Round by Round: Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr.

The undercard is over and Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. are getting ready to head to the ring. The tale of the tape has them basically even in height, weight and reach. Calzaghe is three years younger than Jones.

Jones comes to the ring first. He promised to come out to a song he recorded himself, but it is hard to hear over the crowd. Calzaghe is up second. His current period of inactivity is the longest of his career.

We've got two national anthems to do, of course. Michelle Cleary handles the "Star-Spangled Banner." Michael Buffer is handling the introductions. Jones is in black and orange, Calzaghe is wearing blue and white.

And we're ready to go!

Round One

Calzaghe tries a quick jab and a lunging left. Both men jabbing but not landing. Joe backs Roy into the corner and Jones covers up. Soft left by Calzaghe. Jones finally tries a power shot but has to back away. Joe throws a flurry to the body and head in the corner. Counter right to the body by Roy. Jones is able to duck some shots back in the center of the ring. Jones lands a right hand and Calzaghe goes down! The announcers think he's hurt but he's standing in there.

Franchise: 10-8 Jones
Spartan117: 9-9

Round Two

Blood is coming from Joe's nose. Calzaghe tries some roughhousing as they tie up. Joe goes back to the jab. Both men swinging and missing right now. Calzaghe flurries to the body but Roy shakes his head. Joe still attempting to push the pace. Sharp right by Jones as he backs up. Another big flurry by Joe in the corner; a few landed but many were blocked.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Jones

Round Three

Calzaghe backs up Jones and lands a left upstairs that is quickly answered. Back in the corner again, Jones laughs but he is getting hit. Nice straight right by Jones. Joe landing some clean shots to the body even though Jones acts like they don't hurt. Roy is doing a lot of covering up and not throwing too many punches. Both men doing a lot of showboating as the round ends.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Four

Joe goes right back to the body to begin this frame. Both men land jabs as they jockey for position. Good right by Calzaghe. Big flurry by Joe in the corner. Quick snapping right hand by Jones. They tie up with nothing landing. Body-head combo by Calzaghe. Roy landing some counter but eating a lot more coming back. Right-left combo to the head by Roy but Joe shakes it off.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Five

Lots of dancing to start this frame. Roy looks a little more active now. A straight left sets up a flurry by Calzaghe. Thudding body shot by Joe answered upstairs by Roy. The ref breaks them up as they wrestle. Hard right by Jones but Calzaghe slips away from the follow-up. Nice exchange both ways along the ropes and Jones' left eye is starting to swell. That was an entertaining round with Calzaghe landing quantity and Jones answering with power.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Six

Left hands back up Jones right away. He covers up and picks his spots. Roy flicks a jab and they tie up. Calzaghe resumes his body attack. Lots of feinting in the center of the ring. Good counter right by Jones. Shots land both ways in the corner. Now they work out into the center where Roy has had more success. Jones is still trying to counter but Calzaghe not giving him much. There's a nice uppercut by Roy that was the best punch of the round.

Franchise: 10-9 Jones
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Seven

Roy tries to dig in and stand his ground in the opening seconds here. They wrestle in the corner to no avail. Goob jabs by Roy. Calzaghe hasn't done much so far this round. Now he scores with a left and flurries away. The announcers think Roy is hurt as he backs into the corner. Jones' left eye is bloody and his counter shots aren't bothering Calzaghe as much. Joe mocks Roy's dancing as the round ends.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Eight

It didn't look like Roy's corner could get the cut completely stopped. Both men look like they want to showboat again. Joe whacks him with a right upstairs. Calzaghe stalking as Jones backs away. Joe flurries in the corner and Roy's eye is a mess. Nice shots in close by Jones. Calzaghe scores with the straight left. The final 30 seconds see more flashy combos by Joe while Roy looks for one big shot that isn't coming right now.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round Nine

There's an extended look at Jones' eye but they are letting him continue. Joe comes in and Roy counters. Jones almost needs a KO because of the condition of that cut. He turns a little more aggressive now. Roy digs to the body as they wrestle in the center of the ring. The grappling continues in the corner and Roy is having trouble with the volume flying at him. Joe is taking part of this round off though. Nice exchange with both men landing. They both shake their heads at each other as the bell rings.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round 10

Calzaghe throws an immediate combo to the body as the announcers criticize Jones' corner for their handling of his cut. Jones comes forward but doesn't throw. Roy still has some snap on his short shots but they aren't coming frequently. Joe isn't doing as much but still probably enough to win the round. The ref has turned very busy keeping them apart. Roy covering up because he is having trouble seeing the punches coming.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round 11

More dancing than boxing right now. Calzaghe attacks the body and head effectively. Jabs keep coming at Roy's left eye. Not sure it's smart for Joe to taunt Roy so much, but it's not hurting him. Calzghe lands to the body and ducks away. The crowd is booing a little as that round sort of petered out.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

Round 12

Unless the ringside judges saw a much different fight, Jones needs a KO to win. He's looking for the home run shot but doesn't have an opening right now. Calzaghe not taking too many risks and landing the occasional punch. Roy is backing with his hands down. He covers and Calzaghe flurries; the crowd tries to spur Jones on. Calzaghe dances again and Jones tries to load up the right. Body shots both ways. Nothing big lands at the bell and we'll head to the cards.

Franchise: 10-9 Calzaghe
Spartan117: 10-9 Calzaghe

The judges score the fight 118-109, 118-109 and 118-109, all for the winner... and still undefeated Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion of the world... Joe Calzaghe.

Max Kellerman asks Calzaghe about the first-round knockdown, and Joe admits he was stunned by a good shot. He says he always comes back harder when he's on the canvas, and he says it was an honor to fight Jones. Calzaghe thanks his fans for their support too. Kellerman asks why he'd fight with with his hands down, but Joe says he can fight many styles and it's hard for his opponents to deal with that.

What's the future? Calzaghe says he'll have to sit down and think about it instead of making a final decision tonight. Kellerman asks about Chad Dawson, but Joe kind of deflects the question.

Now it's Roy's turn. He says he could have gone two different ways after the knockdown, and by throwing big punches, he got out of his game a bit. Jones says it was a good right hand that caused the cut over his eye.

Roy sneaks in a shout-out to Obama and claims he was game to the end of the fight. He's not ready to say this is his last fight, as he'll regroup and talk to his team.