If you had any doubt that the current economy is going to seriously hamper pay-per-view buyrates for boxing, stop doubting.

When October's Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight drew around 190,000 buys, that was a big, big disappointment for HBO, Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank Promotions. They were expecting around 300,000 buys.

A lot of folks blamed various factors. The economy was one, but I think people were hoping to excuse it further by noting that Pavlik was not yet a truly established star, Hopkins has never been a big draw or a well-liked fighter, and to many, matching up a 43-year old with a 26-year old just didn't seem compelling.

Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com is reporting that the buys are in for Calzaghe-Jones, and this one is probably an even bigger disappointment.

They were projecting 500,000 buys, for some wild reason. Even a "24/7" series couldn't save this dog.

225,000. Less than half of what they hoped for.

Let's play the blame game.

The economy does factor in, and they can't do anything about that. Or could they? Could they have not offered what really WAS a non-compelling fight for $50? I ordered the fight because I found someone (a big Roy Jones fan) willing to split the cost. Both of us were OK with paying 25 bucks; but 50? Neither of us were going to do that. And I've paid for a lot of stuff I wasn't exactly jonesing to see (Diaz-Pacquiao comes to mind quickly).

Let's also not forget to give Calzaghe and Jones a big round of applause for that laughable undercard they presented the paying audience. Dan Rafael of ESPN.com noted the other day that the commission reported about 9,200 in legitimate, paid attendance at Madison Square Garden, which should also be considered pretty embarrassing. So the idea of putting New York fighters Judah, Salita and Figueroa on in uninteresting bouts didn't pay off live, either.

They overpriced a card -- live and on TV -- that wasn't good enough. I also mean no disrespect to Roy Jones, but I think another important factor to consider is the fact that boxing fans were largely not stupid enough to think that a 39-year old, clearly washed-up Roy Jones was going to be competitive against one of the best fighters on the planet.

HBO and promoters Calzaghe and Jones deserved this, period. They banked on Jones; mistake. They banked on Calzaghe; sadly, as good as Joe is, that's a mistake in the States, because his style just isn't appealing for a whole lot of people.

They banked on what anyone being honest with themselves could see was a mismatch. Mistake. They banked on boxing fans wanting to spend their hard-earned cash on a fight that really wouldn't have been all that interesting in the last five years. Big, big mistake.

But hey, if you didn't see it last week -- and it doesn't appear as though a lot of people did -- HBO will replay the totally one-sided main event tonight, coupled with Taylor-Lacy. Tune in, imagine you'd just watched about two hours of crap undercard fights, and then feel the pain I'd imagine many felt after realizing what they'd done with their money.

Scott has a real gift for being diplomatic and running a good ship here at Bad Left Hook. It's one of the main reasons this blog has thrived and expanded its reader base (it doesn't hurt that he is also a talented and prolific sports writer). But I'm not going to be so diplomatic here.

In a recent post  Scott asked, "did Joe Calzaghe prove anything last night?" I know he meant to ask what Joe proved as a boxer, and I'll get to that shortly. But one thing last night's fight proved convincingly is that no matter what Calzaghe does--no matter who he beats and however convincingly--there is a large and vocal group of fans who will take the occasion to announce that Joe is a chump. A slapper. A fight dodger. Not a real man. A coward. A wimp. A sloppy boxer. A lucky boxer. A sheltered boxer. And above all else, an asshole.

Ignoring the last point (which I sort of agree with), is anyone else but me sick and tired of this kind of talk? And with every win, the chorus just seems to get louder. When a boxer's triumphs result in increasing condemnation of his ability, rather than acknowledgment of his achievement, it's fair to ask if the situation tells us more about the haters than about the boxer. I know Scott and many others, who have judiciously criticized Calzaghe, do not fall into this set. But they exist, and there are a lot of 'em.

Is it because Joe's white? For a few, maybe, but I doubt that's it. Is it because he's not American? Somewhat, I suspect, though not really. It may be more that he's from Wales, which makes him more or less British in many American's eyes, and I do believe that American fans, for whatever reason, have a history of being biased against British fighters. No, I think the real reasons are his showboating, his mouth, and his boxing style. Jones fans, in particular, probably hated seeing Calzaghe out Jonesing Jones at his own game. But I'm going to ignore the showboating thing, which I admit sometimes irritates me too. Joe's mouth has been a subject of much discussion here at BLH, and I've already made my opinions known about that. But what about his style?

Slappy Joe. We've heard it; we've seen it. I'm not arguing that he doesn't use pitter-pat punches. He inarguably does. But when a boxer is as successful as Calzaghe has been, I think it's time to ask if there might not be more going on here than meets the eye. Which brings us to what I think Joe proved last night. I've already argued that Joe's clinches are not a sign of weakness but a powerful tool in his arsenal (the same could be said for Hopkins, though Hopkins abuses it more). His rapid light flurries are an even more powerful tool, and it's a tool more uniquely characteristic of Joe's particular genius as a fighter.

Joe's slappiness, if you will, is at the heart of his greatness. It is not a weakness but a profound strength.

It's not so much that he uses these light flurries to set up the one big blow. Rather, these light punches serve multiple purposes. For one, they are at the core of his defensive style. As we saw last night, you just can't get your thing going with so much leather in your face, even if it doesn't hurt. For one, it impedes your visibility, your ability to get a good look at the holes in your opponent's D. Joe's slappiness, along with his deft head movements, are why he is able to get away with letting his guard down so much. When opponents try to take advantage of the exposure, the flurries come. Eventually, you don't even see these openings as opening any more. You know what's coming when you try. And the commentators are left asking why you're not taking advantage of all the openings Joe is giving you.

They are also at the core of his offense. The cumulative effect of such punches is significant, as we saw most pronouncedly against Lacey. But moreover, I noticed something last night that I hadn't clearly seen before: what starts out as a slap doesn't always end up that way. Hear me out. I'm saying that a big part of Joe's punching style is the punch that is devastating precisely because it starts out light. The slappiness leads Joe's opponents to believe that they can take it all night long, waiting for the big punch. That's what Jones seemed to think, allowing Joe in and just covering up, almost rope-a-dope style at times, in the belief that he will eventually get the big blow in.

But they start to hurt much more quickly than expected. Joe starts his flurries very weak and light in order to encourage such laxity for when he wants to use his energy on the harder blows.

Watch the flurries carefully: slap, slap, slap, (opponent, feeling little pain, relaxes, but with all the leather coming at him, waits and has his offense temporarily spoiled) ... Joe sets his feet a little more and starts to bring his elbows in ... slap, slap ... bam, bam, bam. Then clinch or back off. Rinse and repeat.

Those "bams" may not have one-punch power, but they are deceptive in their ability to deal damage. Last night, this was especially true of Joe's early assault to Jones's midriff, which was brilliantly executed and took Roy's legs completely out of the fight by about round three. It was all downhill from there for Roy.

Some say Joe is an ugly fighter, and with his clinches and slaps, I can see why. But personally, I've come to appreciate and respect his style. It's subtle. It's tactical. It's energetic. And above all else, it is completely unique. For better or worse, there has never been a fighter like Joe Calzaghe. Love him or hate him, for me at least, he is a fascinating study in idiosyncrasy and eccentric ring intelligence.

Joe Calzaghe's showboating, hard-punching, blood-drawing dominance of 39-year old Roy Jones, Jr., last night at Madison Square Garden has sparked one important question, which we talked about in the live thread last night, and has been addressed by a couple of you here already.

Did Joe Calzaghe prove anything last night?

Let's ignore the boxing journalists that tried to sell you the line of B.S. about Roy Jones having a chance in this fight. They "had a feeling," they "just felt it" -- whatever. And I'm not trying to be smart-assed or jerk-y, either. But anybody that went into this fight feeling like Roy Jones had a better than, I dunno, 10% shot at beating Joe Calzaghe was (1) delirious, or (2) simply nostalgic, wishing for one more great performance from Jones, the man who inspired many to stick with the sport in the 1990s.

What happened last night -- Jones showing very brief flashes, Calzaghe outhustling him and out-quicking him with ease -- was exactly what I'd been saying would happen for weeks. Exactly what I'd been saying.

So did the 36-year old Welshman, unanimously in the world's top three pound-for-pound, prove much of anything? Did he add anything sincere to his legacy?

No, he didn't. Jones' name made this fight as big as it was, and sister, it wasn't that big. Calzaghe beat a man against whom he should have been a prohibitive, clear favorite. Calzaghe over Jones should've been thought of sort of like Obama against McCain in the state of New York -- you don't really need to wait for the precincts to report. Sure, anything can happen, but it's going to take a minor miracle.

As for the legacy part, I think of it this way. I do a little baseball scribbling, too, and Hall of Fame voters in baseball are obsessed with plateaus and flat achievements. Kirby Puckett was voted into the Hall of Fame because his great career ended early; same for the more famous, more era-revered Sandy Koufax, who came from a time (as many old boxers do) when apparently there were no flaws in the good athletes, and today's bunch could never play with them. My feelings on that load are better left for another time, but anyways...

Puckett and Koufax both deserve admittance, but Puckett's the better case for this comparison. Would he have reached 3,000 hits had his health not become such a factor? Maybe. Probably? Did he need to? No. Would it have REALLY made him a better player? Absolutely not.

3,000 hits, like this Jones win for Calzaghe, would simply have been stat-padding at the end of the career. Craig Biggio, a great player, recently did the same thing. He hung around enough to get the 3K -- he wasn't any good while he was chipping away at the mark, but that is neither here nor there, I suppose.

Calzaghe will always be able to say he beat Roy Jones. The harsh reality is that Jones-Calzaghe was not a fiscal possibility back when both were in their prime. Sort of like pitting the '27 Yankees against the Big Red Machine, it is simply a matchup we'll have to dream about.

So no, the fight and the win told us nothing about Calzaghe that we didn't already know. It's not his fault, and the win does matter because he did beat what is still a good fighter and one of the 10 best at 175 pounds. Jones, though old, is no bum. His own limitations were his downfall, but let's not forget that it was Calzaghe that pushed Jones into the ropes and the corners at his discretion, where he opened up on him with flurries, featuring some harder punches than many are used to from Calzaghe.

It was Joe Calzaghe in there making Roy Jones look that bad. Outside of the Glen Johnson beatdown, I'd call this the biggest beating Jones ever took.

What now for Roy Jones?

Let me make another thing clear, and this speaks more to why Jones should hang them up than anything else, I think. Jones' first round knockdown of Calzaghe may have been more a wrist shot than a clean punch, but that happens, and the fact of the matter is Joe Calzaghe was hurt. He wasn't punch-shoved and tumbled over like against Hopkins; Joe was hurt. When Calzaghe came back to his feet, Jones didn't press.

It is that level of hesitation and fear of taking risks that I think tells me, at least, that Roy needs to get out of the ring. He's had a phenomenal career, and he fought with guts last night. He was outgunned, fought at points simply to not get further hurt, and his corner gave him little help with a bad cut. It's time to hang it up.

Jones gave his fans hope in that first round, but it was a fool's hope. I will admit that I, too, thought the amazing might happen, but I also felt it had to happen very quickly. Otherwise Calzaghe would get his legs back, regroup, and outbox Jones. That's what happened.

Roy Jones cannot pull the trigger anymore. And there's no reason for him to keep fighting on.

