By Cliff Rold

For years, many in America refused to acknowledge the exceptional gifts and rugged professionalism of Joe Calzaghe.  Even in recent years, as questions about his quality of competition were cast aside in spectacular victories against undefeated Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler and in an intellectual duel with the legendary Bernard Hopkins, there remained doubters.

Let them doubt no more.

While it may not have been the prime version, 36-year old Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight titlist Joe Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KO) took apart the most motivated and steady version of Roy Jones Jr. (52-5, 38 KO) the world had seen in years on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.  The unanimous decision was a mere formality and Calzaghe overcame an early knockdown to win almost every round thereafter, leaving the 39-year old Jones, a former champion at Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight, beaten and bloody at the end of twelve rounds.

Both Calzaghe and Jones came in just shy of the Light Heavyweight limit at 174 ½ lbs. 

Prior to the opening bell, chants of “RJ…USA!” were quickly drowned out by a mass of Wales faithful chanting “Who are you?” at the former Pound-for-Pound king.  It was but a warm-up for a blood curdling roar as Calzaghe made his way to the ring which itself was nothing compared to a rendition of the U.S. National Anthem that brought all sides to their feet and singing, flush still with the glow of history achieved in the states earlier this week with the Presidential election victory of Barack Obama. 

The feeling of a superfight was in the air.  The first three minutes even made it feel possible.

At the opening bell, it was Calzaghe who came forward, firing and missing a darting left from his familiar southpaw stance.  Moments later, he would back Jones into the challenger’s corner and land the same punch, adding a pair to the body as well.  Calzaghe continued to fire in combination but then, just as had been the case in April against Bernard Hopkins in the opening round, Calzaghe’s aggression left him at risk.  With less than a minute to go, Calzaghe was dropped at center ring and appeared seriously hurt not by a punch but, as replays would show, from a just missed punch turned harder forearm across his face.  Calzaghe rose as the referee doled out the mandatory eight-count, quickly collecting himself and attempting to fire as the bell sounded.

Calzaghe showed no ill effects from the opening stanza, dominating the second and third rounds for most of the three minutes of each, though Roy would have his moments with hard right hand counters.  Calzaghe’s trademark punch output was on full display and he ripped Jones to the body, mixing in straight right hands and taunting Jones in much the fashion Jones taunted so many through the years.  Calzaghe repeatedly dropped his hands, placing his face in Jones chest and daring Jones to hit him.  At the end of the third, a hip shimmy from Calzaghe left both men in a lengthy staredown.

Calzaghe continued to toy with Jones in the fourth.  His hands held high, Jones sought single hard shots but Calzaghe was crisp, digging the right to the body and threading his defenses with the left, outlanding Jones by literally dozens of shots.  The taunts continued as well, Calzaghe dropping his hands and allowing Roy a free left and right hand before another shimmy and a closing bell.  The trend would get no better in round five, Roy forced to play off the ropes as Calzaghe rained blows down on him from all angles, still teasing Roy with his fists occasionally at his waist.  Ever possessing the heart of a champion, Roy opened up in the final moments, landing a hard right and left.  Calzaghe handled both punches.

Jones would again respond late in round six, the slowest paced of the bout to that point.  A right uppercut landed flush in the final seconds, ripping Calzaghe’s head upwards and sending sweat flying, but it would be his only notable blow.  Calzaghe boxed forcefully in the minutes and seconds prior, popping his right jab and consistently firing downstairs.

The punishment to Jones would get worse in the seventh.  His face swelling and bruised, Jones started the round with renewed vigor, taking the bout to mid-ring and using his jab.   He couldn’t keep it there as the tornado of leather from Calzaghe continued.  Late in the round, a right hand stunned Jones and Calzaghe opened up, chasing Jones along the ropes, testing the chance for a stoppage.  Jones stayed on his feet but headed to the corner with a nasty gash over his left eye.

With his traveling faithful full-throated in chanting “Super Joe…Super Joe Calzaghe!” the Welshman’s control extended through both the eighth and ninth rounds.  At the halfway point of the latter, Joe had Roy again on the ropes, landing a pair of straight right-left combinations.  In the final thirty seconds, he would add a pair of sweeping right hooks.

The great Jones though still showed no quit, snapping a right uppercut inside early in round ten, but again Calzaghe stood up to the punch and it would be the sum of Roy’s effective offense in the round as Calzaghe continued to pile on points.  As had been customary in several of the previous round, the ring doctor took extra time to inspect the steady stream of blood over Jones’ left eye prior to the eleventh, deeming him once again fit to continue as Roy assured him he had plenty of fight left, but the fight seemed purely in his heart as his body offered little which could lead to victory.  Adding insult to injury, Calzaghe even went so far as to quickly cock his hands behind his back in the pose of a fighting cock before sticking Jones with a quick right jab, one of the most familiar trademarks of the Jones’ prime.

Ring announcer Michael Buffer announced to the Garden crowd at the end of the final bell to forget the scorecards and give a round of applause to two future Hall of Famers, an acknowledgement of the near certainty of Calzaghe’s victory.  The crowd obliged and the final three minutes of perhaps both men’s careers got under way.

