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As The Ring’s super middleweight world champion Joe Calzaghe and WBO Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Maccarinelli head into their final week of preparations, I was honoured to be invited up to the Newbridge gym by “Big Mac” himself, to watch him, Calzaghe and promising undefeated light heavyweight prospect Nathan Cleverly work a high paced demanding training session exactly one week before their up and coming fights on November 3 at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium.
When I arrived at the gym that houses three world champions, it was almost deserted apart from the presence of one of boxing’s most underrated figures, one Enzo Calzaghe.
The best trainer to have come from the British Isles, and one of the most accomplished and hottest trainers in the world right now was going through the final preparations to get everything ready to put his boys through their paces for the evening’s training session.
After a quick hand shake and introduction, he left leaving me alone in the room to take it all in. I was able to move around the currently empty gym and take in over 12 years of fight posters that hung around the gym that Joe and the others had featured in, but as I stood in front of the most impressive and humbling of all, a wall-wall floor length poster entitled “A Decade of Dominance” that featured all 21 title fights Joe had been in, it was then that I started to contemplate what I was set to expect when boxing’s longest reigning world champion, Joe Calzaghe arrived.
For years, “the Pride of Wales” had maintained that the better the opponent, and the tougher the test, the better he would be. To many, he had proven this, with not just the Lacy fight, but the numerous other former title holders and touted prospects he has put away and destroyed.
But at 35, and looking as drained as he did in his previous outing against contender runner up Peter Manfredo Jr., I was very uncertain as to what to expect. Would I see the Joe that knows he is about to enter the toughest test of his career, or one that who’s age has finally getting the better of him, someone whom has stayed at a weight class to long?
Well one thing is for certain, to often in boxing people have spoken about fighters being in the best shape of their career, but in this case it is totally just and spot on.
Calzaghe arrived looking in absolute peak condition. Joe is every bit as fast as he has ever been. I observed him working the ceiling to floor ball and the speed and precision was phenomenal as he threw combination after combination on what Big Mac’s brother informed me was the fastest ball there.
Standing just feet away from Calzaghe as he demonstrated his sharpness, speed and accuracy was an experience you had to see to understand. There were no signs that Joe is in anything other than in the best condition that he could be coming into this fight.
To me however, the most impressive thing was the calmness and overall persona of Joe as he moved around working the gym. Old sailors and fishermen will tell you that it’s the calm before the storm that is the sign of something devastating coming your way, and if Joe’s calmness was anything to go by, Kessler is undoubtedly in for the longest and hardest night of his life.
As Calzaghe silently worked his way around the gym, there was a definite air of calmness around him as if something big was and unexpected was about to happen.
Watching him quietly shadow box in the mirrored corner and walk around the gym was interesting to see. Kessler was on his mind, the fight was on his mind, but there were no nerves, just a man silently focusing on his challenge, a man mentally prepared to come through another night of boxing, to throw back another challenger, another warrior who wants to take what’s his.
The focus in his eyes was obvious to that of even someone who had no idea he was seven days away from one of the biggest fights in his career, even when he would produce a polite smile as he passed me, his eyes were always in tune with what the task ahead was, the man who stands between him and his 21st title defence and perfect record was being measured and taken apart in his head, that was evident.
I must admit, I had doubts on how focused or in shape Maccarinelli was or wasn’t. He has been on the bill as the chief supporting undercard for the Calzaghe vs. Kessler main event for some time now, but it has only been in the last month that he has known who he was fighting.
As dedicated and focused as Big Mac is, it’s always hard for any fighter to train to their best when they have no opponent whom they can focus on. But Enzo is in one of the best shapes I have seen him in, I wouldn’t have expected to see him looking like this even if it was Steve Cunningham he was facing next this coming Saturday.
Maccarinelli is looking trim enough to make the drop down to light-heavyweight, and watching him working the pads with little Enzo and going to town on the ceiling to floor ball, he looks as fast as a light-heavy.
With all that said, the big hitting Welshman still had his usual finesse of power about him, at times I was expecting the ceiling to floor ball to be sent flying across the room as Big Mac was unleashing a barrage of lethal bombs on the ball that was sending it side to side pushing the limit of the elasticity that were pulling it back in place.
At times there were and 6, 7 and 8’s of lethal hooks landing and exploding on contact with it, his brother later joked how eager he was to impress with me watching on, but “Big Mac” knows what lays in front of him, and how it is going to end it on his terms.
Late stand in, an unknown fighter, none of that matters, Maccarinelli is full prepared for his bout and with the American audience that will be watching on, he knows that there will be no room for complacency, a statement is what he wants to make to the watching audience, and they way he is looking, he wont have any problems in making it.
