Here's the round by round as provided by Boxingscene.com. I'll post pics as they come up.


Khan vs. Bull

It only took three rounds, Amir Khan stop Bull after a blistering attack of punches to the head and body. A left hook to the body sent Bull down and he indicated that he was not willing to fight on.



Calzaghe vs. Manfredo

Round 1 - A few missed punches by both fighters. Manfredo to the body. Calzaghe to the body. Calzaghe goes back to the body. Calzaghe jabbing to the body. Slow pace to the fight. Calzaghe landing a few shots while Manfredo holds him. Round scored for Calzaghe.
HBO scores for Calzaghe

Round 2 - Calzaghe pushing Manfredo back with punches to the body and head. Calzaghe hitting to the body with punches and walking away. Little right hand by Calzaghe. Calzaghe punching to the body and landing rights to the head. Round scored for Calzaghe.
HBO scores for Calzaghe

Round 3 - Calzaghe punching Manfedo to the head and body. Calzaghe lands a good right and now he is pounding Manfredo in the corner with punches in bunches as Manfredo is not punching back. He is laying against the ropes and covering up. The ref jumpes in to stop the fight. Very premature stoppage in my book. Manfredo did not appear hurt. HBO crew agrees. Calzaghe would have likely stopped him regardless but it was a bad way to end it.

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Calzaghe Ties Hopkins, Breaks Manfredo in 3
By Sammy Rozenberg

History was made at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday night. Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) successfully defended his WBO super middleweight title against reality star Peter Manfredo, Jr, (26-4, 12 KOs) and in the process he tied Bernard Hopkins' record of 20 successful title defense.

Manfredo, who gained fame from his appearance on the reality program "The Contender," was overwhelmed by a fighter on another level. Calzaghe used his quick hands to hit Manfedo to the body, and then come upstairs with a solid right hand.

In the third round, Calzaghe unleashed a barrage of punches on Manfredo as he was stuck against the ropes. Manfredo tried to block the punches, but he did not fire back, which prompted referee Terry O'Connor to jump in and stop the action. Although the stoppage was seen as a bit premature, Calzaghe well was on his way to winning the fight by knockout.

An estimated 35,000 Calzaghe fans packed the house to back their hero, the longest reigning champion in the sport of boxing. The fight with Manfredo is perceived to be Calzaghe's final bout in Wales, before a possible trip to America for a future mega-fight.

The win over Manfredo sets up two profitable scenarios for Calzaghe. The first option is a multi-million dollar bout against Bernard Hopkins in America. The storyline alone can sell the fight. Hopkins on more than one occasion has said on the record that he will not allow Calzaghe to break his record of 20 successful title defenses.

The fight is profitable enough that Calzaghe is willing to make the trip to America. He really doesn't have much of a choice in that department because Hopkins isn't willing to fight him in any country other than America.

Of course, Hopkins still has Winky Wright to contend with in the main event of a July pay-per-view. Hopkins meets Wright at a catch-weight of 170-pounds and there is nothing set in stone that Hopkins will win the fight. Wright is a very formidable opponent who could very well pull off the upset.

Another issue in making Calzaghe-Hopkins a reality, is the weight. Hopkins may not be able to get down to 168-pounds in order to make the fight, and Calzgahe may not want to risk his unbeaten record against Hopkins at a higher weight - for the moment. It's unlikely that Calzaghe will move up in weight to face Hopkins until he breaks his record of successful title defenses.

The other scenario would pit him against unbeaten WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler of Denmark. Kessler, a hard punching fighter with a fantastic jab, is gaining a lot of fans all over the world with his aggressive, power-punching style. His most recent win over Librado Andrade on March 24, was showcased on HBO, the "King Kong" of televised boxing in America. HBO also televised clips of his October 06 unification knockout win over Markus Beyer.

It's no secret that HBO is pushing behind the scenes for a winner takes all, unification showdown between Calzaghe and Kessler. Kessler makes the most money in Denmark, and Calzaghe gets the most bang for his buck in the United Kingdom. The fight is not worth nearly as much in America, but it's worth a fortune overseas.

