Calzaghe adds his 46th victory

If there were any doubt before the big fight in Madison Square Garden, Joe Calzaghe made an effort to remove any trace of doubt when he defeated Roy Jones Jr. by points - great match only to add another convincing victory to Calzaghe's long list (46-0, 32 KOs).

Joe Calzaghe systematically broke down and put away a legend on Saturday, effectively ending Roy Jones Jr.’s career with a lopsided victory Saturday in their light heavyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden.

All three judges had it 118-109 in favor of Calzaghe.

Jones suffered the same fate that befell so many of the game’s greats before him. Just like men such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Leonard, the one-time pound-for-pound king was pummeled and beaten badly by a younger and fresher opponent.

Jones knocked Calzaghe down with a glimpse of his once-great hand speed, dropping the unbeaten Welsh star with a jab and a straight right in the first round. But after that, Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KOs) dominated the fight to such an extent that there were cringes from many in the media who had covered Jones for years as he had taken clean blows and fans began to stream to the exits by the 10th round.

Calzaghe, who has spoken of retiring, was typically brilliant in raising his record to 46-0 while retaining the Ring Magazine belt, emblematic as the world’s finest 175-pound boxer. He fired flurries that to the body and head that Jones, despite his pre-fight talk, could not answer.

The Wales native was so confident, he began to clown by the fourth round, dropping his hands and shaking his backside. Jones (52-5, 38 KOs) would occasionally crack him with a straight right, but Calzaghe neutralized Jones’ offense while landing a consistent series of blows round after round.

Calzaghe’s punches began to cause swelling around Jones’ left eye in the fifth round and by the eighth, it was all but closed. In the seventh, a cut opened over the eye that had blood streaming down Jones’ cheek in the second half of the fight.

He frequently retreated to the ropes, where he laid with his back and took punches from Calzaghe while offering little in return, the classic sign of a once-great fighter who no longer had the skills that had carried him to so many memorable wins.

“He won the fight, he definitely won the fight,” Jones said. “Those pitty pats were a little harder than I thought. I couldn’t see out of my left eye. I don’t know what is next for me. I worked so hard for me. I just don’t know. I couldn’t figure him out.”

credit to Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports