands feel great going into this fight. I realized I have to make Jones respect my punching power. I feel confident that I’ll be able to cause some damage with my two good hands. I’m going into this fight, not just to throw 1,000 punches. I’m going into the ring to cause some damage.
(On remaining undefeated)
“It’s very important. It’s very, very important. Rocky Marciano is one guy who we think of as one of the most famous guys to retire as an undefeated champion. So being two weeks short of 11 years and to be undisputed champion in the middleweight is something I’ve been waiting to achieve.
“I just believe that if I fight my best fight like I did against Kessler and Lacy, he has no chance. I think Roy Jones is still Roy Jones, the guy is still a legend in the ring. He still has speed, he still has power. I’m not underestimating this guy; I think he’s still a formidable opponent. Okay, he may not be as good as he once was, but am I as good as I once was? Who knows? We’ll wait and see on November the 8th.”
Calzaghe vs. Jones “Battle of the Superpowers” is a 12-rounder for the Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Championship belt. Promoted by Square Ring, Inc. and Calzaghe Promotions in association with Madison Square Garden, Calzaghe vs. Jones will take place November 8, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets priced at $1500, $1000, $750, $500, $250 and $150, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or online at ticketmaster.com.
HBO’s all-access reality series “Calzaghe/Jones 24/7” returns with an all new episode this Sunday, Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. Episode one can be seen on HBO ON DEMAND.
Tony Quigley’s Tall Order
Former amateur standout Tony Quigley has been added to promoter Frank Maloney’s big boxing show taking place at Robin Park Centre in Wigan, England on Friday, November 7 but the super middleweight must clear a high hurdle if he is to advance upon his quest to win a domestic title.
The 24 year old product of famed Liverpool institution Tower Hill ABC has racked up a 11-1 (4) mark since turning professional in 2004 and has strung together four consecutive victories since the lone black mark on his career, a loss to current Commonwealth light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly, two years ago.
Quigley is coming off a good win over durable London based Ghanaian Ayitey Powers in June but must now overcome the challenge posed by six foot three inch tall Welshman Nathan King in a scheduled six round bout.
King, 12-11 (1), is noted for his ability to take a punch, an asset that has led to countless hours serving as the chief sparring partner to long-time world champion Joe Calzaghe, and the 27 year old from Mountain Ash, Wales narrowly missed derailing the comeback of ex-British titlist Tony Dodson last month by a single point.
In a classic boxer vs. brawler match-up, King will try to force the Liverpool prospect into the kind of high stakes trench warfare that nearly toppled Dodson and Quigley must punish his rival with a hail of leather if he is to come through this dangerous bout against a man with nothing to lose.
While it’s impossible to predict which fighter will emerge the victor on November 7, it’s a certainty that fans in attendance at Robin Park Centre will witness an exciting test of wills in this compelling small hall barn burner.
Frank Maloney Promotions presents “The Explosive Thin Men”, featuring Andy Bell vs. Lee Haskins for the Super Flyweight Championship of Britain, supported by full undercard, at Robin Park Centre in Wigan, England on Friday, November 7, 2008.
Tickets are priced at £70 and £30 and are available by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508.
Sky Sports will televise the action live on SS1 starting at 9:30pm.