Published by on April 16th, 2008
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Loew and Pavlik See Calzaghe Besting Hopkins
By Scoop Malinowski
“I actually think Calzaghe sparks him,” says Jack Loew, the fine trainer of Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. “I think in the later rounds he might even stop Hopkins. I really do. I think Joe’s a terrific fighter, throws a lot of punches, he’s well conditioned, keeps his composure. I see Calzaghe winning.”
Loew respects how Calzaghe has handled his way through the pre-fight hype and psychological warfare with Hopkins. “Yeah, I read it. And Calzaghe’s trying to hold his composure and he’s a class act. And on the other hand, some of the comments that Hopkins made irritated a lot of people, and it irritated me, and it irritated Kelly. He wants to play the race card. Yeah, I know he wants to build up the fight and everything but that doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. If we would have said it we would have been crucified.”
Now respected one of the best trainers in America, Loew feels Joe is more than holding his own with the master trash talker and intimidator Hopkins. Loew has noticed that when Hopkins says something in the media, Joe “comes right back, but he says it with class. He says it with class, he says it the right way. That’s what I like about him. I really do.”
WBC/WBO Middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik highly regards both combatants and foresees a close battle. “I just think Calzaghe’s output, variety of punches and his aggressive style and awkwardness might be a lot for Bernard to handle. But then again, Bernard with his right hand, and the way he can just tie up and frustrate people. So the only thing – I see it as a slight favorite for Calzaghe – is the fact that when Hopkins grabs, the people are still gonna see who the aggressor is. It will be Calzaghe.”
Bonus viewpoint: Former WBA Lightweight champ Livingstone Bramble boxed professionally from 1980 to 2003 and held his own against some of the best of the modern era, including Ray Mancini, Kostya Tszyu, Buddy McGirt, Roger Mayweather, among others. So when the 48-year-old Livingstone Bramble speaks about boxing, it’s wise to listen:
“Bernard is a very experienced fighter. I think if Bernard takes his experience into that ring he should be able to beat Calzaghe. But he can’t forget that Calzaghe has very good, active hands. And he’s gonna be active. And he’s gonna have to make Calzaghe do some blocking to beat him. If he can box Calzaghe somewhat and keep him blocking, I think he will win an early fight. But if you gonna sit there and look at him I think Calzaghe’s gonna play notes with his old ass.
“He has got to act his age. If he come in there and trained like he’s a young fighter, it’s not gonna work. When you get to a certain age in boxing, which happened to me also, you have to know how much sparring to do, how much running to do. If he goes in there and acts his age he will do fine. Good conditioning, eliminate all that sparring, he’s gonna be a lot stronger and a lot better in there.”
