'Super, Super Joe, Super, Super Joe, Super, Super Joe, Super Joe Calzaghe,' reverbed around the Thomas & Mack Center after the Welshman retained his unbeaten record via split decision over former pound-for pound king Bernard Hopkins.

The undisputed Super Middleweight Champion got up off the canvas in the first to record a victory by decision to add the Ring magazine's Light Heavyweight belt to his arsenal. The fight took place amid racist taunts after Hopkins told the watching the world that he 'would never be beaten by a white boy'.

Calzahge brought in his undefeated record looking for recognition that he was one of the sports greats. Widely rated amongst the top three p4p fighters along with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, the pride of Newbridge, Wales, still felt that the public were sceptical of his achievements.

Tom Jones sang the national anthem of Wales before R&B singer Ray Jay belted out the star spangled banner - praise must be heaped on the paying public for observing both anthems - something Ricky Hatton's fans had failed to do in his last fight in America against Floyd Mayweather Jr. It had been said that this gave Mayweather extra motivation to beat Hatton but the patriotic Welsh crowd gave Hopkins nothing to work off.

With stars like Sly, Arnie, Michael J. Fox and Catherine Zeta Jones at ringside, you knew it was a big one. The site of sports stars Sugar Ray Leonard and 'Pistol' Pete Sampras sitting next to one another further gave gravitas to the occasion.

Calzaghe looked supremely confident as he entered the ring, lapping up the applause and feeling that it was his time to shine. Hopkins though came into the ring full of focus, he had been there, done it, got the t-shirt and ebayed his excess t-shirts.

The fight started with a bang, Calzaghe down with a straight right after 70 seconds. The welsh fighter exposing himself with a wide left hook as he stepped in only for Hopkins to counter with a flush shot on the bridge of his opponents nose. That 44-0 record looked in serious jeopardy as Hopkins was making Calzaghe fight his fight.

TalkBoxing.co.uk gave Hopkins the first three rounds, with the first being a 10-8 round. Calzaghe needed to find something or he was on his way to seeing defeat for the first time as a professional. In the fourth though he started he make adjustments, Hopkins' danger shot was the straight right and Calzaghe started to see it coming and paw it off, he also upped the work rate, coming forward with late flurries, catching the judges' eyes.

Suddenly the Welshman was fighting his fight, not looking great but out-working his opponent and the cards were getting closer all the time. Then is the tenth Hopkins was dropped to the floor with a low blow. There is no doubt it was low, but whether or not in was flush in the ding-dang doolies is another matter altogether. Hopkins took as much time as he could to recover, possibly hoping to get referee Joe Cortez to dock a point from Calzaghe, however he didn't.

Hopkins came back to win the tenth in my eyes and going into round eleven TalkBoxing.co.uk had the fight 95-94 Calzaghe. The fight was all to play for but Hopkins was done, whether he thought he had the fight won or whether he had run out of steam is unclear, but it was the Welshman who ended stronger taking the final two rounds.

When the final bell rang, both fighters held their arms aloft. Calzaghe jumped on the ropes to the acclaim of his adoring fans. His manager Frank Warren came in and was all smiles, they thought they had the fight. Star MC Michael Buffer gave the judges decisions, 114-113 Hopkins, 115-112 Calzaghe and then 116-111 'to the winner, by split decision, from Newbridge Wales, Joe Calzaghe' and the crowd roared their approval.

TalkBoxing.co.uk had it 115-112 Calzaghe.

Calzaghe had been the busier fighter and out hustled Hopkins to victory. The loser thought he'd done enough to win, his shots were cleaner but he just didn't work hard enough to take the close rounds. Vegas judges are notoriously swayed by boxers who come forward and penalise those who stand back.

Joe Calzaghe now has maybe one or two fights left in his career. Roy Jones Jnr and Kelly Pavlik are the two names being mentioned, Jones who is another former p4p king got his career by beating Felix Trinidad, Pavlik is the young up and coming brawler from Youngstown, Ohio, who twice beat Jermain Taylor, stopping him brutally in the first fight and outworking him for a unanimous decision in the rematch.

Jones Jnr. seems to be the preferred option in the Calzaghe camp, with November 15 being heavily mooted as a potential date. The main question left is where the fight will be, with Vegas, the Millennium Stadium and Wembley all jostling for the fight.

It may not of been pretty, it may have been a dirty fight, Joe Cortez may of let Hopkins get away with holding all night, but the record books say Joe Calzaghe def. Bernard Hopkins by Split Decision and that is all that matters when all is said and done.

Super, Super Joe Calzaghe indeed...