Hopkins livid over Calzaghe's comments

Bernard Hopkins has two words for Joe Calzaghe: “Shut up.”

Calzaghe, THE RING light heavyweight champ who is mulling retirement, told the Associated Press a few days ago that he’s glad he’ll soon be leaving the sport because it’s in dire shape.

“I think boxing is a dying sport. Globally – in America for instance – you've got UFC, which has taken a lot off boxing, business-wise," Calzaghe said.

He went on: “There is too much politics in boxing, too many belts and too many champions, which dilutes real champions like myself. There are four world champions in each division and it's bad because there are no stars any more. It's a big problem.”

Calzaghe also took a shot at boxing in the United States, pointing out that only one American (Deontay Wilder) won a medal in the 2008 Olympics.

“America only had one medalist in the Olympics this year," Calzaghe said. "In Britain, we did pretty good, but I'm glad I'm ending my career and not starting it because I don't think it's going to be that great in the future.”

Hopkins, who lost a close decision to Calzaghe in April and wants a rematch, finds Calzaghe’s comments both interesting and infuriating, the latter because of his enduring love of the sport and probably because it remains his livlihood.

The former middleweight titleholder pointed out that Calzaghe does not attract many fans outside his native Wales, meaning he’s part of the problem. Even Englishman Ricky Hatton, Hopkins said, has a bigger following than Calzaghe.

“I don’t know where he’s been, on Mars or something,” Hopkins said. “Maybe he missed the numbers that (Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquaio) generated – 1.25 million pay-per-view buys in a recession. That’s 70, 80 million dollars in revenue. And he’s says boxing is dead?

“Maybe it’s dead when he fights.”

Hopkins was just getting started.

“If he wants to retire, he should go ahead and retire and keep his mouth shut. He has his wins (this year), his undefeated record. He should go join his family. Other than that, he should shut up. And tell him Bernard says that.”

Calzaghe wasn’t finished either. He also made some comments about De La Hoya after his dismal performance on Saturday, indicating that he didn’t want to go out in a similar manner.

“De La Hoya hasn’t been a real fighter for years,” he told walesonline.co.uk. “You can’t fault the guy because he has been a great fighter in the past and made so much money from the sport. But, realistically, he has been a part-time boxer for years.”

De La Hoya has fought four times in the past 2½ years.

“That’s jealousy, envy,” said Hopkins, a partner in De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. “They [Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr.] didn’t do well on pay-per-view, under 300,000. So when you start hearing things like that, it’s just jealousy. …

“It’s easy to kick someone when they’re down. I’m not saying this because I’m his friend and a partner, but Oscar’s record speaks for itself. Look at what he’s acccomplished over 20 years.”