By Rick Reeno

The stage is set at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. After cleaning out the super middleweight division and capturing every major title at the weight, Joe Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KOs) finally moves up in weight to challenge the recognized light heavyweight champion, Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs). Between the two of them, they hold a combined 43 wins in championship fights, and they are both linear champions of their respective weight divisions.

“This will be Bernard’s last fight—I am going to be a legend after this fight. I’m going over there to win and you will see an awesome performance,” Calzaghe said. “I’ve trained like a challenger every single fight, that’s why I have been a champion for ten years. I’ll be in the best shape, enough to do 15, 20 rounds. You haven't seen Hopkins flat out on his back yet—you will on April 19.”

Hopkins ruled the middleweight division for a decade before making a move to light heavyweight in 2006. Calzaghe has ruled the super middleweight division for over a decade. After several years of wishful thinking, they are finally going to fight.

“I respect what Joe Calzaghe has accomplished in this game over the years, but he will be stepping into a different realm," Hopkins said. “All Joe’s other American opponents had to go to Wales or England—let’s see how Joe performs in the United States—the USA is the stamp of approval. There’s old Poppy Hopkins standing at the gate of America waiting for Joe to bring the key to try and open the door.”

Even 43-years old, Hopkins will be the toughest and most experienced opponent of Calzaghe's career. Hopkins has been in the ring with Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Roy Jones Jr, Jermain Taylor, Winky Wright, Howard Eastman, and many others.

For Hopkins, a fight against Calzaghe is the end of the road. He vows to retire, win or lose, after Calzaghe. For Calzaghe, a win over Hopkins is the crowning jewel on a hall-of-fame career that began in 1993. Calzaghe's entire career comes down to this fight.

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