Heavyweight great Holmes favours Calzaghe by Ian McNeilly May 15th 2008

'Easton Assassin' Larry Holmes favours Joe Calzaghe over Roy Jones Jr if the two light-heavyweights fight later this year.   “Roy Jones doesn't take the best punches anymore, but he still has quick hands and he still punches well," said the all-time heavyweight great during his current visit to Britain.   He told Setanta Sports News:  "If he [Calzaghe] lets Roy's clowning and showboating get to him he'll be in trouble. But if he goes in concentrating on what he's got to do, he hasn't got a problem.”   Holmes, regularly underrated by most boxing fans, also dismissed the current crop of heavyweight boxers as nothing more than ‘big and strong guys who don't know how to fight.'   “If you want to prove yourself as a champion, you have to fight everybody and anybody who comes up and gives you that challenge. You have to prove yourself worthy of being heavyweight champion of the world.   “Fighting Mike Tyson, I was out of my prime a little bit. I retired, I came back. He beat me. But, you know what? It was a good fight from me, it was a good fight from him and it put a whole new grudge (sic) on it. And that's what really makes a champion.”   A career highlight for Holmes was his WBC title bout against Ken Norton, where the pair battled it out toe to toe for 15 rounds. He said:   “Fighters don't do that anymore. They don't fight 15 rounds, they barely fight ten rounds. We were in terrific shape, we had a great time out there and I became victorious that night.”

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