- Title: USA: BOXING - Joe Calzaghe celebrates his boxing victory over rival Roy Jones Jr
- Date: 10th November 2008
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA (NOVEMBER 8, 2008) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) MADISON SQUARE GARDEN VARIOUS OF FANS ARRIVING FOR BOXING MATCH BETWEEN JOE CALZAGHE AND ROY JONES JR.
- Embargoed: 25th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA21JQ04MOTTHAV7Y0IJB4O4SXM
- Story Text: Briton Joe Calzaghe recovered from an early knockdown to dominate American Roy Jones Jr. and win a unanimous decision to retain his Ring Magazine light heavyweight title on Saturday (November 7).
Calzaghe, 36, was cut on the nose and dropped by a left-right combination late in the opening round but then thoroughly overwhelmed the former eight-times world champion to improve his record to 46-0. All three judges scored the bout 118-109 for Calzaghe.
"Everybody can go on the floor, but it's how you recover, that's what matters, and I've shown again my heart and what a champion's all about, by coming back and fighting twice as strong," said Calzaghe at a post fight news conference.
Jones caught Calzaghe on the bridge of the nose with a straight left and followed it with a right cross to the jaw, dropping the Welshman with about 40 seconds to go in the first.
"When you get put on the floor it's a bit of a shock but when I got up I knew exactly where I was. I just became patient, I thought Roy was going to come straight for me. But my powers of recovery, you know - get put on the floor I come back stronger. I've shown that in the past," Calzaghe said.
The knock down seemed to incense the Welshman, who pinned Jones against the ropes and into the corners with unrelenting aggression and a steady stream of jabs and hooks as the American grew increasingly defensive.
The 39-year-old Jones, who had blood pouring down his face after suffering a gash over his left eye in the seventh round, fell to 52-5.
The Welshman won every round of the fight after the first, peppering Jones with swift combinations, taking the offensive and mocking the American's showy style by dropping his hands and daring him to hit back.
"So long as the fight went on, the more I felt I was in control.
So I didn't feel there was a need to go for the knock out. If the knock out came then fair enough but, you know, he was covering up, he wasn't really letting anything go and I didn't want to make a stupid mistake and get caught," said Calzaghe.
By the end of the fight, Jones's cornermen could not stem the blood and the former champion bled throughout the final rounds.
Jones skipped the post fight news conference to get medical attention.
In his previous bout, Calzaghe's first in the United States, the Welshman bounced back from a first-round knockdown to win a split decision against American Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas.
Before the fight, Calzaghe indicated he might retire from the ring after crowning his career with victory over Jones but the Welshman said he would take time before making a decision. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None