6:00PM - What's up boxing fans! Peter Czymbor here at Madison Square Garden along with Ed Anderson, director of operations for Boxingherald.com. Tonight I'll be blogging updates throughout the evening for the entire fight card featuring the main event of Joe Calzaghe - Roy Jones Jr. light heavyweight championship bout. We'll give you results of all of the under card bouts, round-by-round scoring of the main event, and some random observations here and there.
Let's begin with some random thought's and observations. The media is just starting to gather. Jim Lampley of HBO recently completed shooting some stand-ups for some re-brodcasts of Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao fights that they will be re-airing in anticipation of their December 6th welterweight bout. Lampley will have the call of tonight's PPV broadcast alongside Max Kellerman and Emanuel Steward.
Now time for my official pick: I think Joe Calzaghe wins a decision or by late knockout. I don't think Calzaghe has the one punch knockout power to blast Jones like Antonio Tarver of Glen Johnson did, but i think an accumulation of punches could lead to a stoppage. If not, I think he'll outwork Roy and win the fight.
I do give Roy a chance to win. Enough experts, including Bernard Hopkins and Lennox Lewis think he'll pull it out, but my head tells me Calzaghe.
Sure will fun to watch!
Calzaghe - Jones Coverage from MSG
Round 1: 10-8 Jones
Jones gets the round because of the knockdown. A beautiful uppercut that forced Calzaghe to fall forward to the canvas. Calzaghe did have some good moments working combinations to the body though. Keep in mind he was down in round 1 vs. Hopkins in his last fight.
Round 2: Jones 10-9
Calzaghe's throwing more punches and doing descent work to the body of Jones. But Jones punches seem so much more effective.
Round 3: Calzaghe 10-9
Big round for Calzaghe. He was far busier landing tons of shots to the side of Jones head, although it seemed Jones caught a lot on the forearms he wasn't throwing back much. Calzaghe had fun in there and even showboated while forcing Jones to miss wide shots.
Round 4: Calzaghe 10-9
Roy mostly covering up while Calzaghe throws countless punches to the sides of Jones' body and head. Jones did land a good right towards the end of round, but not nearly enough to win the round. Unofficially through 4 I have it 38-37 Jones ahead.
Round 5 Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe not as active as prior rounds, but doing great work to Jones while he has him against the ropes, even landing a straight punch snapping Roy's head back.
Round 6 Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe beating Roy with his better work rate, but every now and then when not covering up, Roy lands a good shot. Unofficially I have it 57-56 Calzaghe.
Round 7 Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe throwing and landing tons of shots at Roy. Roy bleeding above left eye. The accumulation of these punches may be catching up to Jones.
Round 8 Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe doing all the work and Jones' bleeding from cut in corner of eye.
Round 9: Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe pressing all the action and Jones seems fatigued.
Round 10: Calzaghe 10-9
Pace slowing down but Calzaghe still just more active. Jones cut got worse. Unofficially I have it 97-92 Calzaghe through 10 rounds.
Round 11: Calzaghe 10-9
Jones not fighting with any urgency and Calzaghe keeps throwing the right hand targeting the bad cut of Jones' left eye. Doctors took a look at the cut before the round began and allowed Roy to continue. Unofficially I have it 107 - 101 for Calzaghe with just 1 round to go.
Unofficially Boxingherald.com scores the bout 117 - 110 for Calzaghe. Official scoring on it's way momentarily.
Round 12: Calzaghe 10-9
Calzaghe seems to be throwing light punches, almost going easy on Roy. There are some boo's. Calzaghe showboats. Roy survives.
Winner: Joe Calzaghe by Unanimous Decision - Retains Light Heavyweight title. Official scores 118 - 109 (three times)
UNDERCARD
11:43
Job well done by the singers who sang the national anthem of the United States and Wales. Crowd very respectful of both anthems....very cool.
11:33
The main event is next! Reigning champ Joe Calzaghe defends the light heavyweight title against former champion Roy Jones Jr. Remember, keep refreshing this page as we'll have round-by-round scoring and analysis throughout the fight!
11:32 Co-feature - Zab Judah (37-6, 25 KO's) vs. Ernest Johnson (18-3-1, 7 KO's) - Welterweights
Despite being cut over each eye due to a clash of heads in the third round, former world champ Zab Judah won a unanimous decision victory over San Diego's Ernest Johnson. Johnson used roughhouse tactics to try to frustrate Judah, but Zab was still able to land the cleaner and sharper punches. Official scores were 99-91 and 98-92 (twice) all for Judah. Boxingherald.com scored in favor of Judah 99-91.
Judas is next expected to fight at junior welterweight.
10:42
Arena is near full. Crowd is getting pumped for main event each and every time Calzaghe or Jones appear on the big screen.
Former undisputed welterweight champ Zab Judah's up next taking on Ernest Johnson. As talented as Judah is, he has been known to have bad nights (Losing title to unheralded Carlos Baldomir in 2006). Let's see which Judah shows up tonight.
10:37PM TV Fight #2 Emanuel Augustus (37-30-6, 20 KO's) vs. Francisco Figueroa (20-2-0, 13 KO's) - Junior Welterweights
The young gun defeats "The Drunken Master" via split decision. Two Judges has it for Figueroa 77-75, while another had it for Augustus 77-75. Boxingherald.com scored the fight 78-75 for Figueroa. However, it was close enough that we may not have seen the last of the ultimate fan favorite, Emanuel Augustus.
