Tuesday,
December 04, 2007
Joe Calzaghe Recieves BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year Award
While Getting "Low Balled" by Bernard Hopkins
The
ANNOTICO Report
Joe
Calzaghe lifted the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the
Year award last night - but then claimed being Welsh will stop him claiming the
coveted UK national award next Sunday.
Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton is leading
the BBC poll at present with fellow boxer Ricky Hatton second and Calzaghe third.
Calzaghe then admitted that he would't
be upset if Ricky won. "Hes a great lad and Im
going over to the fight in the states to support him."
In
the meantime, Calzaghe has rejected a "low
ball' bid to fight Bernard Hopkins from Golden Boy Promotions, owned by boxing
icon Oscar De La Hoya, since the offer was less than his #2m career-high
payday from defeating Mikkel Kessler to become
undisputed super-middleweight king in Cardiff last month.
Calzaghe got in a couple of zingers:
(1) "We're more
than happy to pay Hopkins the same as he offered me to fight over here, but
hes a home-boy and wont leave the US.
(2) "Id
love to fight Hopkins in New York, at the Yankee Stadium or Madison Square
Gardens, and with the number of British ex-pats and Italian Americans in New
York Id attract more fans than Hopkins " hell be the enemy in his own country."
ic
by Peter Shuttleworth
December 2, 2007
JOE Calzaghe last night revealed why he turned down a dream
date with Bernard Hopkins.
The Welsh hero
has received a firm offer to make his American debut against boxing superstar
Hopkins but Calzaghe
has rejected the bid from Golden Boy Promotions, owned by boxing
icon Oscar De La Hoya, as it didnt make
business sense.
Calzaghe claims Hopkins offer
was less than his #2m career-high payday from defeating Mikkel
Kessler to become undisputed super-middleweight king in Cardiff last month.
But world No 1
Floyd Mayweather has told Calzaghe
to accept the Hopkins challenge at any price as the Welshman is the one that
needs to build a reputation in big-bucks America, not Hopkins.
Unbeaten Calzaghe admitted: "Ive
had an offer from Golden Boy to fight
But, to be
honest, the offer wasnt as much as I got for the
Kessler fight so from a business point of view the deal doesnt
make sense for me.
Golden Boy chief
De La Hoya himself acknowledged: "We all know that Calzaghe
is a great and tremendous champion."
American Mayweather " regarded as
the worlds top pound-for-pound fighter " has however warned Calzaghe that he needs 42-year-old
Both Hopkins
and Calzaghe are great fighters," said Mayweather, preparing for his own transatlantic tear-up
with Ricky Hatton in
But Calzaghe and the British boxing fans want to see it more
than
I am
negotiating very hard and I believe the fight will happen," said Warren,
who will step aside to enable Golden Boy solely to promote any
The price
must be right. Boxing is a business as well as a sport."
Calzaghe is understandably
confident that mega-rich American TV giants will back such a super-fight as his
two unification scraps in this country against Jeff Lacy last year and Kessler
have been screened live in the
Hopkins and
I are two of the biggest names in boxing at the moment," says
Welsh-Italian Calzaghe.
Im very
optimistic itll happen because while
Frank said
hes more than happy to pay Hopkins the same as he offered me to come fight
over here, but hes a home-boy and wont leave America, so thats a
non-starter.
Id love
to fight
And Calzaghe himself admits: "While
Boxing: “I’ll never win the big
one” - Calzaghe
(Meaning
the
South Wales Echo
by Mark Bloom
December 3, 2007
JOE
Calzaghe lifted the BBC Wales Sports Personality
of the Year award last night - but then claimed being Welsh will stop him
claiming the coveted national award next Sunday.
Calzaghe who became the undisputed
world super-middleweight boxing champion in November when he beat WBA and
WBC champion Mikkel Kessler, won 77 per cent of the
public vote beating Becky Brewerton, Geraint Thomas, Ryan Giggs
and Enzo Maccarinelli.
But it is the
more prestigious BBC national award claimed by the cream of British sporting
talent down the years that carries more appeal.
With all
due respect, last year I got beaten by a gymnast and a bloody horse so what
chance have I got this time around?," said Calzaghe,
referring to Zara Phillips (equestrian) winning the
trophy last year and Beth Tweddle (gymnastics)
claiming runner-up.
I really
do feel that its because Im Welsh.
Im
convinced of it. But what more can I do but be champion in my sport for more
than 10 years?"
Formula One
ace Lewis Hamilton is leading the BBC poll at present with fellow boxer Ricky Hatton second and Calzaghe third.
Look,
Id be major surprised if I won it, added Calzaghe.
But if I
dont Id be chuffed to bits if Ricky won it. Hes a great lad and Im going over to the fight in the states next weekend to
support him.
If he did
beat Floyd Mayweather in
Calzaghe joins Ian Woosnam in winning the BBC Wales award two years in a row,
and Howard Winstone, Dame Tani
Grey-Thompson, and Colin Jackson as three-time winners.
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