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BLH Fight Day & Night: Hopkins-Calzaghe, Bell-Adamek, Diaconu-Henry

It's a big day at Bad Left Hook. We're going to cover three fights today -- Diaconu-Henry starting at 1:30 PM ET on DonKingTV.com, Bell-Adamek starting at 6:00 PM ET on ESPN Classic, and Hopkins-Calzaghe starting at 9:45 ET on HBO. Join us for all day boxing fight coverage, scoring, and all-around good times.


MAIN EVENT
For The Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Title
9:45 PM ET - HBO
BERNARD HOPKINS
Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion
(48-4-1, 32 KO, Philadelphia, PA)
versus
JOE CALZAGHE
Ring Magazine/WBC/WBA/WBO Super Middleweight Champion
(44-0, 32 KO, Newbridge, Wales)

IBF Cruiserweight Title Eliminator
6:00 PM ET - ESPN Classic
O'NEIL BELL
Ring Magazine No. 3 Contender
(26-2-1, Atlanta, GA)
versus
TOMASZ ADAMEK
(33-1, 22 KO, Gilowice, Poland)

For the Interim WBC Light Heavyweight Title
1:30 PM ET - DonKingTV.com
ADRIAN DIACONU
Ring Magazine No. 8 Contender
(24-0, 15 KO, Montreal, PQ, by way of Ploesti-Prahova, Romania)
versus
CHRIS HENRY
Ring Magazine No. 10 Contender
(21-0, 17 KO, Houston, TX)


Picks:

Calzaghe UD Hopkins -- tough fight
Bell TKO-7 Adamek -- Bell's power overwhelms
Diaconu UD Henry -- think this'll be an exciting fight, and I do think Henry has a good chance

0 recs | Comment 89 comments

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Prediction
Calzaghe-Hopkins... the fight won't by pass the 12 round.

No in all seriousness, Hopkins by UD or Calzaghe by controversial Decision. However, I am leaning much more towards Hopkins.

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 9:50 AM EDT   0 recs

I'll take
Hopkins(UD), Bell(KO 6), Diaconu(UD)

by jrok on Apr 19, 2008 12:24 PM EDT   0 recs

still haven't gotten to Diaconu-Henry
The webcast is pretty good again. More kudos to Don for giving us free, live boxing. What more can you ask, really? How many more people will be watching Diaconu and Henry today than would have otherwise?

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:21 PM EDT   0 recs

pretty good fight
Viorel Simion over Rudy Encarnacion by unanimous decision.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:30 PM EDT   0 recs

Glen Johnson's on commentary
He's still claiming that only three people in the world think Dawson beat him. Complaining to that level about a competitive, good fight always rubs me the wrong way, no matter who it is.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Johnson
He wants the winner of Diaconu-Henry.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry in moments
Intros are up. The ring mics and arena sound is too loud compared to the commentators, but there are worse things.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:34 PM EDT   0 recs

man
What's wrong with America? We send a Pussycat Doll to sing the national anthem?

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:46 PM EDT   0 recs

Asked same question
I did not know what to say when I saw a red headed pussycat walking into the ring?

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 3:54 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

excellent
Romanians know as much about our anthem as we do about theirs. I don't know the words to theirs, but the song was a lot better.

Now a playing of "O Canada"? Man, come on. Let's fight. I'm stoked that Hopkins and Calzaghe decided to not play the anthems. I mean, I get it and all, but it really has nothing to do with anything.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:49 PM EDT   0 recs

My Eyes
I dunno if I can actually pay attention to the fight with that smoking blond anouncer. Now thats a KO.

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 3:51 PM EDT   0 recs

Mike Griffin is the ref
I like this ring announcer. She throws in some humor and doesn't talk all professionally. She's having a good time.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:51 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R1
I really do like this matchup. Should be a very enjoyable fight, and it's quietly another very important 175-pound fight. Politics might dictate the winner here being the WBC champion for real. Who knows? But these are two good fighters and there have been far worse matchups for title fights.

