Exclusive Boxing Interview: World Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

SaddoBoxing: Since becoming the undisputed supper middleweight world champion, you have won the British Sports Personality of the Year Award and were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award; has anything changed for you?

Joe Calzaghe: “Not much changes me, Iʼm still the same guy down to earth, but I do get recognised more on the streets. It is harder going into places than before where I wouldnʼt have been recognised, but now I am; itʼs because I am getting the recognition finally. I think I deserved that, though, for being a champion for so many years, the most asked question I always had before was if I thought I had the recognition I deserved?

“But, they canʼt ask me that anymore because I had the ultimate recognition now by being voted by the public as the British Sporting Personality of the Year which was a massive honour for me and capped of a great year for me. I was also just as proud to see me dad pick up the Trainer of the Year too, which was amazing you know? It was an absolutely fantastic year 2007, also with the boys in the gym, three world champions now and a lot of others who are looking deserving of a title shot.”

SB: You said before the Mikkel Kessler fight that 2008 would be the last year for you as a boxer. Since winning, all the big names from middleweight to light heavyweight have been talking about fighting Joe Calzaghe; has fighting on past 2008 crossed you’re mind?

JC: “At the moment, I am still thinking 2008 at this particular time, Iʼm still in great shape and could continue boxing but I really want to be one of those fighters who is smart enough to get out at the right time and not be to greedy, keep my undefeated record which is really important to me to retire undefeated.

Physically, I feel fantastic and could go on for a few more years, but itʼs more mentally now, I find it very difficult to motivate myself as you would have seen in some of my past performances that have been lack-luster because I couldnʼt get up for the fights.

“I have been boxing for 25+ years now, and itʼs only the really big fights, the fights that I get excited about that you will see the performances like in the [Jeff] Lacy and Kessler fights. Then, there were the fights with guys like [Saiko] Bika and so on that I couldnʼt get up for, where you see a beatable Calzaghe because I didnʼt perform.

“But, I believe when I perform to my very best, nobody can beat me and I could go on for another few years easy; but thatʼs the thing now, I have achieved basically what I think in my own mind I can achieve.

“Being the undisputed champion was always my dream, being 10 years a champion, beating Lacy and Kessler showed the public, the world, that I donʼt avoid opponents and in every opportunity to fight in big fights you see me put on the right performances. Obviously, after Kessler, I had to look at the super middleweight division and see who else is there to beat thatʼs going to improve anything and I donʼt think there is anybody there.

“There are a few decent up and coming fighters, but at the end of the day, I donʼt think I would gain anything more from beating those guys. Itʼs all about fighting these so called legends and making a mark in America and the obvious choice was [Bernard] Hopkins. He has been around for a few years, was champion for 10 years and is a massive name in America and being the light heavyweight champion as well, that was the natural fight to put together.

“After going to watch the Ricky Hatton fight, I made up my mind that I wanted a bit of this, seeing the atmosphere and the tremendous support he had out there from the British fans; it made me think that it was something I would miss out on if I didnʼt do it before I retired. I never really cared before about fighting out there, but going to watch Ricky fight out there and seeing the support that he received I thought that I really need to do this.

“It is an extra goal, something to keep me motivated, fighting at a new weight is something I need to excite me at this stage of my career. The idea is to take care of Hopkins in style and my options are open then, I could come back down to super middleweight, I can stay at light heavyweight, whatever I want to do to be honest.

“You got names like [Antonio] Tarver and Clinton Woods, also [Kelly] Pavlik and [Jermain] Taylor; so there are a lot of options for me after this fight, but first things first obviously are taking care of Olʼ Popkins. That would be the perfect year for me though, having two mega fights rather than pissing about and having a meaningless fight.

“I think I deserve to be in this position having mega fights after beating Kessler, I think I deserved to be in this position years ago but I was never given the platform. Since Lacy, I could only have a couple of normal fights until Kessler, but thatʼs what itʼs all about for me now at the end of the day, big fights.

SB: How are the preparations coming for the Hopkins fight?

JC: “Yeah, the preparations are going well, been back in training for a couple of weeks now just getting back into it, nothing strenuous. I have just under 10 weeks left now so I am starting to do my training sessions twice a day. I started sparring today, just starting to get back into it now. To be honest, even when I am out of the ring the speed is always there; the sharpness, the speed itʼs all natural, what needs to come then is just the fitness but I have been doing it for so many years now I know exactly what to do.

“Come April, I will be in fantastic shape and I honestly believe I will be stronger, I will be punching harder now that Iʼm not going to be killing myself to make the 168 lb limit. People think there might be a problem for me going up in weight, seven pounds are nothing, for me to get to 168 is a struggle so at a 175 lb, Iʼm still going to be lean, Iʼll still be sharp and fast but itʼs going to give me that extra bit of edge in punching power that I need because Hopkins does have a good chin but Iʼm going to put a dent in it.”

