NEW YORK, Nov 8 AFP - Undefeated Welshman Joe Calzaghe recovered from a first-round knockdown and pummeled Roy Jones jnr until the final bell today to earn a a unanimous 12-round decision in a light heavyweight showdown at Madison Square Garden.
All three judges scored the fight 118-109 in favour of Calzaghe, who improved to 46-0 with 32 knockouts.
US legend Jones saw his three-fight winning streak snapped as he fell to 52-5 with 38 wins inside the distance.
Jones knocked down Calzaghe in the first round with a right hand that left Calzaghe bleeding from the nose.
But Calzaghe rallied to dominate the remaining rounds before a vocal crowd of 14,152 that was packed with British fans.
Calzaghe, gaining in confidence, finished the third round staring down Jones at the bell.
In the fifth he caught Jones with a right followed by a powerful left that snapped the American’s head back.
Calzaghe lived up to the prediction of his father and trainer Enzo Calzaghe that he would get stronger and faster as the fight progressed, and his attack clearly wore Jones down.
In the seventh the relentless Calzaghe had opened a cut over Jones’s left eye as the 39-year-old American struggled to match his pace.
In the 12th Calzaghe hardly needed to throw a punch he had so demonstrated his superiority over the aging Jones.
The pitty-pats were a little harder than I thought,'' admitted Jones, who won the middleweight world title 15 years ago, the heavyweight crown five years ago and dominated at light heavyweight in between. I don’t know what’s next for me,’’ Jones said. ``I’ll go back and talk to my team, to my family, and see how I feel. If I feel good, I’ll continue to fight.’’
Should have been stopped after Jones got cut - the cut was nasty, he simply couldn’t see!