First half of the round is very much a feeling-out process. Henry wants to jab, and then go to the right hand, and Diaconu looks like he wants to work OFF of the power shots. Diaconu with a nice flurry, but Henry survives just fine and fires back with a good right hand.

Chopping right by Henry misses, and two more rights miss after that. Diaconu misses a couple. Once someone really lands some of these shots that are being thrown, it's going to blow up.

Henry's boxing out-did Diaconu this round.

Henry 10-9

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 3:56 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R2
Sheridan takes it to the TV presentation: "They're gonna show highlights of Diaconu no matter what he does."

Nice right from Diaconu, and Henry comes back with one. There's some more from Diaconu including a good body shot. There's a right from Henry over the top, and he goes back to the jab. Diaconu has a mouse under his right eye.

Body shot from Henry follows a shot upstairs from Diaconu. Henry eats a very solid right hand and that one might have hurt him a little. Shot to the body. Henry with a nice jab.

Diaconu with a low shot, borderline, and gets a warning. This one was Diaconu's round, clearly.

Diaconu 10-9
19-19

Oh right, this fight has the dreaded open scoring. Ugh.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:00 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R3
Right from Diaconu. Henry will have to get back to the jab, but Diaconu is dancing away from it very well. Body shot from Henry, a looping left to the ribcage. Diaconu with a right. Diaconu's right hands are catching Henry a little bit when he's coming in, and visually, you're generally going to think more of what Diaconu is doing.

Jab, jab, right hand misses by Henry. That was his corner instruction. Jab and throw the right hand or the uppercut. Henry is doing the stalking in this fight. Diaconu with a hard right hand that hurts Henry, and "The Shark" smells blood. Henry survives again. One of those rights that he's getting hit with are going to put him down if he doesn't adjust. Diaconu has landed that same punch two or three times, and that time was big.

Diaconu 10-9 -- not just the bigger punches, but he neutralized Henry for most of the round
Diaconu 29-28

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:04 PM EDT   0 recs

B.A.D.
Its is sad that they have better camera views and works that HBO.

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 4:08 PM EDT   0 recs

re:
I was thinking the same thing, that this camera work is notably good.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R4
Diaconu hits him again with the right, then a counter left hook that lands nicely. Diaconu looks like the faster draw here. Henry seems to be struggling to establish a rhythm and really get into what he wants to do. Diaconu's hand speed and power are doing a good job of keeping Henry out of his gameplan. Henry isn't doing a BAD job, he's just not getting anything done consistently. He'll land a jab or two, then misses the finishing touch, and usually Diaconu scores on him when that happens.

Diaconu flurries again with some good shots, totally outdoing Henry, landing square shots with power. Wild right misses for Diaconu. His round again.

Diaconu 10-9
Diaconu 39-37

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:08 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R5
Open scoring: 40-36, 39-37, 39-37 for Diaconu. No complaints other than I don't want to know.

Henry caught with a counter left and stopped in his tracks again. I don't know why Henry isn't trying to adjust yet and get something else working. Maybe force Diaconu to come to him and try to counter-punch the way he was doing in the first round. Diaconu, of course, probably saw that himself and adjusted. But Henry is losing this fight right now, and the undertow that's pulling him down isn't slowing.

Well, there's the uppercut, finally, and Henry is starting to catch him. Lots of booing from the crowd, which only means that Henry is winning the round, really. Diaconu complained about low shots, I think. Nope -- behind the head shot.

A Henry round. Inching closer to even.

Henry 10-9
Diaconu 48-47

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:12 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R6
Henry hurt about 40 seconds in by Diaconu, and that one was one that he couldn't ignore. He was stunned.

Heads collide, doesn't look like anything comes out of it.

Henry goes to work to the body, pinning Diaconu against the ropes. Good body shot when they get back to the center of the ring. Diaconu warned for a low blow now.

Left hook and a right to the body by Diaconu. Henry missing straight rights, and now Diaconu loads up on two rights upstairs. Mostly blocked, by those are big shots anyway. Heads collide again slightly. Again, nothing big.

Digging right to the body by Henry, and some uppercuts that mostly miss. Diaconu fires back, and these two are FIGHTING this round. That early Diaconu shot turned this round into a brawl.

Diaconu 10-9
Diaconu 58-56

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:16 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R7
Pretty much the fight I expected. Good pace, some good shots, and two guys that really want this fight. Both showed up to box.

Bob Sheridan tries to explain the light heavyweight title picture to us, which makes him sound bad because it's all pretty stupid, and at no point have they mentioned Bernard Hopkins.

Henry is chipping away at Diaconu and may have hurt him, because Adrian isn't fighting as hard right now. Holy Lord, Chris Henry swings with a massive right hand and misses.

Henry fights back with another good round and keeps this one close. He needs to put together round after round.

Henry 10-9
Diaconu 67-66

I think Bob Sheridan and myself have the same exact score, which is a big improvement on his Spinks-Phillips card.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:21 PM EDT   0 recs

That sucks
Im gonna have to fallow you know, the fight seemed pretty got but now the video crashed. wont even let me go back in. Stuff like this only happens when the good fight starts. God forbids it is during the bad ones

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 4:22 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R8
First minute of the round is back in Diaconu's favor. Henry is winning some rounds and keeping this a close fight, but he's not sustaining momentum.

45 seconds to go and Henry would need some huge shots to win this round. Instead, Diaconu tags him with a wicked left to the body and a searing shot upstairs. And again, he steals momentum right back from Chris Henry. Two big rights and a flurry send Henry staggering into the bell.

Whoa, Diaconu nails him a couple times after the bell, but I don't think you can blame him. Griffin didn't get proper control of the situation, and I doubt they heard the bell over the crowd.

Sheridan thinks it was a 10-8 round. I can't say the same, but I could see it. And I'm liberal with my 10-8 rounds.

Diaconu 10-9
Diaconu 77-75

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:25 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R9
Not sure that Henry had enough time to get his legs back, as Sheridan wonders, too.

The one thing I don't like about The Colonel is he tends to call a fight based on nothing BUT his scorecard. Which is why he had such an awful night with Spinks-Phillips. He was seeing a fight that apparently no one else did.

Open scores: 78-74, 77-75, 78-74 all for Diaconu. God I hate open scoring.

What I'm saying is that Sheridan is harping on the idea that Henry NEEDS to knock Diaconu down. Not really. It'd certainly be a good idea, but Bob thinks his 77-74 card is definitive.

Diaconu hits the mat on...something. This is getting pretty sloppy on his part. Honestly, he looks pretty tired. And I think Henry took this round in a nice comeback. End of the round, Henry comes on strong.

Really crap round for Diaconu. I'm wondering about his conditioning to be frank. Henry does hit hard enough to knock him out.

Henry 10-9
Diaconu 86-85

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:29 PM EDT   0 recs

Diaconu-Henry R10
Henry comes out firing, backing Diaconu down, but Adrian lands a nice counter right. There's the jab from Henry again, left hook by Diaconu is picked off by Henry.

Time called to fix Henry's glove.

And with that, the stream goes black.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:33 PM EDT   0 recs

so that's great
Pretty good fight, very close, championship rounds, and the stream dies. These things are bound to happen, of course, but couldn't it have happened during a Spinks fight instead?

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:36 PM EDT   0 recs

yeah they're having all kinds of problems
I'm getting video again but this appears to be the very start of the card.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:38 PM EDT   0 recs

actually
This has something to do with Mormeck. This is a big boner all around.

