REPORTING FROM ... HOPKINS VS. CALZAGHE

by Tim Struby

On Saturday night, big-time boxing found itself back in Mecca - Las Vegas with Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins (48-4-1) defending his light heavyweight title against Welshman Joe Calzaghe (44-0), who was fighting for the first time on American soil. You might say, it was electric.

The event drew over 14,000 to UNLV's Thomas and Mack Center. A plethora of celebrities crammed ringside, including Whitney Houston, Jeremy Piven, Jay-Z and Rocky Balboa himself, Sylvester Stallone (who entered the arena to chants of "Roc-ky! Roc-ky!").

Yet it wasn't the A-listers who interested me, but the British. Thousands of British milled through the Thomas and Mack center. Groups of women. Packs of men. Husbands and wives. They'd all crossed the pond to support Newbridge, Wales native Calzaghe. A colorful lot, they draped themselves in flags, wore Welsh hats, sang British soccer songs. Some dressed to the nines (suits, cocktail dresses). Others were a bit rougher around the edges (tattoos, missing teeth). I wanted to get a little taste of their Las Vegas fight experience.

Seeking out some willing subjects was simple: I merely had to seek out the bars.

I met up with a trio of well-heeled ladies, several of them double-fisting Red Bulls and vodka cocktails. I assumed they were Welsh. My mistake.

"We're all from Essex," explained Olivia Reynolds, who was getting married to 'Rory' on May 24th. She and her gals were on a 'hen' party. "We like Joe but we love Ricky Hatton!"

They were on holiday, taking advantage of the weak dollar. They were not, however, taking advantage of their Welsh counterparts.

"Welshmen?" said Leah Lane. "I'm not over-keen. We're trying not to hang out with them."

I sort of understood where she was coming from. Soon enough, I came across a band of Welshmen in red t-shirts. Each shirt had a large, ironed-on white letter. When standing in proper order (and they had bought their tickets that way) spelled out 'Calzaghe!'

"We've been drinking a lot," said their ringleader, Gareth Collier. They'd come from Llanhilleth, a small town only a few miles from Calzaghe's gym. "And we've been trying to find ourselves some American girls. They're spectacular."

The men then described their plans for the rest of their holiday: drinking, dancing, drinking, girls, and drinking. "It doesn't matter that only 1 out of 50 Americans knows where Wales is," said Collier. "We're still going to have a great time. Especially when Joe wins."

An hour and a half later, they got their wish. After 12 rounds of grappling and griping, Calzaghe earned a split decision. The crowd cheered, they sang. Then, not surprisingly, they went out for more than a few drinks.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine