Fans at New York City's Madison
Square Garden were treated to a classic Joe Calzaghe performance
Saturday night as "The Italian Dragon" manhandled
a faded Roy Jones, Jr. for a unanimous decision victory.
The bout began in similar fashion
to Calzaghe's last as the Welshman tumbled to the canvas
from a first round counter punch. However, unlike the
perfectly timed straight right he ate from Bernard Hopkins
in April, it was more forearm than fist from Jones that
dumped Calzaghe to the canvas this go 'round. Whatever
the case, the blow led to a referree declared knockdown
and again put Calzaghe in an early hole.
As the rounds ticked by Calzaghe's
fortunes changed drastically. Sticking his face between
Jones' gloves, dancing with his hands at his sides, and
peppering the former pound for pound great with a variety
of punches Calzaghe was in total control from the third
round on. A seventh round Calzaghe blow opened a cut on
Jones' left eye that poured blood for the remainder of
the bout. Sensing Jones' hope for a victory dimish almost
completely, Calzaghe cruised to the victory winning every
round on every scorecard save the first.
For his part, Jones fought hard, never
threw in the towel, and gave the crowd its money's worth.
However, it was apparent early and often that the Roy
Jones of the 1990s was nowhere to be found.
With the victory Calzaghe cements
himself as "The Man" at both 175 lbs, where
this bout and his last against Hopkins was fought, and
168, where he dominated for a decade. It also sets the
table for Calzaghe to walk away from the sport undefeated,
an accomplishment very, very few can claim. Whether or
not he chooses that destiny or instead fights another
day, his legacy can only grow more impressive.
Calzaghe moves to
46-0 (32 KO)
Jones falls to 52-5
(38 KO)
Here is the official
scoring of the fight:
118-110 (All Three
Judges for Calzaghe)
My Scoring of the
Fight:
| Round |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Total |
| Jones |
10 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
110 |
| Calzaghe |
8 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
117 |
Quote of the Night:
"Opponents of Kevin Kelly
should have just gone to dinner with him. This is turning
violent." - Jim Lampley in regard to the trajectory
boxing matches take when friends face off in the ring.
Taylor and Lacy were former Olympic teammates and roommates.
|
