JN2053 blog: Calzaghe's date with the Executioner

World champion for eleven consecutive years. Unbeaten in 15 years as a professional. Joe Calzaghe’s career stats make impressive reading, yet it isn’t really until last year that the public began to give him the recognition he has deserved. His fight in November against Mikkel Kessler made him undisputed super-middleweight champion of the world, and he went on to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The only other boxer to win the award in the past twenty years was Lennox Lewis in 1999.

Calzaghe will put his unbeaten record on the line in Las Vegas on the 19th April when he faces Bernard Hopkins at light heavyweight. It perhaps suggests the power dynamic in boxing that the two top British boxers, Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe, have both had to step up a weight and travel to the USA to land their dream fights. James Finch, a 32 year old accountant thinks that this is "One of Calzaghe’s toughest fights to date. He's stepping into America for the first time and that could work for or against him. If he handles the pressure of being over there he’s certainly the favourite and I’d have loved to have seen this fight five years ago when arguably both fighters would’ve been in their prime."

Calzaghe’s first fight at light heavy will not be an easy one, but he will go into it as firm favourite over 43 year old Hopkins. The American, nicknamed ‘The Executioner’ is one of only 7 fighters in history, a list including Calzaghe, that has reigned as world champion for ten consecutive years. Hopkins will use all his experience in the ring, and will have many tricks up his sleeve that he has learned over the twenty year span of his career.

Calzaghe’s critics highlight the fact that the Welshman has no really big names on his CV, but there has not been many out there for him to fight over the past decade. A victory against Hopkins would go someway to correcting this and could well lead to a fight against the other big US name of the time, Roy Jones Jr. Defeat for Joe though and the critics will say that it proves what they have always said that his record is a false one established against inferior fighters. Thomas Cranford, 54, had this to say; "This is possibly the first real test of his career. Yes he has a fine unbeaten record, but its disappointing he hasn’t really had the big names yet. If he wins this one he’ll certainly be a household name in America." For the big Welshman then, there is everything to lose, but victory would go even further to cementing his place in the boxing hall of fame.