PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Author Calzaghe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andre Van der Laan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Van der Laan is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Eazy-E ft. Tupac, The Game - How We Do. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Calzaghe
vs
Van der Laan

194 cm
24
191 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

185 cm
28
195 lbs
14 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Powerful

Fight Club Clothing™
Fight Club Clothing™

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Author Calzaghe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Andre Van der Laan!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Roosa Järviläinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Calzaghe throws a right hand that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Van der Laan scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Calzaghe swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Van der Laan moves into the clinch.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Van der Laan's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Calzaghe misses with a punch to the body.
Calzaghe lands a shoulder strike.
Calzaghe dodges an elbow strike from Van der Laan.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Calzaghe dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Calzaghe lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Calzaghe lands a nice shot to the body.
Calzaghe lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Calzaghe takes an elbow to the forehead.
Van der Laan lands a knee to the body.
Van der Laan throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Calzaghe blocks it with crossed arms.
Van der Laan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Calzaghe working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Van der Laan looking to slow down the pace here.
A shot in the inside from Calzaghe.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Calzaghe creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A left hand lands to the body for Calzaghe.
Good body shot from Calzaghe.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Calzaghe stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A right hook to the body lands for Calzaghe.
Calzaghe pushes Van der Laan back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Calzaghe fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Calzaghe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Calzaghe avoiding damage as Van der Laan throws knees to the body.
A short right from Calzaghe on the inside.
Calzaghe presses Van der Laan against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A right hand to the body from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Calzaghe effectively controlling the action here.
Calzaghe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Calzaghe lands with a left to the head.
Calzaghe lands with a right to the head.
A right handed body shot lands from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan landing knees to the body.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the head but Calzaghe blocks with his arms.
Calzaghe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Van der Laan looking to throw knees to the head but Calzaghe is blocking nicely.
Van der Laan looks gassed!
Calzaghe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Van der Laan is trying to maintain a safe position but Calzaghe gets an underhook and turns Van der Laan into the cage.
Calzaghe avoids the elbow strike from Van der Laan, against the cage.
Van der Laan throws a knee to the head but misses.
Calzaghe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Van der Laan being controlled against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Calzaghe manages to break the clinch.
Van der Laan avoids the body shot from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe misses with an uppercut
and Van der Laan counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Calzaghe misses with a looping right.
Van der Laan tries to close the distance and clinch but Calzaghe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Calzaghe misses with a hook
and Van der Laan counters with a nice body kick.
Calzaghe throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Van der Laan makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Calzaghe misses with a two punch combination.
Calzaghe swings away with a body shot that misses

and Van der Laan holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Calzaghe working aggressively here.
Van der Laan misses with an elbow strike.
A bit of stalling here from Van der Laan.
Calzaghe lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Van der Laan.

It looks like Author Calzaghe has been cut.
Van der Laan is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Van der Laan with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Calzaghe fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Van der Laan blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Calzaghe wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Van der Laan misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Calzaghe.

Calzaghe breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Van der Laan keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe misses with a looping left.
Calzaghe scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Van der Laan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Calzaghe manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Calzaghe misses with an uppercut

and Van der Laan counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe has a couple of punches blocked by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe misses with a punch on the inside.
Calzaghe lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van der Laan throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Calzaghe blocks it with crossed arms.
Calzaghe wants to stall.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Van der Laan misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan tries to stall but Calzaghe uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Calzaghe lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Van der Laan.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Calzaghe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Calzaghe ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Van der Laan moves away.
Nice defenses there by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe swats away the attempt to clinch by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe throws a lazy right hand but Van der Laan sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A punch combination from Calzaghe misses.
Calzaghe throws a hook to the side of Van der Laan's head but Van der Laan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Andre Van der Laan will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Author Calzaghe's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Calzaghe looks to score with a jab to the body but Van der Laan is just out of range.
A big right from Calzaghe misses.
Van der Laan wants to clinch

and Calzaghe counters by clinching up.
Calzaghe lands a body shot in the clinch.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Calzaghe lands with a left to the head.
Calzaghe lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Calzaghe lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Calzaghe misses with some punches.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Calzaghe avoids it.
Van der Laan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Calzaghe is defending well for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Calzaghe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Calzaghe takes an elbow to the forehead.
Calzaghe lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Calzaghe lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Calzaghe scores with a hook to the body.
Calzaghe lands with a short shot to the head.
Calzaghe managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Calzaghe lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good body shot from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Van der Laan is breathing heavily.
A short left from Calzaghe.
The referee is keeping an eye on Calzaghe - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Van der Laan creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Van der Laan looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Calzaghe is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
A shot in the inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands with a left to the head.
Van der Laan tries a knee to the head but Calzaghe blocks it.
A right handed body shot lands from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Calzaghe digs a right hand underneath Van der Laan's ribcage. Van der Laan let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Calzaghe lands with a right to the head.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Calzaghe gets through Van der Laan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Calzaghe lands a shoulder strike.
A nice left hand lands by Calzaghe.
Calzaghe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Van der Laan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Calzaghe is defending well for now.
Calzaghe lands a body punch in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Calzaghe stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Van der Laan's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Calzaghe avoids it.
Calzaghe scores with a nice hook to the head.
Author Calzaghe has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands a right hand that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Van der Laan tries to land knees in the clinch but Calzaghe avoids the damage to the body.
Calzaghe cracks Van der Laan with a nice body shot.
Calzaghe is working Van der Laan over against the cage.
Calzaghe makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Calzaghe lands a hook to the side of the head.

