Bernard Hopkins Vs. Joe Calzaghe - General Information

General Information

Hopkins made 20 consecutive title defenses as a middleweight before two losses to Jermain Taylor. At about the same time, Calzaghe made 21 consecutive title defenses in the super middleweight division from Europe during a decade-long reign. Calzaghe never could be lured to fight anyone in the United States, instead defending the WBO title he has held since September 1997 against anybody willing to travel to face him. Hopkins was similarly set in his ways, staying in the United States to clean up the middleweight division, fighting the likes of Glen Johnson, Félix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. Hopkins claims Calzaghe declined to fight him after Don King's "middleweight tournament" in 2001, in which Hopkins won three title belts, although Calzaghe denies this.

On July 21, 2007, Hopkins defeated Winky Wright by unanimous decision to retain The Ring light heavyweight championship. After the fight, Hopkins called out Calzaghe and said that he wanted to fight him at Yankee Stadium on the fourth of July. On November 3, 2007, Calzaghe defeated Mikkel Kessler by unanimous decision to retain his WBO super middleweight title and win the WBC and WBA super middleweight titles, thus becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion.

On December 7, 2007, Hopkins and Calzaghe met face to face in the media room set up for the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe began shouting insults and taunting each other, with Hopkins shouting, "You're not even in my league! I would never let a white boy beat me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me." Hopkins would later explain his comments, saying that it was not meant to be taken as a racial slur or a reflection of his feelings on white fighters, but simply said to create some hype for his fight with Calzaghe. On January 23, 2008, the fight was officially announced to take place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. For his training, Hopkins worked with Freddie Roach, Nazim Richardson, John David Jackson (who fought Hopkins in 1997), and Mackie Shilstone. Calzaghe was trained by his father, Enzo. The fight was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Frank Warren's Sports Network. The bout was televised on HBO World Championship Boxing in the United States and on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom and the referee was Joe Cortez. Both fighters weighed in at 173 lb (78 kg). 14,213 were in attendance for the fight, with at least half of them making the trip overseas from the United Kingdom to support Calzaghe.