By Mark Vester
Undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe has lashed out at his April 19 opponent, Bernard Hopkins, and is tired of Hopkins considering himself a legend. Calzaghe told The Telegraph that Hopkins is nothing more than a B-side fighter who needs a big name to sell a fight because he's not able to sell a fight on his own.
"Hopkins fancies himself as a legend," Calzaghe said. "What kind of legend has four losses and a draw on his record? My title reign is longer than his. I've had more successful title defenses. I'm tied for fourth place on the all-time list for title defenses [21 consecutive]. I've already passed him by. His career is in my rear-view mirror. He's not a legend, he's a B-side fighter who depends on big-name opponents to attract fans to his fights - Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and me.
Calzaghe says that he possesses the better record and faced the better opponents.
"If you compare our records you will see that I have faced better opposition than Hopkins. They have been faster, stronger and younger. I'm getting older and beating younger, undefeated champions, including Jeff Lacy, who held the IBF and IBO titles, and Mikkel Kessler, who held the WBC and WBA titles, when I beat them.
As far as Hopkins' dirty tactics, Calzaghe is not worried and plans to stand in the middle of the ring to bait Hopkins into a fight.
"I've been asked if I'm concerned about his dirty tactics. That's the easy part. All I need to do is use my speed and my ring intelligence to counter those tactics. The real question for me is, will Hopkins fight? I'm coming out to the middle of the ring, I won't be running a marathon around the ring over 12 rounds. Will he?"
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