Hopkins and Kessler are not the only fighters on Calzaghe's hit list. There is certainly the option of facing unbeaten middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, should Taylor be willing to move up in weight. At the moment, Taylor has a lot of options in the middleweight division and probably at least a year away from moving up in weight.

And then there is Roy Jones, Jr. The biggest issue that comes with making a fight with Jones is the negotiations process. Jones, more than any other in the sport, is the most difficult fighter to deal with at the negotiations table.

Numerous fights in the last two years have broken down because of Jones' unrealistic demands with respect to his financial compensation. Jones has also lost three of his last four fights, making him an opponent that Calzaghe has very little to gain from in victory, other than adding another "name" opponent on his resume.

Calzaghe's combos baffle ex-'Contender' star Manfredo
Associated Press
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CARDIFF, Wales -- Joe Calzaghe stopped Peter Manfredo in the third round Saturday to retain his WBO super middleweight title and improve to 43-0.

It was Calzaghe's 20th successful defense since he won the title from Chris Eubank in 1997, equaling Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes and moving within five of Joe Louis' record.

Manfredo, runner-up in the first season of "The Contender" reality television show, fell to 26-4. Calzaghe dominated with superior hand speed and punching power in front of 35,000 at the Millennium Stadium.

Manfredo was backed onto the ropes early in the third round and referee Terry O'Connor stopped the bout after 30 seconds.

"For my 20th defense, to be fighting in my stadium in front of such a tremendous crowd -- it's amazing after years and years of hard work," Calzaghe said. "This is where I've always wanted to be and finally, at nearly 35, I still feel great and sharp and I'm finally reaping the rewards. It was a great night."

Manfredo evaded the 34-year-old Welshman's punches in an uneventful first round, but Calzaghe increased his tempo in the second, dropping his hands to entice a wary Manfredo. He connected before covering up to defend against the American's response.

After getting Manfredo on the ropes in the third, Calzaghe threw a flurry of combinations.

Manfredo initially beckoned Calzaghe to continue, and the Welshman launched a sustained assault to the American's head and body to finish the fight early.

Manfredo was furious that O'Connor hadn't warned him that he was about to stop the fight.

"I'm a fighter, I'm a gladiator. I want to get killed to get out of that ring," he said. "He had no right to stop the fight, I wasn't hurt. I'm still in shock, I can't believe he stopped it that quick.

"I'm still in shock. He could have said to throw some punches or I'm going to stop it, or given me a warning."

Calzaghe used the bout, broadcast to the United States on HBO, to increase his profile in America.

He has identified Hopkins, Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor as future opponents. Pressure also will grow to fight WBA and WBC champion Mikkel Kessler in a unification bout -- especially after beating Manfredo.

But Calzaghe's promoter, Frank Warren, said post-fight that Kessler's team had said the Dane wouldn't be ready to fight in July and would want equal billing on any future bout.

Warren said that instead he would be offering $3 million on Monday for Calzaghe to fight Taylor, the super champion at middleweight, while Taylor also remains an option.

On the undercard, Amir Khan (12-0) stopped Steffy Bull in the third round in a lightweight non-title bout, and Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight title by stopping Bobby Gunn in the first round.

Khan was relentless as he handled the outclassed Bull, landing punches to the head and body.

Premature Referee Stoppage: Calzaghe Wins by 3rd Round TKO!
www.boxingconfidential.com
John Chavez
4/7/2007

Sure it was a thirty-five punch combination.

Sure Manfredo wasn't about to counter due to the rain of punches from Calzaghe.

The referee still stopped the fight prematurely. Most of the punches were missing or landing on the gloves of the former Contender series fighter. While it sure as hell didn't look like Manfredo had much of a chance to actually win the fight when Calzaghe turned it up, it still robbed the fans of seeing what Peter really had inside.

In the first round both fighters looked rather tentative looking to stay safely outside pawing with their jabs. It seemed like the fight could potentially turn out to not be what was anticipated to surely be a mismatch.

In the second round Calzaghe stepped up his game just a notch and ended up looking like the dominant champion he's been for his previous 19 title defenses.

By the third round Joe Calzaghe came out like a whirlwind fighting like a cross between Kassim Ouma and Manny Pacquiao. He started letting his punches fly like a boxer working the mitts and ripping off 20 and 30 punch combinations with no counters to worry about. In any case, I still feel that the stoppage was just a bit premature. I definitely agree with Manny Steward that it didn't really rob Peter Manfredo but rather Calzaghe of a proper knockout stoppage.

I think it was a bit out of line for HBO to degrade the Contender series as having nothing but hyped fighters who aren't cut out for the big league. What did Jeff Lacy do other than take a tremendous beating when facing Calzaghe last year? Maybe it's not so much that the Contender series fighters are overrated hype jobs, maybe it's just that Joe Calzaghe is a damn tough champion to look good against. Can't it be a combination of Joe being a truly great fighter and Manfredo being a solid but somewhat limited fighter? There's no need to write off the Contender series as being a fake show.

On another note, it was quite amusing to see the look of utter annoyance from Frank Warren after HBO's Larry Merchant brought up the fact that it seemed like the Mikkel Kessler fight had once again been rejected. Larry was completely right in bringing up the fact that this European showdown needs to happen. Both champions have their schedules available to face off late this summer so there's no reason the fight can't be made other than egos and financial constraints.

Hopefully we'll be able to see Joe Calzaghe fight either Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor, or the winner of Bernard Hopkins-Winky Wright. He's not getting any younger and needs another career defining fight against these recognized champions. It would provide boxing fans with a true showcase of what the best can do against the "Pride of Wales". If they get dominated just like Manfredo and Lacy did, I wonder what the excuses might be this time around...

CALZAGHE BLITZES Contender
Saturday 7th April 2007
msn.skysports.com

Joe Calzaghe's 10-year reign as World Super-middleweight champion shows no signs of abating after he stopped Peter Manfredo inside four rounds on Saturday night.

Fighting in front of a 35,000-strong crowd at the Millennium Stadium, the largest indoor crowd for a boxing card in Europe, Calzaghe equalled Larry Holmes and Bernard Hopkins' record of 20 straight title defences.

A flurry of punches in the third round left Manfredo helplessly covering up against the ropes, leaving referee Terry O'Connor no option but to stop the fight.

The decision left the American's corner incensed as he emerged relatively unscathed, but the truth was he was offering next to nothing by way of a counter.

Showing a more focused mentality than in his last outing against Sakio Bika, Calzaghe relied on his superior pace and boxing skills to see off his challenger.

Manfredo, a star of T.V show 'The Contender', offered little in reply as Calzaghe unleashed his relentless rapid-fire left-right combinations.

Victory takes the Welshman's record to an outstanding 43 wins and no losses, surely confirming it is time for a super-fight against the likes of Hopkins or WBA champion Mikkel Kessler.

Already the longest reigning champion in the world, Calzaghe was clearly in a different league to his opponent in Cardiff, although he did show Manfredo some respect early on.

A quiet opening round saw Calzaghe - boxing out of his southpaw stance - take time to figure out his relatively unknown competitor.

The pace accelerated in round two as the champion got his explosive jab working, although Manfredo still found himself in little trouble

He simply had no answers in the third though after Calzaghe connected with a sharp right to spark the beginning of the end.

Racking up the punch-count quicker than any other boxer can in the world, Calzaghe roared to yet another win, with the only question being will he now leave Wales to seek out that major fight.

JOE'S STILL SIMPLY THE BEST
Date: 7 Apr 2007 : Author: Mark Harnell
www.frankwarren.tv

Joe Calzaghe made the 20th successful defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against Peter Manfredo Jr with a third-round stoppage win in Cardiff.

Referee Terry O'Connor was at the centre of the action when he stopped Manfredo when he was still on his feet - and hadn't been down.

The American was under pressure on the ropes, and had taken a barrage of unanswered punches, but was shaken up rather than badly hurt.

Even if O'Connor had been somewhat premature in his interruption, he was only delaying the inevitable as Manfredo looked out of his depth.