9:56PM TV Fight #1 Derrick Campos (17-6-0) vs. Dmitriy Salita (29-0-1, 16 KO's) - Junior Welterweights
Salita wins by unanimous decision and it is a tad unpopular with the MSG crowd. Campos certainly was on the offensive during the moments int he fight that got the audience attention Official scores were 120-108, 117-111, and 115-113. Everyone in the press section seems to be flabbergasted that someone could have scored that fight a shutout. Robin Taylor is the name of the judge who scored the fight 120-108.
9:29PM
The crowd response to Joe Calzaghe being shown on the big screen was a mix of cheers and boo's. However, the cheers were far louder than the boo's.
Minutes later, Roy Jones was shown entering the arena on the big screen. Calzghe's fans must have spotted him on the screen first because he was initially booed, only to have the boo's drowned out by cheers just seconds later. Should make for a good atmosphere come main event time.
9:01PM
Change in plans....looks like Salita - Campos will be the first fight shown live on PPV. Michael Buffer is in the ring right now ready to introduce the combatants.
8:57PM
Remember we'll have live round-by-round scoring of tonight's main event, so make sure you refresh this page often.
Scattered throughout the crowd are spectators with long beards and yamikah's on their heads. They're here to support the undefeated Dmitriy Salita (28-0-1, 16 KO's), who is a practicing Orthodox Jew. He's fighting Topeka, Kansas' Derrick Campos (17-5, 10 KO's) on the 2nd fight of tonight's PPV broadcast.
8:48PM
The afore mentioned boy band 3D are in the ring once again performing before the PPV begins. They're going through a medly of old school hip hop songs like Run DMC's "It'c Tricky" and LL Cool J's "Mama said knock you out".
The ringside section is starting to fill up.
The next fight (and the first bout shown on PPV) will be the always entertaining Emanuel Augusus vs. Francisco Figueroa. Anytime Emanuel Augustus fights it's worth watching. This will be his first fight in the USA since April 2007.
8:45PM Undercard bout #5 - Kieyon Bussy (5-0, 3 KO's) vs. Hassan Dato Wasswa (5-7-2, 2 KO's) - Junior Featherweights
In the final undercard bout of the evening before the PPV broadcast begins, Pensacola's Kieyon Bussy knocked down Hassan Dato Wasswa in round 1 en route to a unanimous decision win. Official scores were 40-35 three times. Boxingherald.com agreed.
8:32PM
Moments ago, former heavyweight title challenger "Gentleman" Gerry Cooney was announced to the crowd as he is in attendance at ringside. However, he did not nearly get as overwhelmingly positive a crowd response as the first sighting of a ring card girl. In case you're wondering, yes she it hot!
8:20PM Undercard bout #4 - Daniel Edouard (19-2-2, 10 KO's) vs. Alphonso Williams (10-5, 8 KO's)
In a descent scrap, Daniel "The Haitian Sensation" Edouard won a unanimous decision over Pittsburgh's Alphonso Williams. Williams was competititve in the early goings of the fight, but faded as the bout went on. Official scores were 79-73 (twice) and 78-74 for Edouard. Boxingherald.com scored the fight for Edouard 78-75.
Daniel Edouard is probably best remembered by boxing fans for his thrilling 4th round TKO win against Willie "The Gladiator" Gibbs on an ESPN televised fight in 2004 and a KO loss to Jermain Taylor in 2005.
7:39PM Undercard bout #3 - Joseph Judah (4-0) vs. Richard Heath (3-10, 2 KO's) - Junior Middleweights
Joseph Judah, brother of former world champ Zab Judah, tee'd off on North Carolina's Richard Heath until the fight was called off at 1:57 of the 2nd round. Heath began turning away from Judah while he was throwing shots and it was obvious he was in over his head.
7:28PM
We've got a bit of an intermission here at MSG. A boy band supported by Roy Jones Jr. called 3D just performed.
I've been chatting with Andreas Hale of BET.com and he's picking Calzaghe also. We've been discussing the top notch quality of the light heavyweight division - Calzaghe, Jones, Hopkins, and Dawson. The 175 pound weight class is certainly one of the more interesting divisions in boxing right now.
6:56PM Undercard bout #2 - Danny Jacobs (12-0, 11 KO's) vs. Jimmy Campbell (11-3, 2 KO's) - Junior Middleweights
Blue chip prospect Danny Jacobs continued to impress as he TKO'd England's Jimmy Campbell in the 3rd round of their scheduled 6 round fight. Jacobs scored a knockdown earlier in the round and pummeled Campbell for the remainder of the round until the referee stepped in and waved off the fight with 1 second left in the round.
Jacobs has been keeping a busy scheduled. He fought on the undercard of Hopkins - Pavlik and will be fighting in just 2 weeks on the Hatton Malignaggi undercard. He's a young fighter to keep your eye on.
6:39PM Undercard Bout #1 - Dominick Guinn (30-6-1, 20 KO's) vs. Gabe Brown (18-9-4, 12 KO's) - Heavyweights
In the first fight of the evening, former heavyweight contender Dominick Guinn outworked Gabe Brown, known to most fans as Roy Jones REALLY big friend who was mentioned briefly in an episode of HBO's 24/7. Official scores were 79-73 and 80-72 (twice) for Guinn. Boxingherald.com scored the fight in favor of Guinn 79-73.
Here's tonight's full fight card
Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. (HBO PPV)
Ernest Johnson vs. Zab Judah (HBO PPV)
Derrick Campos vs. Dmitriy Salita (HBO PPV)
Emanuel Augustus vs. Francisco Figueroa (HBO PPV)
Hassan Dato Wasswa vs. Kieyon Bessy
Alphonso Williams vs. Daniel Edouard
Daniel Jacobs vs. Jimmy Campbell
Richard Heath vs. Joseph Judah
Dominick Guinn vs. Gabe Brown
Check back frequently, we'll be updating a lot
- Peter Czymbor
