By Jake Donovan
There’s still no sure answer to the question, “How much does Roy Jones Jr have left?”
Nor we can we definitively respond to the question, “Will Joe Calzaghe shine under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, or succumb to the pressure of performing in the world’s most famous arena?”
We don’t even know if the show will draw a respectable crowd, or pull in the type of pay-per-view numbers to justify the massive marketing push behind this super fight.
What we can say for certain is that both fighters have trained for Saturday night’s fight like it’s the biggest of their respective careers.
Such was evident when the pair of future Hall of Fame superstars stepped on the digital scale atop a makeshift stage inside Madison Square Garden during the weigh-in Friday afternoon. Stripped to their underwear, both fighters easily checked in under the 175 lb. light heavyweight limit, in fact each coming in ½ lb. shy (174.5 lb was the announced weight).
Jones and Calzaghe both took the time to mix business and pleasure, putting on their game face as they showed off their chiseled physiques, then tried their hardest to look tough during the obligatory staredown before cracking into smiles, indicative of the respect and professional admiration each has for the other.
Roy Jones (52-4, 38KO) is far removed from his days as the best fighter in the world, but still carries a three-fight win streak and the respect of many throughout the boxing world. Several members among the stateside media believe Jones still has enough left to turn back the clock for one last great performance and pull off what would be considered an improbable upset.
On his side is scoreboard: Jones is 5-0 in the Garden, though this bout will actually only be his third in the main room, with the other three wins coming in the basement portion of the arena. It was at MSG’s Theatre where he won his first ever unification match, though also suffering his first career knockdown in an otherwise dominant performance over then-titlist and former sparring partner Lou del Valle.
Jones’ most recent Garden party was also his last fight, a two-knockdown 12-round whitewash over comebacking former three-division titlist Felix “Tito” Trinidad.
Saturday night’s fight will be the first ever Garden appearance for Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32KO) and just his second fight overall in the United States. Both will have come in back-to-back fights by night’s end, with his 12-round split decision over Bernard Hopkins this past April marking his first ever prize fight on this side of the pond.
Calzaghe moved up to light heavyweight for that fight after having spent all previous14 years of his professional career at super middleweight and in Europe.
The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds, and will air live on HBO PPV along with a full undercard (Saturday, 9PM ET). The show is presented by Square Ring Inc and Calzaghe Promotions.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .