By Jeff Haney

Fri, Dec 14, 2007 (7:27 a.m.)

Even before jeers and catcalls filled the air during the singing of the national anthem at the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton fight, Bernard Hopkins was trying to stir up some bad blood between American and European boxing fans.

The object of his rant wasn't Saturday night's world welterweight title bout, won by Mayweather, but a proposed 2008 showdown between Hopkins and undefeated super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe of Wales.

"It will be like, 'the British are coming, the British are coming' all over again," Hopkins said, a reference to Hatton's English fans who filled the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Hopkins made it clear he would embrace the national-pride angle in selling the fight, vowing to appear at news conferences dressed in full Uncle Sam regalia - although he wouldn't fully commit to walking on stilts and juggling bowling pins.

A fife and drum corps made up of little people would accompany him. "If you're taller than 4-foot-3, you can't be in the band," Hopkins said.

Hopkins, who can speak on boxing with wit and insight, unfortunately also tried to appeal to the baser instincts of some fans when he later claimed "no white boy" would ever beat him.

The British fans' disruption of Tyrese's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" further set Hopkins off.

"I'm gonna make this thing so patriotic," Hopkins said. "They booed the national anthem. Everyone's gonna say, 'We've got to team up and support the American in this war.' "

Calzaghe (44-0, 32 knockouts) is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision against previously unbeaten Mikkel Kessler of Denmark before a reported 50,000 fans at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Calzaghe, 35, who has fought almost exclusively in the United Kingdom, was recently named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, outpolling Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and Hatton.

"He's the European champion," Hopkins said. "But you've got to leave your neighborhood and fight the best guy in another neighborhood to prove you're the toughest guy out there.

"I'm fighting a champion, but he's fighting a legend. To have my name as a victory on his resume does more for him than having his name on my resume does for me. I'm already a Hall of Famer. He could have an American icon on his resume. The only thing he has now is Jeff Lacy."

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions (Hopkins is a partner and a client), said the two fighters have agreed in principle to a 50-50 split of the purse.

"The one fight we really want to put together is Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe," Schaefer said. "I have had some meetings with his promoter (Frank Warren). Talks are ongoing and they're progressing very nicely.

"The most important thing is that both fighters want to get this fight done."

Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs), who turns 43 in January, is considered the world's best light heavyweight after victories against Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright in his two most recent fights.

He is pushing to have the Calzaghe fight at Yankee Stadium in spring, although other sites, including Las Vegas, are under discussion.

Hopkins downshifted the hype machine to offer a sober analysis of the differences between American and European boxing fans, praising the Brits for their passion.

"We've got our downfalls here and we've got a lot of good attributes," he said. "In America we've got good fans but they have too many things to root for - football, all-star games, the whole package. We are spoiled here when it comes to having greatness among us. It's not taken for granted in Europe when you have a legend among you.

"We have more talent, but less love and support. It ain't that we're bad people, that we're not loyal. It's just that we have so many things to root for. The passion is there, but not as much as in Europe."

Calzaghe, on hand for the Mayweather-Hatton fight, was mobbed by fans wielding cameras as he walked the halls of the MGM Grand.

British fans also routinely approached Hopkins, confidently predicting a Calzaghe victory.

"Of course they're gonna support their people," Hopkins said. "But one thing about European fans - they respect warriors, they respect boxing, they respect athletes, no matter who you are. They got us beat by a landslide when it comes to loyalty, to being true to the game."

archive