Guess we won't be finishing Diaconu-Henry.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:39 PM EDT   0 recs

It's the Bell/Adamek undercard
Somehow, it is (was -- it cut out again) showing the Bell/Adamak undercard.  Tomasz Hutkowski  vs. Blanchard Kalambay is in Poland, not Romania.

by schraubd on Apr 19, 2008 4:47 PM EDT   0 recs

wow
Weird. I saw a shot of Mormeck in a video package and I thought I saw Bell before mine cut out again, but it didn't enter my mind that somehow the Adamek-Bell undercard had interfered with the main event of the Romanian show.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 4:52 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I wonder when we'll figure out who won?
Now's when BoxRec gets to show it truly is a divine website....

by schraubd on Apr 19, 2008 4:54 PM EDT   0 recs

I know right?
I'm all over BoxRec and Google News waiting for something to filter through.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 5:00 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Screwed the Fans
First he screws the boxers now the fans. Thank You Don King.

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 5:10 PM EDT   0 recs

come on, man
This isn't Don King's fault. These things are bound to happen with webcasts. It's not the most reliable form of media. I wish it hadn't happened, too, but I think they'll learn from whatever the problem was and fix it so the same thing thing doesn't happen again.

Don King deserves a lot of credit for presenting these fights for free. He took a major hit to the wallet for Spinks-Phillips (I'd expect partially because nobody came to see it) and he bought the rights to Diaconu-Henry, a good, interesting fight, to give back to fight fans. I can't begrudge the dude in this case.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 5:12 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Diaconu UD12
No scores yet, but its on boxrec

by schraubd on Apr 19, 2008 5:16 PM EDT   0 recs

re:
Johnson-Diaconu sounds fairly interesting to me. For a guy who hasn't fought in a year and is coming back from injury, I thought Diaconu looked pretty damn good. From what we saw, anyway.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 5:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

do they have any commentary for this?
Bell's on his way out, we've had nothing but arena sound so far.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:04 PM EDT   0 recs

Fight
For some reason, this fight is not being shown on ESPN Classic where I am at. WTF?

by Matt Miller on Apr 19, 2008 6:08 PM EDT   0 recs

are you serious?
I don't know how that's even possible.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

wow, this is terrible so far, too
Sound is out now and has been terrible so far, and now they just cut out of the anthems into a commercial.

Not a great day for production.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:11 PM EDT   0 recs

uuh
And back into silence with the anthems still playing.

Come the fuck on. I understand a webcast, but this is bush league.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:12 PM EDT   0 recs

This sucks
Instead, I get Holyfield vs. Cooper.

And I'm a big Adamek fan too. Bummer.

by Matt Miller on Apr 19, 2008 6:12 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R1
We do have commentary, thank God. I don't mind watching a fight without commentary, really, but this is one where I'd prefer it. It'd be bad TV without it. Sound is really bad, frankly. The opposite of the problem that the King webcast was having. Here the commentary is too far in front.

Feeling out for a minute, both guys look loose. Right to the body from Bell. Right-left combo from Adamek, Bell hits the canvas! His knee touched, and there he went. Being out for a year could have something to do with that.

So that's a knockdown for Adamek, but Bell not hurt much.

Big right from Adamek, he seems by far the sharper of the two right now. Bell doesn't look comfortable offensively.

Adamek 10-8

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:18 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R2
Commentators don't think it was a 10-8 round. I do. Bell got nothing done and did touch the mat. Hard to give him the benefit, soft knockdown or not.

Now they mix it up a little with Adamek going to the body. Adamek with a left hook, Bell counters with a right. This hasn't popped off yet, Adamek is controlling the pace of the fight with a more refined style. Right from Adamek. He's totally dictating this fight. Bell isn't getting anything going at all. I still like his power, but he's going to have to land it.

Bell tries to load up with Adamek against the ropes, but nothing big. Bell looks flustered.

Adamek 10-9
Adamek 20-17

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:22 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R3
Bell with a low blow as Adamek holds. I think Adamek is fighting very smart. He does not want to mix power shots with Bell, and rightly so. It'll get him plastered. He's boxing from a distance and trying to sneak in power shots when he can.

There they mix up, and Bell lands what I see as the harder blow, a shot between the gloves that countered a good body shot from Tomasz.

Much more chess match-y than I expected and hoped for, but this matchup is still volatile. Bell will eventually press hard. After a year off and some bad business moves, he badly needs this win.

Bell is taking this round before Adamek lands a sharp left hand, then pops him with a right. Close round, and Bell finally looked like he got a sense of himself in there.

Bell 10-9
Adamek 29-27

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:27 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R4
Couple of good rights from Bell, and Adamek fires back with one of his own. Bell is charging in TOO far on a lot of his advances, and just getting clubbed with short little shots that don't really mean a whole lot, but do score and neutralize him, forcing him to step back out, shake it off, and start over.

Adamek slips, back to their feet.

Adamek picks off a left hook, and hits Bell with a couple of decent shots, including a stiff jab. Body shot from Bell near the ropes, but that's all that comes of it. Bell with a long right that doesn't quite get home.

If this keeps up, Adamek is going to wind up running away with this fight on the cards. He's boxing very well from a tactical standpoint, and he's actively keeping O'Neil Bell out of the fight.

Adamek 10-9
Adamek 39-36

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:30 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R5
If you haven't seen Adamek fight since the Dawson loss, as most have not, then you'd never know this was that exact same person. I still wonder what the hell was wrong with Adamek that night, but the jump to cruiserweight would definitely suggest that the weight was a serious issue at that point. He looks good, he's active, he's moving well, and he's outboxing Bell pretty routinely.

Adamek eats a right, but lands two very good left hooks. Bell again tries to get aggressive, and Adamek quells his advances. Right from Bell as he gets backed into a corner, and Adamek wisely gets away.

Adamek isn't boxing scared of Bell's power. It's not that. He's just completely taking it out of the equation. Bell has not landed one BIG punch in this fight. This is good stuff from Tomasz Adamek. I wasn't sure if he'd really work at cruiser, but if this is any indication, he'll be just fine.

Adamek closes a round he was winning with another good right hand. Bell will need to find answers, and fast.

Adamek 10-9
Adamek 49-45

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:35 PM EDT   0 recs

The fight
the last round was pretty good but is it me or do they seem to be scare to throw a punch

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 6:36 PM EDT   0 recs

re:
Adamek is boxing in a more amateur style, which suits him in this matchup. Bell just looks like he can't get a single look, which is a good mark for Adamek defensively.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:39 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R6
I'm pleasantly surprised that ESPN Classic has avoided commercials for this bout.

Adamek with an uppercut. I was reluctant to say so, but after that uppercut and then two left hooks, he is just outclassing O'Neil Bell right now.

Body shot from Bell, but that's all he gets. Adamek stumbles again, then comes back out and keeps ducking long, slow punches from Bell. Bell is starting to just look bad against Adamek. If this keeps up, it's back to the drawing board for Bell, who's not a young man anymore and has singed if not burned a few bridges in his day.

Adamek is winning this with genuine ease. He's not getting hit, scoring with his punches, and keeping Bell from doing a single thing of note.

Adamek 10-9
Adamek 59-54

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:39 PM EDT   0 recs

Bell-Adamek R7
Bell takes a couple of shots and misses a big uppercut, then scores to the body with a right. Adamek is loose, calm, and looks really focused. He sticks a jab in, makes Bell miss, and lands a couple more shots. At some point, O'Neil Bell is going to have to go for broke. The way this is going, he cannot win. Going the full 12 like this doesn't help him at all. Most favored him to win this fight, and he's getting dominated.

Honestly, I can't figure out what Bell and corner are hoping to do with this. They have to do something different, because Adamek is running away wtih this thing.

Adamek with more nice shots, right to the head and a left hook. Adamek wins another round. This was a great round for him.

Adamek 10-9
Adamek 69-63

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:42 PM EDT   0 recs

is Bell quitting?
O'Neil Bell has quit.

He has just quit. He wouldn't even look the referee in the eye.

Terrible, terrible fight for O'Neil Bell. That might be the end of the road for him. This was a horrendous performance by Bell.

