Call for Hopkins to walk the walk

Bernard Hopkins has been urged to prove his self-proclaimed legendary status against Joe Calzaghe in Las Vegas.

Hopkins' big head-to-head with Joe Calzaghe in Planet Hollywood on Wednesday passed off without major incident and there are fears the wily Philadelphian's tactics could turn their big fight into a non-event.

Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren said: "I'm confident Bernard will come to fight. Legends don't fight on the back foot. He says he's a legend so he's got to prove it by fighting the right way in the ring."

Hopkins' defensive style has always been a turn-off at the box office and the issue of his age has also repeatedly been raised in the big fight build-up, with the boxer's father Enzo Calzaghe presenting the 43-year-old with a walking stick.

The Welshman is determined to put on a show against Hopkins and insisted: "I don't just want to win this fight. That will not be good enough for me. I want to knock this guy out.

"The extra seven pounds in weight has given me much more power. I used to throw 1,000 punches. I'm going to get it down to 500 but cause more damage to that face of his."

Calzaghe insists he is far too focused on extending his unbeaten record and becoming a two-weight world champion to bother much about the historic setting of Las Vegas.

He said: "Maybe after my career is finished I will reflect on my 11 years as champion and the whole Vegas thing and maybe I'll appreciate it more. But for now a ring's a ring and it doesn't matter where it is."

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