Boxing: Duke’s warning for Joe

Apr 19 2008 by Delme Parfitt, Western Mail

WALES warrior Joe Calzaghe has walked into a trap here in Las Vegas, he’s underestimating Bernard Hopkins and will be taught a punishing lesson.

No, that’s not the verdict of one of the more bullish members of the Hopkins camp, but Britain’s former three-weight world champion Duke McKenzie.

The south Londoner, who reached the summit of the sport at flyweight, bantam and super-bantam, offered a fascinating and somewhat alternative opinion to most of those expressed by British observers this week.

Overwhelmingly the view among those who have travelled is that Calzaghe will prevail, even if he is forced into a war by the experienced and battle-hardened American.

McKenzie, who is over for the fight working for BBC Sport, stressed that he is a major admirer of the Welshman’s talents.

But he believes he will lose tonight here in the casino capital of the world, simply because the cards are stacked against him.

“First and foremost, I am a Calzaghe fan and I have been for many years,” said McKenzie, who has fought four times in Vegas.

“Calzaghe is quite possibly the best fighter our country has produced.

“He wouldn’t be my personal British No 1, that would be John Conteh, but Calzaghe would certainly be my No 2.

“But I cannot help believing that Bernard Hopkins is 100% wrong for Calzaghe. Everything he brings to the table is wrong for the Welshman.

“Bernard has boxed 11 southpaws and beaten every last one. So the fact that Calzaghe is a southpaw won’t pose any kind of problem for Hopkins.”

While the trash-talk of Hopkins has hogged the majority of the headlines in recent months, Calzaghe has not been backward in predicting the American’s demise.

The man from Newbridge insists he is supremely confident and has even promised never to show his face in public again should he lose.

Much too has been made of Hopkins’ age, with the Calzaghe camp, not to mention plenty of neutral observers, believing the Philadelphian cannot possibly cope with his opponent’s speed and reflexes tonight.

But McKenzie is entirely unconvinced, and believes Calzaghe’s confidence could be his downfall.

“I think Calzaghe is underestimating just how good Hopkins is,” McKenzie went on.

“When I look at Hopkins and watch the way he works in the gym, I am convinced he could have shared the ring with Hagler, Hearns and Leonard.

“He would have given any of them a run for their money.

“Hopkins is not flamboyant like a Sugar Ray Leonard, but he is strong, a bit like Sakio Beka, who gave Calzaghe a lot of problems in terms of physical strength.

“But, on top of that, Hopkins has a similar cunning to Mike McCallum, his forte is making good fighters look bad.”

It’s a quality Hopkins himself has not been shy in suggesting he has this week.

His physical conditioning work can never be questioned, but for his sheer craft in the ring, many believe he is not given the credit he is due.

While some of his verbal outbursts may have sounded moronic, Hopkins has also spoken about becoming a councillor back in his home city of Philadelphia.

“I am intelligent, and, every time they have said I can’t win, I have won,” said Hopkins last night.

“I will do it again. People have said it cannot happen for me against Calzaghe.

“But I will be standing outside the ring on Saturday night saying to the world: ‘It happened. It happened.’

“My motivation is in proving the nay-sayers wrong. I have made a career out of making people’s mouths drop on nights like this.”

McKenzie clearly expects more of that.

Calzaghe has been forceful in stressing that acclimatising to the peculiar Las Vegas environment has not been a problem.

And, in fairness, his physical appearance backs that up, he looks as good and bubbly as I have seen him so close to a fight.

But McKenzie says we will not know whether the Vegas factor is an issue until the fight itself.

And amazingly he believes, Calzaghe is the one who will find himself out of puff unless he moderates his breakneck swarming style.

“I think Calzaghe’s stamina will be questioned in this fight,” McKenzie insisted.

“It will shock people that I say this, because that has always been one of his great strengths, but only back home in Cardiff or elsewhere in the UK.

“Here he will be fighting at altitude which he has never experienced before.

“You don’t know how that is going to affect him until he climbs into the ring.

“Just say he is unfortunate enough to get cut early in the fight and has to work harder to make up ground, then I think by the end he could be really struggling.

“I can only speak from experience. I boxed in Vegas several times early in my career and I found the altitude difficult from a breathing point of view which in turn made my legs heavy.

“The other factor is that the canvasses in America are thicker than the ones back home, which drains the legs too.

“So Calzaghe can’t afford to jump around and expend energy needlessly.

“Calzaghe’s strength is his relentlessness and he has to fight to his strengths, but in doing that he could be playing into Hopkins’ hands.

“Hopkins is going to want him to fight hard early and then drown him in the closing rounds.

“I think there is bound to be nerves for Calzaghe too, more so than Hopkins.

“You can dismiss the Las Vegas factor as much as you like, but it is an emotional experience to be fighting here and seeing your name up in lights. It gives fighters the vibe that they have really arrived.”

And yet, should McKenzie be proved right in his forecast, he does not see it as representing the end of the road for Calzaghe.

Quite the opposite. He believes the pair would then be set for a rematch which could prove a bigger draw and more lucrative for everyone concerned.

“If Calzaghe loses – and I think he will – then it makes for a great return fight, it makes business sense because it then becomes an even bigger draw, especially if he loses on points.

“If the fight is anywhere else, then Calzaghe wins, but here everything is against him.

“There is talk that the referee, Mr Cortez, will suit Calzaghe more, but Hopkins is a master tactician who can easily adapt to a referee who is firm.

“He certainly knows how to use the head and not get warned for it by the referee.”