It wasn’t particularly memorable, a slower version of the previous rounds, Calzaghe landing in combination and Jones offering the occasional shot, perhaps content with the moral victory of hearing the final bell.  If such was the case, he achieved that goal and showed immediate class, embracing both Calzaghe and the champion’s father/trainer Enzo.  The scores were unanimous at 118-109 across the board.

Calzaghe, who had hinted before the fight that he might be headed for retirement with a win was non-committal in the post-fight comments but seemed to reject questions about a possible fight with 26-year old WBC Light Heavyweight titlist Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KO).  The possibility will certainly exist for a rematch with Bernard Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KO), who looked spectacular mere weeks ago in undressing Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, if Calzaghe should continue.

Jones was gracious in defeat and also non-committal about the future.  At age 39, it’s difficult to envision much of one though.  If Calzaghe makes his exit a rematch with Hopkins for one last big payday wouldn’t seem out of the question, and Roy’s future as a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame certainly didn’t suffer in defeat.

In the end, the early hopes for a superfight gave way only to further confirmation of a super fighter.  Joe Calzaghe may have taken years to make his way to America, but he’s done more than enough, including a decade long reign at Super Middleweight, to prove his place among the best of the world, his era and all-time.

Listless throughout an undercard that lived down to expectations, the crowd was suddenly fired up one fight removed from the main event, fans coming to their feet as 31-year old former World Welterweight champion and Brooklyn local Zab Judah (37-6, 25 KO), 144 ½, made his way to the ring.  They returned to listlessness shortly thereafter as Judah and opponent Ernest Johnson (18-3-1, 7 KO), 144, set to impersonating the ever ill-fated mixture of oil and water for most of their ten rounds.  Judah carried the bout easily to a decision win.

There were intriguing moments.  In the third, the awkward duel of counterpunchers, Johnson from an orthodox stance and Judah a southpaw, produced a cut over the left eye of Judah but it never posed a serious threat.  Boxing methodically, Judah kept Johnson at bay with his right jab and well-timed left hands.  Thing heated up a bit at the end of the ninth round as Judah backed Johnson to the ropes, swinging for the close, only to have Johnson spin him around and open up with his own two-fisted assault to the body.  Johnson attempted to press early in the tenth, but Judah quickly seized control and coasted towards the final bell.   Unanimous scores all weighed in favor of the former champion Judah and 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

In Welterweight action, 30-year old Bronx native Francisco Figueroa (20-2, 13 KO), 143, was awarded a hard fought split decision over the best almost-.500 fighter in Boxing, 33-year old Emanuel Augustus (37-30-6, 20 KO), 140 ½, of Chicago, Illinois.  Augustus remains most famous for a losing but valiant effort in the 2001 Fight of the Year versus Mickey Ward.

Both combatants fought at a brisk pace, jabbing, countering and attempting to outthink each other.  Their efforts though brought little attention from the crowd through the first four rounds as neither appeared capable of hurting the man in front of them.  It would take a sort of dance-off in the fifth, each man taking a turn, to bring some cheers for their efforts.  The next big reaction of the bout would come in the seventh, but not for the fight at hand as the Calzaghe faithful began their first, and surprisingly only, round of chants and songs until the closing rounds of Judah-Johnson. 

Augustus played the role of aggressor in the bout, looking for openings for his right hand, while Figueroa was consistent behind a southpaw right jab, working the perimeter of the ring.  In the eighth and final round, with each of the previous seven closely competed, both men opened up and let fly with combinations, Augustus landing a solid left hook and Figueroa working in straight lefts hands.  Reflecting the nature of the bout, the judges would ultimately render a split decision, 77-75 for Augustus overruled by two identical 77-75 scores for Figueroa. 

In the televised opener, 27-year old Brooklyn Jr. Welterweight Dmitriy Salita (29-0-1, 16 KO), 140, posted a lopsided but watchable unanimous decision over game 27-year old Derrick Campos (17-6, 10 KO), 138, of Topeka, Kansas.  With the win, Salita kept himself in the hunt for a shot at WBA titlist Andreas Kotelnik (30-2-1, 13 KO).  Salita is currently rated third by the WBA.

Salita controlled the bout, working behind a steady left jab and streaming in an assortment of shots to the head and body.  The round of the night may well have been the eighth as Salita ripped Campos with a left hook, snapping his head backwards and knocking his mouthpiece to the floor.  Campos, as he had throughout the night, planted his feet and continued to walk through shots while looking to land his own before a brief respite to replace his mouth piece.  In the closing seconds, Campos brought a roar of approval from the crowd as he trapped Salita on the ropes and went to work with right and left hooks, Salita slipping until he could create room to counter and move away. 

The two again brought the crowd to life in the final minute when a series of hooks seemed to hurt Campos only for the underdog to survive, firing back, again.  The unanimous decision was academic for Salita with scores posted at a varying 120-108, 117-111 and 115-113.  For his gutsy efforts though, it was Campos who soaked in the cheers of the crowd, standing on the ring ropes to noisy cheers following the announced decision. 

The televised card was carried live in the U.S. on HBO Pay-Per-View, co-promoted by the main events fighters through Calzaghe Promotions and Square Ring, Inc.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com