Calzaghe breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Calzaghe throws a jab but it's blocked by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe misses with an uppercut

and Van der Laan counters by moving into the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Calzaghe lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Van der Laan throws an elbow but it misses.
Calzaghe managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
A short left from Calzaghe.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Van der Laan stalling in the clinch but Calzaghe improves position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the head but Calzaghe blocks with his arms.
Calzaghe cracks Van der Laan with a nice body shot.
Calzaghe stalls.
Calzaghe pushes Van der Laan back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Calzaghe lands an uppercut.
Calzaghe lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A short left from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe scores with a shot to the side of Van der Laan's head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe leaning his opponent against the cage.
Calzaghe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Calzaghe lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
A left hand lands to the body for Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands a shoulder strike.
Calzaghe lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Calzaghe scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Van der Laan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Calzaghe is defending well for now.
Calzaghe lands a body shot in the clinch.
Calzaghe lands a shot to the body.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Calzaghe avoids it.
Calzaghe works on Van der Laan's body with a couple of short punches.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe works on Van der Laan's body with a couple of short punches.
Calzaghe effectively controlling the action here.
Calzaghe pushes Van der Laan back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Calzaghe softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Van der Laan misses with an elbow strike.
Van der Laan throws an elbow that misses.
A hook to the body from Calzaghe.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A body shot lands from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands an uppercut.
Calzaghe lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Van der Laan.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Calzaghe pressing his opponent against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Calzaghe creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Author Calzaghe dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Author Calzaghe's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Calzaghe throws a shot from downtown. Van der Laan moves away and avoids it.
Calzaghe throws a lazy uppercut
and Van der Laan counters with an outside leg kick.
Calzaghe misses with a combination
and Van der Laan counters with a nice body kick.
Van der Laan staying out of range there.
Calzaghe throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Calzaghe throws a right hand that misses

and Van der Laan counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Calzaghe lands a right hand.
Calzaghe scores with a nice hook to the head.
Van der Laan using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Calzaghe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Van der Laan gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Calzaghe is working Van der Laan over against the cage.
Calzaghe throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Van der Laan trying to control the position but instead, Calzaghe has worked for underhooks and has pushed Van der Laan into the cage.
Calzaghe lands a left hand.
Van der Laan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A body shot lands from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands a body punch in the clinch.
Nice body punch from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Calzaghe is defending well for now.
Nice body punch from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Van der Laan up against the cage.
Calzaghe scores with a shoulder strike.
Calzaghe managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Calzaghe stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Calzaghe presses Van der Laan against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Good body shot from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe digs a right hand into Van der Laan's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Van der Laan's gas tank.
Calzaghe scores with a shoulder strike.

Calzaghe breaks from the clinch.
Calzaghe scores with a hook.
Calzaghe loads up on a big right hand but Van der Laan slips the punch.
Van der Laan slips under a jab.
Author Calzaghe is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Calzaghe misses with a double jab
and Van der Laan counters with a thumping low kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Van der Laan.
Calzaghe throws a sloppy body shot
and Van der Laan counters with a nice low kick that buckles Calzaghe's knee momentarily.

Calzaghe gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Van der Laan pushes off an throws an elbow but Calzaghe leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
The referee calls for Van der Laan to work.
A nice left hand lands by Calzaghe.
Calzaghe stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Van der Laan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Calzaghe is defending well for now.
Calzaghe lands a body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Calzaghe lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Calzaghe lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Calzaghe lands an uppercut.
Calzaghe stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Calzaghe holding his opponent close, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands a hook that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Calzaghe just leaning against Van der Laan, taking a breather.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Calzaghe lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Calzaghe lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Calzaghe lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Calzaghe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Calzaghe lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Calzaghe digs a right hand into Van der Laan's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Van der Laan's gas tank.
Calzaghe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Calzaghe is struggling to control the position.
Calzaghe stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A nice right hand lands inside from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Van der Laan tries to land knees in the clinch but Calzaghe avoids the damage to the body.
Nice body punch from Calzaghe.
A short uppercut from Calzaghe.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Calzaghe.
A short uppercut from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe avoiding damage as Van der Laan throws knees to the body.
Van der Laan misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A hook to the body from Calzaghe.
Calzaghe lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Calzaghe is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
A short body shot lands from Calzaghe as the two fighters clinch.
Calzaghe lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Calzaghe lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Calzaghe breaks the clinch.
Van der Laan showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Calzaghe.
Van der Laan dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Calzaghe. That did some damage!
Calzaghe swats away the attempt to clinch by Van der Laan.
Calzaghe misses with a lunging right hand
and Van der Laan counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Calzaghe thows a body shot but no joy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Author Calzaghe showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Calzaghe has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Author Calzaghe!