He was considering moving to heavyweight -- that might be his only route anymore.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:44 PM EDT   0 recs

quite disappointing
Good performance by Adamek, but Bell just did not show up.

Tomasz Adamek TKO-7

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 6:45 PM EDT   0 recs

Hmm
Sorry the fight was a little disappointing, but it sounds like I didn't miss much.

I've been a big fan of Adamek's since Kevin and I watched him with his Polish fan base at Rosemont in Chicago on the Valuev/Barrett undercard. The energy was contagious, and the fight far outshone the main event, a predictable KO for Valuev. Adamek was outstanding, a warrior's balance of heart and technique, with credible power and good work rate. Kevin and I both walked out new fans, so I'm glad to see him back in the saddle with this big win. Here's hoping the Dawson fight was a fluke. Go Adamek!

by Matt Miller on Apr 19, 2008 7:50 PM EDT   0 recs

Yeah I like Tomasz too
This wasn't the Briggs-Adamek version of Adamek. He just effortlessly outboxed Bell to the point that Bell quit.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 7:58 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe about to go live on HBO!
I am very excited for this fight. This is a real heavy-duty, no-bullshit, two great fighters fighting for something matchup. This is the real deal.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 9:46 PM EDT   0 recs

Indeed
Pumped for this. This has all the earmarks of "history in the making."

by Matt Miller on Apr 19, 2008 9:50 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

still waiting for the intros and all
I'll tell you, this is a different type of excited for me. This isn't Marquez-Pacquiao kind of excited. This is a huge fight and I'm absolutely intrigued. I have no idea how this turns out, for one thing. And this is Calzaghe finally coming to America to fight BERNARD HOPKINS.

Here we go with the announcements.

Oh, man, I thought they were going to not do the anthems?

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:06 PM EDT   0 recs

whoa
I think Tom Jones is wasted.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:07 PM EDT   0 recs

we get Ray J.?
This is another reason I hate dueling anthems. We always come off bad. Not only does our song generally pale in comparison, but we get a way less cool singer.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:09 PM EDT   0 recs

HERE WE GO
Calzaghe on his way out, B-Hop to follow.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:11 PM EDT   0 recs

so much for boos
Crowd is pretty supportive of Joe.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:12 PM EDT   0 recs

thank you, Michael Buffer
And welcome back. For the TRUE light heavyweight championship.

Although the lineal connection is debatable. Technically Zsolt Erdei has that.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:16 PM EDT   0 recs

judges:
Ted Gimza
Adalaide Byrd
Chuck Giampa

Ref is, of course, Joe Cortez. Good team.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:16 PM EDT   0 recs

HERE WE GO!
THAT is a staredown.

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:19 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R1
It still surprises me that this is actually happening. Don't know why. There they are.

Hopkins comes in with his head down to shoot at the body, and he does it again. They tie up violently and scrap before Cortez breaks them up.

RIGHT HAND BERNARD HOPKINS

JOE CALZAGHE GOES DOWN

Right on the button. Wow!

Joe will need to keep his head. We've seen that before from Joe, as Max and Jim note.

Joe is not getting off at all. ANOTHER quick, straight right hand from Bernard. Joe misses a lunging left hook. Calzaghe is just not punching much at all. They tie up again.

More dancing, Joe throwing a punch at a time, and again they clinch. Blood on Calzaghe's nose.

Well -- that told us something, didn't it? Manny says Calzaghe might've won the round without a knockdown. He wouldn't have.

Hopkins 10-8

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:23 PM EDT   0 recs

Hate to say it....
Hate to say but this is what separates the men from the boys

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Apr 19, 2008 10:23 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R2
Hopkins charges with the right to the body again, but Joe ties him up. Left to the body from Calzaghe, they tie up again.

Another clinch that Cortez has to break up.

Left from Calzaghe, Bernard fires back with a right, and they tie up again.

And they tie up again.

Hopkins pops Calzaghe, another straight right, and they tie up again.