Fighting in front of a record indoor crowd for a boxing event in Europe, the Welshman was simply too good for Manfredo, who had risen to fame via the Contender reality television series.

In beating him, 35-year-old Calzaghe equalled the marks of Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes, who also made 20 world title defences, extended his run of dominance to almost a decade.

Calzaghe, who stretches his record to 43-0, now has the overall record of Joe Louis, which stands at 25, firmly in his sights, and will also be cashing Rocky Marciano's unbeaten career stat of 49-0.

Coming into the fight off a scrappy but deserved points win against Sakio Bika, Calzaghe put in a display more akin to the one which saw him destroy Jeff Lacy in Manchester a little over a year ago.

Following a cautious start in which both boxers had a long look at each other, Calzaghe decided he had seen enough after winning the first two rounds.

He upped the pace in the third, and with 1:30 gone O'Connor decided that he'd seen enough as Manfredo became swamped on the ropes.

Enjoying natural height and reach advantages over Manfredo, who was only having his third fight at super-middleweight, Calzaghe was in charge from the start.

Both boxers had entered the arena to a tumult of noise from the 35,000 passionate Welshmen and women who had crammed into the Millennium Stadium.

There were boos for Manfredo, but they were mixed with cheers as well, and it was obvious the success and popularity he enjoyed on the Contender had transferred itself to the UK.

A massive underdog with the bookmakers, Manfredo had his moments in the fight, but couldn't reproduce the KO power that had swept him to impressive wins over Joe Spina and Scott Pemberton.

Even the presence of Sugar Ray Leonard, who advised him the build up to the fight but wasn't in his corner on the night, couldn't spur him to an unlikely victory.

Ironically it was almost 20 years to the day since Leonard sprung an unlikely points win over Marvin Hagler, but although much was made of the coincidence in the build up, once the first bell went it was obvious Manfredo wasn?t in with much of a chance of emulating the feat.

There were always concerns that a fighter who had campaigned around the light-middleweight mark in the Contender, he ended up losing the final to Sergio Mora, would be out-gunned by his more experienced opponent.

Calzaghe will now look to cement his position as the leading super-middleweight, and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in world boxing, with a fight against one of Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright or Mikkel Kessler.

The Dane, the WBA 168-pound champion, is probably the fight that most fans want to see, and American television network HBO may be able to bring it together.

HBO?s cameras were in Cardiff for Calzaghe-Manfredo, and the champion's reputation stateside, which received a huge boost when he beat Lacy on Showtime - will have been further enhanced by this showing.

CARDIFF REACTION
Date: 7 Apr 2007 : Author: Mark Harnell
www.frankwarren.tv

Joe Calzaghe, Enzo Maccarinelli and Amir Khan will all return in July following their wins on Saturday night - while Peter Manfredo Jnr has vowed never to return to England.

Stopped by referee Terry O'Connor in third round, Manfredo's WBO super-middleweight challenge against Joe Calzaghe was arguably ended prematurely, although defeat appeared inevitable.

Not so according to a furious Manfredo, who insisted that he hadn't even been hurt by Calzaghe, who spent the post fight press conference with ice on his hand.

"Joe was well on top and he hurt Peter with a couple of body shots and there wasn't much coming back, so I don't think there was much wrong," said promoter Frank Warren.

He also confirmed that Calzaghe would be back in July, and said he was determined to retain home advantage for the longest reigning world champion in the sport.

"I've made Mogens Palle a written offer for Joe to fight Mikkel Kessler, but he has faxed me to say that Kessler won't be ready for July," said Warren.

"We get stick for ducking out of fights, but I can't understand why Kessler can't be ready in four months time. And he won't be ready whatever terms we offer him.

"I've spoken to Lou Dibella about Calzaghe fighting Jermain Taylor, but we've not talked figures yet. He'll be getting a written offer first thing on Monday morning."

Calzaghe said he would be keen on facing the Dane next, adding that whichever fight paid him the most money would be the one that interested him the most.

Wherever Calzaghe fights, he will be joined by WBO cruiserweight champion Maccarinelli and Khan, both of whom had solid wins on the Cardiff undercard.