Roy has done things in this sport that few will ever hope to do. Pound-for-pound king, and unquestioned, for about a decade. Titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. There aren't many guys that debut at 157 pounds that move up to win the WBA heavyweight strap.

He's made his money, and his promotional company is growing, slowly but surely. He offered no excuses last night, was gracious in defeat, and would go out fighting the man at the top. I cannot think of a single advantage for Jones to stick around. There's nothing to gain, only things to lose.

At the end of it all, the two men promised a good fight with action, and they delivered that. I can't ask for more. I hope Jones steps aside, and I hope Calzaghe fights on, because he still has a lot to offer in the ring. He may annoy me sometimes, but it's been a good while since I questioned him as a fighter. He's one of the best.

We will have MUCH more over the next two days, but for now, here's a quick results update:

Joe Calzaghe threw nearly 1,000 punches and opened up a brutal cut on Roy Jones, Jr., retaining his light heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision victory (118-109 on all three cards). Jones dropped Calzaghe in the first round -- the only round he won on any of the official cards.

Zab Judah took a lackluster ten-round decision over Ernest Johnson.

Frankie Figueroa won a contested split decision over Emanuel Augustus, 77-75 on two cards and 75-77 on the third.

Dmitriy Salita outclassed a tough and very game Derrick Campos in the PPV opener, winning a wide unanimous decision.

We'll be here LIVE tonight, starting at 9pm ET, with round-by-round coverage and scoring of all four fights televised on HBO pay-per-view. Join us!

BONUS COVERAGE WITHIN: BLH's Brickhaus went ahead and did some round-by-round for Arthur Abraham-Raul Marquez.

By deciding to split the cost with Bloody Elbow staffer Brent Brookhouse, my economic crisis concering tomorrow night's Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones, Jr. pay-per-view has been solved amicably and without much trouble. Only when I met with other great leaders could I decide on the best course of action.

That means, my friends, that Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage of Calzaghe-Jones and all three awful undercard fights. I still would genuinely encourage people to save their money; hey, I'm saving half. My selling point was that I gave strong consideration to Abraham-Marquez at $24.95, and that fight is a wipeout waiting to happen, and not nearly as intriguing as Calzaghe-Jones, nor is it as important.

So I flip-flopped, but we'll be live tomorrow night, which is good news for everyone.

Also, I'll be a special non-MMA guest on 106.7 WJFK's MMA Nation with Luke Thomas (also of Bloody Elbow) tomorrow to talk about Calzaghe-Jones. Both Luke and I are big proponents of the two sports' fanbases getting together a little more often, and it's an honor to be invited to talk boxing on the show. You can listen in with this link tomorrow; I should be on at about 6pm ET.

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory, but here are some reasons to save your money on Saturday night. To tell you the truth, I'm going to be saving mine. I will not be ordering this show.

1. Zab Judah v. Ernest Johnson on PPV is insulting

31-year old Judah, whose last credible win came in 2005 against Cory Spinks, is hardly a pay-per-view attraction anymore. 29-year old Johnson (18-2-1, 7 KO) is no threat to Judah. Johnson, nicknamed "Too Slick," has never beaten anyone of note, and his best opponent? Ernesto Zavala, probably, a wide eight-round decision loss. Asking people to pay money to see this fight on television is a slap in the face to boxing fans that are willing to pay premium prices for big fights.

2. Dmitriy Salita v. Derrick Campos on PPV is insulting

This was going to be Salita going up against titlist Andreas Kotelnik. Kotelnik pulled out. Square Ring, Jones' promotional company, had lined up feather-fisted Scot Willie Limond as a replacement. A lame fight that didn't belong on any pay-per-view, but at least Limond has been in against a few good fighters. Limond is out. Derrick Campos (17-5, 10 KO) is a 27-year old club fighter from Topeka. Asking people to pay money to see this fight on television is a slap in the face to boxing fans that are willing to pay premium prices for big fights.

