ENZO Calzaghe launched an offensive of his own at Bernard Hopkins ahead of his son's meeting with him in Las Vegas tomorrow night, presenting the veteran Hopkins with a walking stick and maintaining the American will never have enough in his locker to hand Joe his first loss in their light-heavyweight contest.
Calzaghe snr, who trains his son, said: "I think Hopkins got past his sell-by date a long, long time ago. And from what I've seen of him before, he's not a fighter who would be at the top of my list.
"The biggest fear with Hopkins is that he won
't want to come and fight. So I'm not going to say there's nothing to worry about. But I hope he stands by his word and performs like the legend he says he is.
"Hopkins is going to have to bring something special, something different. Every part of what Joe brings is better. He's faster, younger, fresher. He has more moves and a lot better boxing brain."
Meanwhile, his son Joe, the undisputed super-middleweight champion, has poured scorn on Hopkins' belief that his 56-month stretch in a Pennsylvania penitentiary will give him the edge.
Hopkins, 43, is never short of words when it comes to discussing the time he spent inside from the age of 17 and maintains the experience gave him the hunger to go on to reign for over a decade as world middleweight champion.
But Calzaghe, 36, who experienced a relatively serene upbringing in the Welsh countryside, mocked his opponent's mentality following a low-key head-to-head press conference at the Planet Hollywood resort.
"Hopkins says he had to go to prison to make himself hard. That means he's weak. Me? I was born hard. Hopkins has been to prison.
"Big deal, give him a medal. I was knocking out sparring partners who had been to prison when I was a 14-year-old kid.
"I'm beginning to think they must teach people to talk so much rubbish out here when they are at school. They talk so much of it. I don't care about his reputation. On Saturday I am going to make a grown man cry."
However, a rambling Hopkins vowed to make Calzaghe pay for his supposed disrespect.
"Everybody knows what I've accomplished in my game and when Joe says I'm not really this or that, he's really lost it," added Hopkins. "That's just like saying Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan wasn't great."
Given both fighters' stirring victories in their most recent performances, it would be difficult to suggest either is very far off his best form heading into a bout six years in the making. Hopkins is coming off two stunning light-heavyweight victories, and Calzaghe has just added two super-middleweight title belts to his own.
"The times have changed, and 43 today is not what it was in the '70s and the '60s," Hopkins said. "You see it in every sport. They can make an issue of it if they want.
"They've been talking about it ever since they decided they wanted the fight, but they know the truth."
"I really feel better than I ever did," said Calzaghe, who has taken to calling his opponent "Popkins" on occasion.
"He talks a good one, but when I look at him, I see a 43-year-old guy who has lost four fights," Calzaghe added. "My father taught me better, but I'm going to be disrespectful to my elders."
The full article contains 591 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
