If this was indeed his final fight, Joe Calzaghe left his fans on their feet begging for more.

The popular undefeated Welshman overcame a first-round knockdown to beat Roy Jones Jr. in a bloody unanimous decision last night, delighting a raucous crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden in what Calzaghe claims will be his final bout.

There is little left for him to prove after reigning as super middleweight champion for more than a decade, unifying the division, defeating Bernard Hopkins and now felling Jones — possibly pounding him right into retirement as well.

"I loved his style, loved the way he fights," Calzaghe said, "but I knew I could deal with his speed and combinations."

With blazing hand speed of his own and a constant push forward, Calzaghe (46-0) opened a deep gash over Jones' left eye in the seventh round, forcing the ringside doctor to take a close look at it. The bout was allowed to continue, blood flowing down Jones' face, but it hardly mattered after that.

"Super" Joe indeed looked super.

All three judges scored the fight 118-109 for Calzaghe, as did The Associated Press, every round going to him after the first.

"The pitter-pats were harder than I thought," Jones said. "I don't know, I don't know. He won the fight. He definitely won the fight."

The bout figured to hinge on Calzaghe's ability to pressure Jones, who works well against the ropes, without getting caught by his speedy left hook.

It landed right off the bat, knocking Calzaghe to the floor midway through the first round, not unlike the flash knockdown that Hopkins scored against him in their April bout.

"Yeah, it was a good shot," Calzaghe said, "but I came back stronger."

Jones (52-5) stood defiantly in the center of the ring when the first-round bell sounded, chants of "USA, USA" filling the arena, the crowd undoubtedly pleased that the 39-year-old Jones was proving early that he still possessed at least some of the hand speed that once made him so dangerous.

FIGURE SKATING

U.S. MEN 1-2 IN CHINA

Jeremy Abbott led an American double in the men's competition at the Cup of China yesterday in Beijing, and South Korea's Kim Yu-na held on to her lead to win the women's event.

Abbott followed up his win in Friday's short program by leading fellow American Stephen Carriere with a free skate that included a triple axel-triple toeloop combination and a triple lutz-double toe-double loop for a score of 156.39.

The performance was Abbott's second straight personal best in the competition and gave him a total score of 233.44 — 27.40 points better than his previous high. Carriere, the 2007 junior world champion, received 145.25 points in the free program to finish second with 217.25 points.

SOCCER

KAI HELPS U.S. WIN

Heather O'Reilly scored in the 72nd minute and the U.S. women's soccer team beat South Korea, 1-0, in an exhibition match last night at Tampa, Fla.

The U.S., which won gold at the Beijing Olympics in August, improved to 31-1-2 this year. The team's only loss came in the opening match of the Summer Games to Norway. The previous U.S. high for wins in a year (28) was set in 2004.

Kahuku High and University of Hawai'i alum Natasha Kai set up last night's goal with a cross just past the outstretched arms of South Korean keeper Kim Jung Mi to O'Reilly, who knocked the ball in with her left foot.

"For me, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time," O'Reilly said.

The match was the sixth on the team's "Achieve Your Gold Tour," an eight-match series of exhibitions across the country that ends Dec. 17 in Detroit. The U.S. played South Korea three times on the tour, going 2-0-1. Its final two matches are against China.

SPEEDSKATING

KATO SETS MARK IN 500

Joji Kato of Japan set a track record in winning a 500-meter race yesterday at the season-opening speedskating World Cup meet in Berlin.

Kato finished in 34.70 seconds to edge China's Yu Fengtong by 0.37. Finland's Mika Poutala was third in 35.13, while world record-holder Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada crashed and injured his shoulder.

The Netherlands swept the first four places in the men's 1,500 meters, with Sven Kramer winning in 1 minute, 45.69 seconds. Shani Davis of the United States was fifth in 1:46.27.

Wang Beixing of China won the women's 500 ahead of world record-holder Jenny Wolf of Germany.