3. Frankie Figueroa v. Emanuel Augustus on PPV is insulting

"El Gato" Figueroa, another of Square Ring's fighters, doesn't belong on pay-per-view. And no matter how much any of us respect Emanuel Augustus and some of the great fights from his past, he's 33 years old and a total journeyman at this point. His 38-29-6 record is a bit deceptive, but what isn't deceptive is that he's almost never beaten anyone that goes past being a gatekeeper or journeyman himself. This is, at best, a Friday Night Fights main event. Asking people to pay money to see this fight on television is a slap in the face to boxing fans that are willing to pay premium prices for big fights.

4. Roy Jones is not Roy Jones anymore

I genuinely don't see how anyone is picking Roy as a live dog in this fight. That is a "to each their own" situation, but really? Jones is 39 and it's been half a decade since he's beaten anyone that was (1) anywhere near his level, (2) in their prime, or (3) in their proper weight class. His last truly big win was Tarver in 2003, and that one had questions. Trinidad earlier this year was just a blown up welterweight who hadn't fought in almost three years. Someone looking for a vintage Jones performance need only look at that fight, where Jones felt Trinidad out, realized the man was simply too small to hurt him even if he landed decent shots, and then toyed with the smaller, rusty fighter as he pleased. Still, even when Jones was trying to look like he used to look, you could see the difference. Even the showboating looked creaky-legged and as if there was too much deliberate effort involved in making it happen.

5. Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones are to blame for this card being what it is

Paying to see Calzaghe and Jones in a years too late battle this Saturday night will do one major thing: reward the two of them for putting together a card that should be rejected by every boxing fan. The two men admirably tried to put together a pay-per-view, world class card, and do it without any real input from major promoters. They enlisted HBO. Boxing's biggest American TV outlet is supporting the card, will send their commentators to likely be very real about the dreadful undercard, and HBO even went so far as to put on a "24/7" series dedicated to the event.

Tickets in New York City are colder than the proverbial witch's titty. There's a reason for it. These two men are Hall of Fame-bound fighters, but they are still very much learning the ropes when it comes to promoting. It shows. They were both delusional and narcissistic enough to think that their fight alone was good enough.

But you can't fool the boxing fans, I don't think. We may be a loyal breed, but we are not easily fooled, either. This is Calzaghe on a very mild decline -- which still counts him as one of the best fighters on earth -- against what I believe is a clearly washed-up Jones. They offered no other bang for your buck. Frankly, I'd find it easier to pay money to see only Calzaghe-Jones, and to keep the other three meaningless fights the hell off my television. We've seen some lackluster PPV undercards, but this is a new level for what is supposed to be a major, major event.

Their PPV will surely outperform Pavlik-Hopkins, the most recent of boxing's big-time offerings. It almost can't lose that numbers race, since Pavlik-Hopkins was a major disappointment to Top Rank, Golden Boy and HBO.

But unlike Pavlik-Hopkins, at least for my money, the fight has little intrigue at all. The fight doesn't feature one of the best young fighters battling a still-great, established veteran. To go with the times, Calzaghe-Jones is simply more of the same failed policies; two older fighters that are playing it safe. They'll get their money, they'll risk nothing in their legacies, and they'll always be able to say that they fought the other man. 

But this isn't worth my money. Despite a few of my complaints, it's nothing against Calzaghe as a fighter, or even Jones as a fighter. It's absolutely something against the two of them as promoters, though. They were not prepared, and they have given themselves too much credit.

I've never done something like this before, but I'm bored, I'm going to watch every episode, and why not? That's mostly the point. Why not?

Here's how it works: I watch live, and type thoughts as I watch. Why not!

8:31: It's great to remember back when Roy Jones was unbelievable.

8:33: Enzo calling Joe the "pound-for-pound greatest boxer ever." Maybe that'll make more sense in context, because, like, come on.

8:36: Going over Calzaghe's destruction of Lacy, and his wins over Kessler and Hopkins.

