Bernard Hopkins has thrown Joe Calzaghe's perfect boxing record into question. The American fighter claims he beat Calzaghe in their 2008 bout, despite the official result showing otherwise.
Calzaghe, known as "The Pride of Wales," retired with an impressive 46-0 record. He held the WBO super middleweight title for over a decade, defending it against 20 opponents. His list of victories includes names like Sakio Bika, Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler, and Chris Eubank.
Hopkins made his controversial statement during a recent interview with All the Smoke Fight. He said:
"Yeah [I believe I beat Calzaghe.] I think my words, my mouth, took that fight from me."
Hopkins was referring to his pre-fight comments, where he said: "You're not even in my league! I would never let a white boy beat me. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me."
The fight took place in April 2008 in Las Vegas. It was Calzaghe's first bout at light-heavyweight. Hopkins knocked Calzaghe down in the first round, but the referee warned both fighters for fouls throughout the match.
In the end, Calzaghe won by split decision. Two judges scored it in his favor (116-111 and 115-112), while one judge, Dwayne Ford, gave it to Hopkins (114-113). Hopkins found it strange that Ford gave his slip and left his chair after the fight.
Despite Hopkins' claims, statistics show that Calzaghe landed more punches during the fight.
Seven months after beating Hopkins, Calzaghe faced Roy Jones Jr. He won that fight on points, retaining The Ring light-heavyweight title and cementing his undefeated record.
Hopkins isn't the first to question Calzaghe's perfect record. Carl Froch has previously claimed that Calzaghe was lucky to win against Robin Reid.
