The Champ's Corner

by Ron "Champ" Miller

Hello fight fans!!!

I know, it's been a while..You are wondering "what was up with the
Champ"? I'm sure you were worried about the man who started it all.
The legend, icon, master. Often imitated, but never duplicated. The
man of the hour, too sweet to be sour. Space mountain, Howard Cosell
and the Mike Wallace of boxing rolled up in one. The man who always
tells it like it is, no matter how unpopular. Well I am here,and I'm
bringing sexy back!!!!

Am looking forward to the Bernard Hopkins - Joe Calzaghe fight this
weekend. Wasn't sure about a bet initially, but I did bet Hops at
+220. I think that is good value. Obviously, value doesn't always win,
but you must take odds like this when they present themselves. Even
Hopkins trainer, Freddie Roach is betting Bernard!!!

Obviously there are reason the man from Wales is favored. His work
rate is second to none. He is undefeated (44-0 w/32 KO's) and looked
great against Jeff Lacy and again against Mikkel Kessler, however the
last time I checked, they aren't Bernard Hopkins. Lacy was a hype job,
a tough guy, a one dimensional fighter, who I don't think was ready
yet. Never thought much of Kessler. Much is being made of Hopkins age,
but at 36, Joe is no spring chicken himself.

This fight is not overseas, or in Joe's backyard. Joe is coming up in
weight. First fight in the United States. He is cocky, maybe
overconfident? He is also trash talking. Even his father. When was the
last time you saw that? To me that shows a change of character. Maybe
fear? And that's not a good sign.

Hopkins is Hopkins. The future hall of famer out of Philadelphia (48-4
w/32 KOs and 1 NC), brings the fight to you. He knows all the tricks
of the trade. Elbows, head butts, angles, etc. He will spin you around
to hit you while the ref is shielded. He is a tough, dirty and knows
how to fight. His chin is good. He has faced them all, and with the
exception of Roy Jones Jr, and 2 close fights with Jermain Taylor, has
won all his fights. Before the Taylor fight, he had not lost in over
12 years!!! Before Roy? He had not lost in 5 years.

He holds the middleweight record for title defenses (breaking Carlos
Monzon's old mark). He cleaned out the division, before moving up and
beating Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver ( He was supposed to lose both
fights). He has one no contest against Robert Allen, but then stopped
him in their 2nd fight. He has wins over Tito Trinidad, William Joppy,
Segundo Mercado and of course, Oscar Delahoya.

He has always taken care of his body, and he supposedly has a body of
a 27 year old. Now I know a fighter is especially vulnerable after 40,
but again, athletes are playing longer. Nutrition, weights etc help.
Boxing is a bit different as once the reflexes are gone (Roy Jones
Jr.), its over. But Hopkins has not shown me that. Now he could get in
the ring this weekend and not be able to pull the trigger, but I'm
"betting" that's not the case. At least not now.

Back to the odds for a minute, though. I was recently in Laughlin
Nevada. I was hoping the odds on Hopkins was maybe around +180 and up to maybe up to +200. Imagine my delight as I saw him listed as the
+220 dog!!! Wow. I just had to take that. The Edgewater hotel has been
good to me (I bet PBF against DLH there). So I took a shot with the
dog. Again, just too much value, imo.

While I was playing poker, a Brit of course disagreed with me. He said
he thinks Joe is too much and is confident.  We will see.

I am pretty sure it will go 12 heats. Both chins are good, and both
aren't known as 1 shot KO artists. They wear you down. Joe, however,
does not sit down on his punches. Bernard has great defense.

Both are "boring" fighters. They sometimes fight down to their
opposition. Ticket sales aren't great, but it's no surprise. Americans
don't care about European fighters and Hops has never really caught on
here, even after his win over Tito Trinidad. Both fighter's styles
aren't crowd friendly. This isn't Erik Morales - Marco Antonio Barrera
or Arturo Gatti v Micky Ward.

I see a close, hard to score fight, which I think favors the Golden
Boy Promotions fighter. I see Joe not being able to throw the volume
punches as Hopkins will smother him and make this a ugly fight. This
may frustrate the man from the UK. Hopkins will steal rounds,
countering the man from Wales. There may be a controversial decision
here...

So while I don't see this as a Floyd Mayweather Jr v Ricky Hatton
repeat, I think the European fighter is in trouble here, again. And
you know what I think about Euros, LOL. I just hope our national
anthem is not booed, like it was last time a fighter from the UK was
here.

Joe Calzaghe should win this fight, but I can't lay close to 3
dollars. The pick is Bernard Hopkins by decision win.

Well that's it fight fans!!! Keep your hands up and keep punching for
the stars!!!