8:37: Roy training to "Rockbox." Liev Schreiber saying "Rockbox." Roy rapping along to "Rockbox." Phenomenal.

8:38: Roy sitting in a barn. Now I identify with him! Calzaghe's interview portions appear to be in a castle of some sort. I have never been in a castle, but I have been in a barn.

8:40: I'll never get over watching Glen Johnson clobber Roy Jones, just hammer him down with ruthless precision. Made him look like a bum. Big wins or not (they're not, and that counts the Trinidad win people try to believe in), it's a big deal that he even came back from those knockouts to Johnson and Tarver.

8:41: "Got the Life" by Korn? Really? REALLY? I mean, it's probably Korn's best song, but that's like winning the award for best broken leg. Kelly Pavlik would disagree.

8:42: Wait -- the original Newbridge Boxing Club was in a barn. IN a barn! Well now I don't know what to do.

8:45: After watching the Calzaghes pretend to argue during a morning run, we get to watch Alton Merkinson shoot a gun. That means we're back in America, because we all shoot guns at each other.

8:46: Roy and Merk discuss archery, and Merk shoots arrows at a box. Are you yet convinced of their country nature? Can we just play Nappy Roots songs over every single Jones/Merk scene?

8:47: A shot of 350-pound Gabe Brown working out. Well, working out might be an exaggeration. Gabe will fight on the undercard. That's how strapped for an undercard they are. Everybody Roy's ever met gets 4-to-6 rounds if they ask. Gabe hasn't won a fight since 2005, by the way.

8:49: No lardos at the Calzaghe camp.

8:50: Ah, the 24/7 money shot: Boxer Driving Car. Moments later, Calzaghe at football (soccer variety) with his son, wearing a Yankees cap. Ever seen Calzaghe hold a baseball bat? Hilarious.

8:51: "Every fighter needs a good woman. ... Because we are a pain in the ass to be around." Then Joe's girlfriend relates an interest in strangling her man, while preparing dinner in those sweatpants that say PINK on the ass, with a peace sign in gold glitter on the front of the leg.

8:52: Calzaghe's son plays Guitar Hero because Joe is too cheap to spring for Rock Band. (It might've actually been Rock Band.)

8:54: I think Roy is attempting to freestyle. As usual, he sucks at rapping.

8:56: "If I lose on the 8th, who cares? But if he lose, his streak has ENDED." Not as dramatic as he wanted, I don't think. That was Oscar-level corny.

The show is over. We'll do this again next week, because it's really easy!

I'm at the point now as a boxing fan that if you want to consider me a guy that has a bias against Joe Calzaghe, go ahead. The man simply refuses to shut his yap. Here's his latest, which goes back to things he's said before, and is just as easily picked apart. Via Sporting Life:

Calzaghe, who beat Hopkins back in April, said: "I said all along Kelly Pavlik was overrated, overhyped and hadn't done anything in his career to a warrant a fight with me.

"This was evident Saturday night when Hopkins destroyed and exposed him for what he is.

"That is why I wasn't going to waste my time fighting him and went straight to a bout with Roy Jones who has proved himself time and time again that he is one of the greatest fighters in our era. I have been a champion for 11 years and I am only interested in fighting legends.

"My boxing career and record speaks for itself. This will be the biggest fight of my career as I am fighting one of the best, at the best place to fight."

Cram it, Joe. You're the same gutsy, never-turn-'em-down cham-peen of the sport that has said repeatedly you offered Kelly Pavlik a fight after you beat Jeff Lacy. Before Pavlik ever beat Taylor or Miranda or Lockett or even Jose Luis freaking Zertuche.

You're the same fighter that is trying -- and failing miserably -- to convince the boxing public that you're facing Roy Jones, Jr., on November 8, and not a hollow shell of the fighter Roy Jones once was.

