Joe Calzaghe vs. Bernard Hopkins: Fight odds and preview

Joe Calzaghe vs. Bernard Hopkins: Fight odds and preview Finally a break for the boxing fans this weekend with a big fight coming around the corner, Joe Calzaghe vs. Bernard Hopkins. Fans of Calzaghe have long waited the boxer to match up with a big name and prove worthy of his perfect record and despite the age difference, bettors are willing to take this fight. At the online sportsbook BodogSports, Joe Calzaghe is the clear favorite to win the late-night Saturday fight, the Welsh boxer listed with odds -260 to beat his way through to a victory. Meanwhile Bernard Hopkins is holding underdog odds of +200 to win the boxing match. At the U.K. online bookmaker Bet365, Joe Calzaghe is also big favorite with odds to win the fight at 4/11, while Bernard Hopkins would pay out on 9/4 odds if he wins the bout.

Undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, currently holding the perfect 44-0-0 record, is the second boxer in history to win at welter, light middleweight and middleweight divisions in his amateur days. Calzaghe made his professional debut in 1993 and by June of 1995, Calzaghe had won nine out of nine fights, seven in the first round and two in the second, followed by the British title, stopping Steve Wilson in the eighth round in October the same year. But the biggest shocker Joe Calzaghe delivered was in 1997, when he won against two time WBO champion British boxing legend Chris Eubank in October of 1997 with unanimous decision. In March of 2006 Joe Calzaghe gained the IBF title, after an unanimous points decision against IBF world champion Jeff Lacy. In Novemebr of last year, Joe Calzaghe won his fight against Danish boxer Mikkel Kessler by unanimous decision becoming the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the world and surpassed the 20 defenses made by Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes at middleweight and heavyweight respectively. In 2007, Calzaghe became BBC Sports Personality of the Year on December 9, beating Ricky Hatton and Lewis Hamilton by gaining 28.19% of the public vote.

"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," Bernard Hopkins shouted at Calzaghe when the two boxers met face to face on December of 2007 to schedule the fight. The 43-year-old Ring magazine light heavyweight champion is holding a boxing record of 48-4-1-1 and as mentioned earlier will come out on the ring holding underdog odds of +200. Bernard Hopkins' early life is a true testament of the urban Philadelphia crime. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine felonies at the young age of seventeen, but turned to boxing as the means to escape his criminal past. Hopkins was released from prison after serving almost five years and on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey Bernard Hopkins made his pro debut as a light heavyweight against Clinton Mitchell, a fight Hopkins lost. In 1990 he moved to the middleweight and won by unanimous decision over Greg Paige, a victory followed by 19 straight wins , but the fight against Roy Jones Jr. for the vacant IBF middleweight belt in 1993 put an end to his winning streak, losing the fight against Jones Jr. by unanimous decision.

The Ring magazine and the World Boxing Hall of Fame named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year, following his underdog victory against Félix Trinidad. Hopkins defended the undisputed title six times and after beating Oscar de la Hoya for the undisputed middleweight championship with a knockout in the ninth round on September 2004, he became the first boxer to ever unify the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies. On July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to Jermain Taylor via split decision, as well as the following rematch on December 2005. And in his last fight, Hopkins defended The Ring light heavyweight championship again former light middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright in July 2007, winning by unanimous decision.

The Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe fight is scheduled to take place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can bet on the fight and total rounds outcome at the popular online sportsbook BodogSports.

Published on 04/18/2008