Joe Calzaghe: An All Time Boxing Great
By Donald C Stewart
A career in acting is where he feels his future lies but in our hearts and in our minds there was no play acting in the man’s rise to the top, his grip on the titles he held and the legacy he left after 46 fights and no losses.
We saw him beat Roy Jones JR., Bernard Hopkins and Mikkel Kessler and those were his last three fights!
The man is of course, Joe Calzaghe.
His legacy has been tainted by two events. Firstly, he was forced to admit that the dim, dark days of ending his boxing career he had been an occasional user of cocaine. We are all aware of how former boxers struggle once their lights have been turned off.
The second thing we can hold against him is his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing – the UK equivalent of Dancing With Stars – where he found a pretty lady to hang upon his arm. He didn’t win the competition but it didn’t do his profile any harm.
The only undefeated World Champion that the UK can claim has, like many before, struggled to find his place in our firmament but the legacy we remember when we close our eyes include over 10 years as the WBO Super Middleweight Champion of the World. His 23rd fight was against Chris Eubank where he took the belt and then for an amazing 21 fights retained it.
His fight to win the belt was against a Eubank that was near to retirement and actually only another two fights later his gloves adorned his mantelpiece. Calzaghe was to go on to greater glory.
Robin Reid and Richie Woodhall were also British boxers who could not stop the Calzaghe train. His debut as a professional had been on the same bill as the Bruno – Lewis fight so this Italian Dragon was destined to be woven into the fabric of British boxing.
What he was also destined to be was a student of the boxing game, a promoter of himself and a thorn in the side of those who he thinks cross him. He sued and won a case against Frank Warren with a multi Million Dollar victory that will be appealed by Warren.
Joe was certainly no mug and his career pathway was taken by him from the World Championship to the stratosphere. Whilst still under the guidance of Warren he wanted to unify the belts and become an undisputed champion.
His fight against Reid had the backdrop of the animosity Calzaghe felt because Reid had not fought him wearing one of the belts he craved. The fight was won on a split decision and Calzaghe, claiming he had hurt his hand and suffered food poisoning never gave Reid the chance of a rematch.
That was one of his last fights before the end of the twentieth century and the new millennium brought Calzaghe closer to the dream he had, a unification of all the belts.
In 2001, Calzaghe was once again on the under card of a notable non championship Heavyweight fight as he went to Copenhagen where Mike Tyson was fighting Brian Nielsen. A terrifying uppercut in the third round floored his opponent, Will McIntyre.
2002 saw Calzaghe add the desire to be one of the best British boxers of all time to his list of his dreams and many were betting he could achieve it. Three successful fights in 2002 were followed by only one in 2003. In that contest he suffered his very first knock down as a pro. Byron Mitchell dropped him in the same round that Calzaghe stopped him!
2004 was another busy year as Calzaghe built up the legacy and the juggernaut towards the fight that would see him gain his ultimate fight: A unification bout in 2007 against Mikkel Kessler for the WBO/WBA super/WBC/Ring Magazine super-middleweight titles.
Calzaghe won by unanimous decision.
The missing belt – the IBF title, he had held and relinquished. He was the undisputed King of the Super Middleweight ring. Pound for pound there was nobody to touch Calzaghe.
His final fights were at Light Heavyweight as he loved a challenge. Not for him the option of playing safe and keeping hold of an unbeaten record that would mean people could say he never lost anything but his dignity.
Calzaghe came out of Wales and showed the rest of British Boxing how to create a legacy.
Right now there are plenty of young and up and coming British Boxers who wish to have the same things said about them when they retire. Like Calzaghe they need to work their passage and become a student of the game that can hold them high or lay them low.
Low has never been a place Calzaghe has reached.