"I thought this was going to be a good fight and in essence, it wasn't as good as we thought. It was more like a...I don't even know what to call that fight. It was lackluster. It became the same vibe throughout after a while," stated the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis as he discussed Joe Calzaghe's recent win over Bernard Hopkins. Check out what else he had to say as he shared his thoughts on Hopkins, Calzaghe, his chances in a fight with Roy Jones Jr. and much more.
PC: What did you think about the Hopkins/Calzaghe fight?
LL: I thought the age was a factor in the late rounds. I thought Calzaghe never really...he basically outworked him. He didn't never really show anything. Most of his punches were a slap and that comes from conditioning, in a sense, that when British boxers train, they're trainer holds up a pad and says, "Come on, give it to me for a minute, come on, throw," and they throw a combination and all of a sudden, when they get tired, it turns into slaps, but their trainer never says to them, "Okay, you're slapping." He just wants the volume.
PC: You told me we would have to see the Bernard that showed up for Tarver and not Winky and we got a lot of clinching like he did against Winky.
LL: Man, I'm telling you it's a gunshy thing that he goes through where his theory is the old Muhammad Ali thing where you hit the guy and then you hold him and then that's how you win the fight and that's an intelligent way to win a fight, but not every time.
PC: Sooner or later, the judges were going to get tired of seeing that.
LL: Uh huh, yeah boy.
PC: Would you like to see some of these older guys contribute in another way other than competing?
LL: It's difficult to tell because I thought this was going to be a good fight and in essence, it wasn't as good as we thought. It was more like a...I don't even know what to call that fight. It was lackluster. It became the same vibe throughout after a while.
PC: Yeah, every round started looking the same.
LL: Yeah, definitely, so I wasn't upset that I didn't go. What else could I tell you about that fight? You know, there's nothing else to really tell. This isn't me saying this, but the people that was in the room with me watching the fight said, "Yo, when you publicly say you won't let a white boy beat you, those judges ain't going to let you win if it goes to the judges (laughing)"
PC: If Calzaghe and Roy Jones fight next, how do you see that fight going?
LL: I would really have to think about Roy Jones on that one. Roy Jones knows how not to get hit.
PC: Were you surprised that when Bernard dropped him in the first, he didn't jump all over him?
LL: Bernard had his eyes closed when he dropped him because what Bernard did was he threw a punch going forward and Calzaghe was right there for it. Calzaghe was upset that he got hit. All of a sudden, a demeanor came over Calzaghe after that; it was like a wake up shot.
PC: It was weird to me Champ because Bernard took more calculated risk in the Tarver fight and Tarver is a much bigger puncher than Calzaghe.
LL: Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. Bernard does that in a couple of fights, but he must have his reasons and a gameplan; everybody has their own gameplan.
PC: Last time we spoke, you said Tito Ortiz showed you some things, but did you show him a couple of thing as well?
LL: Yeah. Yes, I showed him some boxing stuff as well.
PC: I know you're a fan. Did you watch the UFC last week?
LL: No, I just watched the Hopkins fight, but the French love to fight.
PC: What else you have going on Champ?
LL: Just looking after the family right now. I'm going to be going to see Muhammad Ali next week. They have a function at the Kentucky Derby for him.
PC: I won't hold you up Champ. Thanks as always and I'm going to keep in touch with you.
LL: Alright Percy, cool!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]