This Month in Boxing History: Joe Calzaghe vs. Omar Sheika August 2000

With a unification bout between WBO super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe and his IBF counterpart Jeff Lacy looking likely, we take a look back at one of Joe Calzaghe’s most impressive defences which took place 5 years ago this month.

Calzaghe, a former ABA champion from Wales, was unbeaten in 28 professional bouts and was making the 6th defence of the title he had won so impressively over former champion Chris Eubank. At the time of the bout Calzaghe was desperate for a good performance. Since winning the title in 1997, he had blown hot and cold and in the previous months had struggled to unimpressive decision wins over Rick Thornberry and David Starie. Injury and illness also hampered some of his plans. In one instance a proposed appearance on the under card of the Oscar De La Hoya v Felix Trinidad super fight fell through. They were certainly frustrating times for the 28 year old Welshmen and his fans. It was time for Joe to deliver.

In the opposing corner was a fighter that many believed posed a real threat to the crown. That man was Omar Sheika. Hailing from New Jersey, the challenger had only been beaten once in 21 bouts and that was a hotly disputed decision loss to Tony Booth. Also, he had a win over Glencoffe Johnson in his previous fight.

The bout would be held at the Wembley Conference Centre in London and there was certainly no love lost between the two. This fight was taking place at the fourth time of asking after three attempts previously fell through and Sheika felt Calzaghe was ducking him. During the Master Of Ceremonies introducing the fighters, Sheika was shouting at the champion and even went as far as to shove Joe as the referee gave his final instructions.

At the start of the fight Sheika tried charging the champion but Calzaghe, five years the senior, boxed behind his southpaw right jab. With half a minute left in the opening session Calzaghe connected with a good left hook that Sheika took well but the opener clearly belonged to the champion.

The champion’s accurate work continued in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, connecting with left uppercuts and left hooks. Sheika continued to take them well but it seemed his rushing style was made for Joe. The challenger also began to look marked around the right eye. The challenger’s eagerness seemed to be getting the better of him.

In Round 5, Sheika went for broke as the previous 4 rounds had given him no success whatsoever. He backed Joe into a corner and attempted to rough up the champion, but was walking into well-timed compact left hand shots. Sheika’s right eye was now cut as Joe, having blocked the Americans work, began to unload. With one minute left in the fifth session, Omar was badly wobbled and although he continued to fight on, he was getting picked off with ease by the champion and the referee stepped in to make the stoppage.

Sheika protested the stoppage but it was perfect timing by referee Genaro Rodriguez. Calzaghe had looked his sharpest probably since winning the title against Eubank and had made the statement he wanted to. Sheika’s tactic was to come at Joe and he paid the price!

This was a bout for me that could point the way to how the unification bout between Lacy and Calzaghe might pan out. Sheika is a common opponent for both men and Calzaghe certainly has looked the more impressive. Obviously, you cannot base a perceived outcome solely on results against common opponents because if that were the case you would favour Lacy purely on both fighters’ performances against Robin Reid, but style wise you can certainly make an observation.

Although people stateside will heavily favour Jeff Lacy, as he is the younger man and currently on a roll, it’s worth pointing out that Calzaghe at 32 isn’t shop worn.Lacy has an aggressive style that is just up Joe’s street as both men won’t have to come looking for each other. Also, Calzaghe’s less impressive defences were against men who were defensive minded (Thornberry 1999, Starie 2000). When someone comes at him he can be devastating (Mitchell 2003).

All these views obviously are hypothetical and we won’t know until they step into the ring to do combat, hopefully in November, but it has all the potential to be one of the fights of the year. Who knows, the winner might renew acquaintances with Omar Sheika who is due to fight for the WBC version against Markus Beyer.