By Rick Reeno
Clinton Woods saw his first three tries at a title hit a dead end. He was stopped in 6 by Roy Jones, had a draw with Glen Johnson and lost a twelve round decision to Johnson in the rematch. The fourth time was the charm as Clinton Woods finally won some gold when he snatched up the IBF light heavyweight title with a fifth round TKO win over the undefeated 18-0 Rico Hoye. Prior to this bout, Hoye knocked out 14 of his 18 opponents.
Hoye lost two points in the bout for low blows, one in the fourth round and another in the fifth. Woods caught Hoye in the fifth round with a big shot coming off a combination and Hoye was badly hurt. Woods jumped on Hoye with big shots, Hoye was not punching back and was barely able to defend himself. The ref finally stepped in to stop the fight as the arena went wild.
"I’ve waited a long time, I’ve waited 10 years for this. I’ve proved countless people wrong and what other British fighter has a belt like this. It’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve said before that I wasn’t well for my fights with Johnson, but you could tell in there tonight I was a different fighter. I was much stronger and I’m more confident now." Woods told the BBC
“I’ve always had power and now I’ve got myself right there is no-one on the planet who can live with me at this weight.”
Joe Calzaghe, the WBO super middleweight champion was impressed by Woods as he watched the fight ringside and said that he wants a future date with Woods when he moves up to the light heavyweight division.
“That would be an explosive fight, especially if Clinton can perform like he did tonight. With my attacking style and Clinton’s all-action style it would be a cracking fight. After watching that I’m definitely looking forward to maybe getting together later in the year.” said Calzaghe