By Dave Sholler

In the words of Army General Ulysses S. Grant, “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”

Even though some believe the long-awaited clash between super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe and light heavyweight ring general Bernard Hopkins will follow Grant’s dictum, there is a growing belief that the lead up to April 19 will actually feature a treacherous, complex war. While dissecting the bout based on the fighters’ skills alone will be rudimentary, there are many that believe that the Hopkins-Calzaghe battle will mark anything but simplicity.

A controversial exchange in December between Hopkins and Calzaghe proved to be the starting point of the pending collision course. Borderline racist remarks from the light heavyweight served as the first shots fired. Calzaghe, proving to be no saint himself, responded with his own artillery, questioning his future opponent’s in-ring body of work and displaying confidence in making short work of Hopkins. While these verbal blows could be considered hype, it’s hard to argue the general dislike for one another the future Hall of Famers share.

Suddenly, a straightforward bout between pound-for-pound contenders culminated into much more. In essence, emotions quickly transformed a clear-cut championship bout into a heated “Winner Must Take All” fight. Thanks to the preceding war of words, neither Hopkins nor Calzaghe will allow one battle prior to April 19 to be lost. In the end, this is no longer about money and fame. Now and with each day that leads us toward April 19, the Hopkins-Calzaghe clash is about pride and survival among boxing’s dog-eat-dog hierarchy.

Considering the strong wills of both fighters, one must realize that numerous cerebral battles will continue to take place in the months leading up to the April clash. With each battle, you can only suspect that the upper hand will be exchanged between Hopkins and Calzaghe many times, an unpredictable seesaw making fight prognostications even more cloudy. With that being said, let’s take a look at the road to the April 19 war, detailing each grueling stanza as we progress toward the final fight. As we outline the framework of the fight, we’ll try to decipher who has the edge.

Battle of Bully Hill 
Date: February 2008
Location: Promotional Stops Worldwide

Perhaps a preview to the actual fight itself, the kickoff of Hopkins-Calzaghe will feature the bully vs. the bullied. A notorious tormentor who once served time in prison, Hopkins has shed his convict connotation in society, but still regresses when it comes to boxing. Never afraid to break a fighter down psychologically, Hopkins will use every taunt in his arsenal to get inside Calzaghe’s head during the promotional period. He’ll use similar dirty tricks, including clutching, grabbing, and leading with his head, inside the ring in April. Like a monstrous army tanker, Bernard’s trash talk and brash style take no prisoners.

Unlike Hopkins, Calzaghe was picked on as a youth and used boxing as a means to display his courage, strength and manhood. Trained by his father in a small gym, the Wales native is essentially the bullied boy who became a powerful, fearless man. Not exactly the best trash talker, Calzaghe’s thick skin should be on display when it comes to Hopkins’ criticism. Still, the super middleweight champion isn’t completely mum in the junk talk department. After striking a chord with Hopkins’ by questioning his recent triumphs, Calzaghe is at least trying to hang with the venomous Philadelphian. Even though he’ll never win a smack talk world title, Calzaghe’s glowing confidence and sniper-like ability to pick his verbal shots could render him a place deep inside Hopkins’ mind.

The outcome: Let’s be honest: if Bernard is willing to trash the Puerto Rican flag (see his bout with Felix Trinidad), he’ll do whatever it takes to get under Calzaghe’s skin. After all, Hopkins is a never-ending hype machine, spitting out trash talk faster than ammunition rounds on a machine gun. Calzaghe may have some decent counters, but this battle goes to Hopkins.

Operation Over-age
Date: March 2008
Location: Respective Training Camps

Hopkins may hold the keys to the Battle of Bully Hill, but when training camps kick into high gear, Calzaghe should maintain a slight edge. Despite brittle hands that could affect bag work and sparring, Calzaghe is always in supreme shape, a necessity considering his high output. Thanks to this outstanding stamina, Calzaghe applies constant pressure on his opponents as witnessed in his domination over Mikkel Kessler. Never one to coast to victory, Calzaghe will look to replicate the Kessler fight on April 19.

There may not be a younger 43 year old on the planet than Hopkins, who continually presses on in his golden years. A roadwork fanatic, Hopkins is one of the sport’s finest conditioned athletes and it has paid off in the ring. Despite losing a bit of pep on his punches late in his career, Hopkins’ recent wins over Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver displayed his craftiness. Although it’s hard to predict whether training camp will allow Hopkins to enhance or duplicate the muggings he gave Tarver and Wright, one should not be surprised if he’s brushing up on what he calls “tricks of the trade.” Whether it’s counterpunching, slippery defense or the occasional law-defying trick, Hopkins’ tools will be sharp on fight night.

The outcome: Neither fighter should gas come April, but the training camp edge still has to be given to Calzaghe. He’ll be preparing for his first major trek to the United States and will be focused on having a solid training camp. Should he need any extra motivation, he can always refer back to the Battle of Bully Hill. Hopkins will be prepared too, but not as much as the pride of Wales.

Melee at the Thomas & Mack
Date: April 19, 2008
Location: Las Vegas, NV

If the previous skirmishes hold true, the series will be deadlocked heading into the HBO fight date. The trash talk, for the most part, will conclude. Ditto for training camps. All that will remain will be two age-defying gladiators inside the battle-tested confines of the Thomas & Mack Center. 

For Hopkins, the key to victory will be to negate the high-octane approach of Calzaghe. While fans may not enjoy B-Hop’s game plan, he must resort to any means necessary to dictate the pace of the bout. If that means the occasional clinch, Bernard must do it. Simply put, there are very few fighters who can match Calzaghe’s work rate. If Bernard wants a victory, it must be on his own terms. And that means an old fashioned Philadelphia mugging. It may not be pretty, but Hopkins didn’t become a world champion by producing fashion shows.

By all accounts, Calzaghe manufactures some of the sweet science’s finest outings, many of which are near shutouts. Success against Hopkins will come for Calzaghe in similar fashion if he lives and dies with fast hands.  Speed, teamed with good footwork, should allow Calzaghe to pick apart Hopkins. Considering Hopkins will hold a slight reach advantage, Calzaghe will be best suited to vary his approach distance wise. There will be times when he can use his quick hands on the outside, as well as chances to use Hopkins’ midsection as a speed bag on the inside. However, he must be leery of the assaults Hopkins is capable of when an opponent tries to turn a boxing match into a brawl. Speed is key for Calzaghe. Brawling is not.

The outcome: To be determined

In the end, there is a great deal of time between now and fight night. For all we know, Hopkins may apologize for his “white boy” comment and Calzaghe may start praising his worthy opponent. But don’t count on it. Instead, count on the two to apply another one of Ulysse S. Grant’s famous quotes in the months to come. Heading into April, you can bet Hopkins and Calzaghe will agree that “no terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted." Whether it’s the ongoing verbal vendetta or the bloody April war, Hopkins and Calzaghe are not programmed to accept a stalemate.

Dave Sholler serves as a boxing analyst for sports radio stations across the country. His column runs weekly on BoxingScene.com. Reach Sholler at shollerholla4@hotmail.com.