Khan will almost certainly step back up to championship level, and may be risked over 12 rounds.

Maccarinelli, who has won his last two fights in the first, may be paired with Jean Marc Mormeck, WBC and WBA champion, if Warren has his way.

What's for sure is that Manfredo Jr won't be on the card - or anywhere near a British ring any time soon.

"I trained a long time for this fight and I didn't deserve that," said Manfredo. "I wasn't hurt and the referee should have let the fight carry on. I didn't get a fair show.

"I'm a fighter, not a dancer or a singer, so why didn't they let me fight? That wouldn't have happened even in Providence. When I fought Joey Spina I had to knock him all over the place before I won.

"I've felt Calzaghe's power, and he doesn't hit that hard. Jermain Taylor or Bernard Hopkins would beat him, and Kessler would go right through him.

"You can't be great if you have all your fights in your own backyard, but I don't know if Calzaghe will go to America.

"After tonight, I don't think Taylor will want to come to the UK. Why does he want to come here and fight when things like that happen?

"They booed me into the ring, they booed me out of the ring and they booed my national anthem."

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Last update: 04-07-2007
Submitted by Fred Sternburg
www.boxingscene.com
Warren: "Kessler Turned Down Calzaghe Fight"

After Calzaghe's third-round stoppage of Peter Manfredo, Jr., he expressed his desire to unify his WBO/The Ring magazine titles with WBC/WBA champion Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs), from Copenhagen, Denmark, as his next fight this summer or travel to the U.S. to take on Jermain Taylor.

"I would love for him to come to the United States to fight Jermain Taylor," said Emanuel Steward, Taylor's trainer, during the HBO broadcast.

"I am the fastest super middleweight in the world," declared Calzaghe. "I am ready to come over to America. It has been a goal of mine to fight in the United States against a big name."

"Per Joe's desire to unify the belts, I had already offered Mikkel Kessler a multi-million dollar purse, including his keeping the German and Danish TV rights, for a summer title unification fight," stated Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren. "However, Kessler's promoter countered with a demand for parity and a 50/50 split on everything. Now look around Millennium Stadium today. Joe has sold a European record amount of tickets and generated publicity worldwide by successfully defending his title a landmark 20 times during a reign that has lasted nearly 10 years. Kessler is barely two years into his title reign and has very little name recognition outside his own country. We think he is an outstanding fighter and it would be brilliant if he and Joe would face each other next, but when a counter offer like that is made, it tells me his promoter doesn't want the fight. I can't believe that counter offer came from Mikkel. Joe is going to attempt to tie Sven Ottke's record with his 21st title defense this summer. I hope cooler heads prevail and it's against Mikkel Kessler."

Well Manfredo is a sore loser. But we still cannot comment about his ability as a fighter coz of him having 3 fights at super middleweight.

It makes JoeC popular in US but does him no good as far as his status and strature as a champ is concerned.

Bad stoppage IMO but it was a mismatch to begin with.

I'm REALLY lookin forward to Kessler/Calzaghe..

Bad stoppage IMO but it was a mismatch to begin with.

I'm REALLY lookin forward to Kessler/Calzaghe..

Terrible stoppage. I didn't think Manfredo should have been in the ring with Joe...but it was pretty funny seeing him crumple under the traditional Welsh welcome to foreign sportsmen. He looked like was going to cry when his national anthem got booed.

The Khan fight wasn't really competitive either. Stefy really didn't want to be there by the looks of things.

What kind of time were the fights on HBO? Y'all watch the fights live?

What does this means for Manfredo's Boxing Career. I mean IMO he had nothing to lose coming into this fight. Where does he goes from here. I think he might get a shot into future 2-3 years down the road after getting some experience and improving his skills. I think he should stick to Super Middleweight.

early stop but the outcome would have been the same if it went on.

Anyone that boos a national anthem (expecially a foreign one) is a fuckin moron. They make themselves look bad, they make their country look bad, and it makes boxing look bad. I wish they'd stay the fuck home or watch it at a pub or something.

^^^^Right Said Bean. Repped.