Left from Joe, right from Bernard, and now they trade some. They tie up again. This is getting ugly. It's not fightless clinching, but it's a lot of clinching, as one would expect. Bernard wants nothing to do with a punch trade, and I'll tell you what, Joe is winning this round.

Joe gets warned for a low blow. Looked very accidental since it came from Hopkins aggressively forcing a clinch.

And they clinch again. Bernard is not letting this be a fight. That's Bernard Hopkins. One of Calzaghe's missions in beating Hopkins is finding a way out of that.

Calzaghe 10-9
Hopkins 19-18

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:27 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R3
Hopkins with a jab, Calzaghe with a lead left, it lands, and Bernard clinches again.

Hopkins with three rights to the body before Cortez intervenes on the clinch. It's going to be tough for me to score these rounds for Bernard with the way he's fighting. I mean, I know that's him, but Calzaghe is trying to fight him, you know?

Hopkins is landing better punches, though. He got in an uppercut in another clinch, and every time Joe starts letting the leather fly, Bernard cuts him off with a hug if he has to.

Calzaghe throws some stuff, Bernard goes to the body a couple times, and they tie up again.

And they tie up again.

Lead right by Hopkins misses, they tie up again. What I'm seeing here is an even fight, a totally mental fight, that is slowly starting to lean Calzaghe's way.

Hopkins eats a couple lefts in the clinch, and Cortez warns Joe. Now both land in a short exchange, Calzaghe getting the better of it.

Even through three on my card.

Calzaghe 10-9
28-28

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R4
Enzo tells Joe to step it up. Freddie tells Bernard that Calzaghe's a sucker for the right hand. Harold has it 29-27 for Bernard.

Lead right from Bernard doesn't land. He comes in again moments later and eats a flurry to the body from Calzaghe before again clinching and disrupting the rhythm.

Joe with some more hand speed stuff, and I think he's starting to find his swagger a bit.

Calzaghe tied up again, and there's the rough stuff. Joe Cortez stops the fight momentarily to read both the riot act and threaten DQs.

Calzaghe drops his hands to dare him to come in. Getting Bernard overconfident mgiht be the best thign Joe can do.

Hopkins comes off the ropes with counter punches, Joe lands some slapping stuff. Bernard is landing better shots. This is a really interesting fight.

Three punch combo by Calzaghe, and a Bernard counter right falls short. Now they're fighting a little bit near the corner.

Short left catches Hopkins at the bell. Another close round, and I still like where this is gong for Calzaghe. He's landing more punches. A lot more, in fact.

Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe 38-37

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:35 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R5
There are moments in the last half of the fourth round and here at the start of the fifth where Bernard doesn't look like he's on his game, doesn't look like he's got Joe figured out anymore, and looks like he's been figured out.

Couple of quick shots by Calzaghe. Three punches in the corner, and then a shot with Hopkins against the ropes, a nice left hand.

Calzaghe's speed is starting to make a big difference. Bernard ties him up before it can get too bad, but when Joe gets a chance to throw those punches, they're landing, and they're scoring. Calzaghe is too fast for Hopkins. We all knew that.

Right to the body by Hopkins, but too little to win the round. Calzaghe's getting on a roll. He pops him with a hard left just before the bell.

Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe 48-46

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:39 PM EDT   0 recs

Hopkins-Calzaghe R6
Manny: "This could be a difficult fight to score." That's an understatement.

Calzaghe's left is now pretty consistently landing to the head. Bernard with a quick flurry, but Calzaghe shimmies away from getting hurt by anything.

Calzaghe has all the momentum. He's scoring and Hopkins is not. Counter left from Hopkins.

Joe with a big flurry of leather toward the end of the round, and Cortez basically tosses him aside to pull him away at the bell. He was winning a close round and put emphasis on it at the end.

Man, Hopkins is breathing really heavy in the corner.

Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe 58-55

by SC on Apr 19, 2008 10:43 PM EDT   0 recs

Cortez
I think Joe Cortez is going to request some gloves for himself in a bit.