Maybe if you still had Frank Warren covering for you, you wouldn't be struggling so massively to sell tickets at Madison Square Garden for this insulting card you and Roy have put together. Be proud of it, Joe, while you discover why fighters have promoters.

What do you think the U.S. PPV sales will be, Joe? What have you got to say about the fact that it took you forever and a day to leave your comfort zone for a single freaking fight?

What have you got to say about fighting a 40-year old man that hasn't beaten anyone in YEARS, when you could have made big money to fight Kelly Pavlik -- and since you're so confident you'd have beaten him, there's no excuse for it.

This isn't about talent. Joe Calzaghe has it in spades. This is about character, or a lack thereof. If Pavlik sucks so much, why did you offer an unknown middleweight a chance to fight you years ago, before he was anybody? And no doubt he'd have had to go to your backyard to do it. (Not that Calzaghe coming to the States to fight nobody Pavlik would have made any sense.)

As a fighter, I think Calzaghe is class, one of the best in the world, and that he's been in that company for a long time now. As a personality, I just can't respect him anymore. This is the same big talkin' crap I'd take Antonio Tarver to task over, and it cannot be excused just because Calzaghe is unbeaten with his fluffed-up record. When I said great fighters lose fights because they fight great opposition, I'll tell you something else: Joe Calzaghe doesn't qualify.

The most disappointing thing about this is it doesn't have to be this way. For whatever reason (fan perception, probably), Calzaghe has felt this need to attack Kelly Pavlik in recent months. I don't think Joe Calzaghe ducked Pavlik -- you can't duck a guy that's never fought your weight before. Calzaghe chose to fight Roy. That's all fine and good. When he says he wants to only fight legends, then fine. Great. That's OK.

But why talk about Pavlik almost exclusively and say he sucks, while also noting your willingness to fight him years before he mattered, and also having been so kind and allegedly impressed by his performance when he beat Taylor for the middleweight championship?

This isn't about selling a fight, because Calzaghe and Pavlik aren't going to fight. This isn't hype. This is jealousy, I think, from Calzaghe. Jealousy over the fact that he's not gotten the same amount of hype or fan excitement generated even once in his career that Kelly Pavlik has stirred up in the last year. Calzaghe may well have deserved better, but as Warren and others have said, he never went that extra mile to get it. And he's pulled out of more fights and ignored more fighters than you can shake a stick at.

But, hey, have fun with your crap card on November 8, Joe. I guarantee more people were watching last night than will be when you and Roy get together at Madison Square Garden. Too bad there isn't more to say about that fight and the atrocious undercard you're insulting the paying public with than there is about you not fighting Kelly Pavlik.

A couple of notes from Dan Rafael of ESPN on upcoming pay-per-views:

Zab Judah WILL fight on November 8 beneath Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones, and won't be coming back at 140 like some had speculated and many hoped. He'll fight at 147 pounds again, but has officially stated he plans to go down to 140 soon:

"I'm working on my weight," Judah told ESPN.com. "I started at 140 and mentally I know that is where I should be. I'm planning to go back there and dominate. I stay ready. I'll be ready. I'm just here to show my fans I am still dominant and I can put on good fights and give great entertainment."

Judah's opponent is likely to be Ernest "Too Slick" Johnson (18-2-1, 7 KO). What a crummy, waste of time undercard that's going to be.

Abner Mares is off of next weekend's Pavlik-Hopkins undercard, where he was scheduled to fight Luis Melendez in a fight that really could have been pretty exciting. Mares suffered a torn retina this week in training, and underwent surgery. Hey, no phantom injury or B.S. about that. Nothing you can do. These things happen.

Instead of Mares-Melendez, the opening bout of the televised portion of the pay-per-view will be a six-rounder featuring Golden Boy top prospect Daniel Jacobs (10-0, 9 KO) against Indianapolis fighter Jimmy Campbell (11-2, 8 KO). I'll take it. Jacobs is the real deal, and with such short notice, nothing bigger could be expected.