Calzaghe brands Hopkins a sore loser

Joe Calzaghe has accused Bernard Hopkins of being a sore loser after their light-heavyweight clash in Las Vegas.

Unbeaten Welshman Calzaghe, the undisputed super-middleweight world champion, won a split decision after recovering from a first-round knockdown against the 43-year-old.

Hopkins looked stunned after two of the three judges gave the fight to Calzaghe, one of them by a large 116-111 margin, and claimed he won the fight.

'He should get over it,' 36-year-old Calzaghe told the BBC. 'He should watch the tape and accept that he lost.

'There were three American judges and he still lost. I don't need to find 100 excuses as I won. He's a sore loser.'

Apart from Hopkins' straight right that floored Calzaghe for the first time in his career, neither fighter landed many telling shots in a scrappy clash of styles.

'I won the fight. I was the aggressor. I landed more punches. End of story,' added Calzaghe, who stretched his unbeaten record to 45 fights.

'I don't mind if I don't see the guy again. To be honest, I've never been a Bernard Hopkins fan and never will be.

'You ask me about Roy Jones Jnr and I'll say I like him and love his style. I've got a lot of respect for him and he is a legend but Hopkins isn't.'

Calzaghe said earlier this week that he would have one more fight before ending his career, possibly against Jones or fellow American Kelly Pavlik.