SB: Once your stablemate Enzo Maccarinelli’s fight with David Haye is over, when will you be looking to move you’re training camp to the states?

JC: “Yeah, obviously the time difference messes you up out there because there is a big gap, so itʼs going to take a while to acclimatise to it, so I will give myself two weeks. I will probably hire a villa out there and take a couple of boys from the gym two weeks before. I am going to a press tour for three days next week in the states going to New York, Vegas and LA, so that is going to be a tiresome few days with all that travelling but then I can come back and concentrate on what I got to do until I go back out there.

“Iʼm looking forward to it though, itʼs a new challenge and I am excited but staying very relaxed about everything. Now, as I get older, I get more chilled and relaxed about things. Like I said, I only have a few fights left and it was the same with the Kessler fight, it wasnʼt a big deal, itʼs something I have done all my life and basically I enjoy it, I enjoyed the Kessler fight and I am going to enjoy the Hopkins one, itʼs a new style, itʼs a new place but this is what itʼs all about.

“I have worked all my life to be in this exact position that I am in today and I deserve to be here for all the hard work I have done since I was an eleven year old boy, you know better late than never [laughs] A lot of people never thought I would be in this position, struggling for a while with not landing the massive fights but I kept plugging away through injuries and others things, kept winning and Iʼm finally reaping the rewards and being up where I think I deserve to be, amongst the top pound for pound fighters in the world.”

SB: You have always said that you train like a challenger before your fights and that is why you have remained undefeated. Now, for the first time in over 10 years, you will actually be the challenger and at another weight; has that given you anything extra to work with in training?

JC: “I always feel a champion, I may be moving up but I am a champion. In myself, I always will be. When I fought [Chris] Eubank, I told myself I was the champion then, and although I am the challenger, I still feel the champion, I just have the hunger of a challenger. I will still have the hunger of a challenger against Hopkins, but when I walk into the ring I am the man, I will feel like I am the champion before I get into that ring, I am the winner, I am the number one guy and when I get into the ring against Hopkins, there wont be a fighter in the world I can get beat by. I

“I look at Hopkins as a 43 year old man who has lost four fights, regardless of dubious decisions, he has lost. I am undefeated and I honestly think he doesnʼt know whatʼs coming his way, simple as that. He is in for a shock, he canʼt prepare for somebody with my style, and I know what his game is going to be before he even gets in that ring.

“Itʼs going to be cool, me entering the ring the first man, its one thing I am not used to but it doesnʼt bother me in the slightest. I just canʼt wait for the bell to go, the biggest concerns people have raised is fighting in the states with three American judges and an American ref, but at the end of the day, I wouldnʼt go out there if I thought it would be a close fight and risk my undefeated record; I believe I will dominate him and win every single round, I canʼt see myself losing a single round against him.”

SB: How do you see the fight going, what are you expecting from him in the ring?

JC: “I expect him to be very defensive; he is a counter puncher who is going to be looking for the right hand against a southpaw, he will have other plans probably, but the difference is I can change my style and thatʼs what catches people out. I can deliver everything and whatʼs not working for me, I can change. Look at the Kessler fight, I started slugging against him and things werenʼt quit going the way I wanted, but after five rounds, he didnʼt have a clue.

“I out boxed him, I out thought him, I completely confused him, I didnʼt always hurt him apart form the body shot in the eighth round when he was badly hurt, but other than that ,I just made things comfortable for my elf and itʼs what I need to do against Hopkins. I can make things hard for myself, or I can make things easy for me self.

“A lot of the times, I admit I make things difficult for myself because I get sucked into the wrong kind of fight as you have seen in fights like the Bika one, I get involved in the wrong kind of fight, because they are fights Iʼm not really tuned into. I wasnʼt concentrating, I didnʼt really have the motivation to be in them. The thing is, with Hopkins, I respect his ability, I respect Iʼm fighting on his grounds and I know what I need to do, I need to win the fight comfortably. I wonʼt risk any injustice.

“I see no way this guy can beat me, he is a smart fox, he has been around a long time, he is a good technical boxer and can be a bit on the dirty side and can make things messy, but itʼs up to me whether I want to get embroiled in that or whether I want to fight my fight.”

SB: Since arriving in the UK, Hopkins has become an easy target for the press, he has been biting at their questions, caught on camera losing his temper in a promo for the fight, moaning about not getting the right car to pick him up. Some have put it down to the lack of respect he believes he should have, but what do you make of it all?

JC: “Iʼm not really taking any notice; obviously he is a primadona [laughs] He is entertaining, he knows how to sell a fight, it was good being in the press conference with him because I didnʼt have to do a lot of talking [laughs] he is good speaking and he can promote a fight. Iʼm not really bothered about how he is feeling or how he is; Iʼm more concerned about myself.”

SB: You have shown interest in the winner of the Pavlik vs. Taylor bout; how do you see that one going?

JC: “Thatʼs a good fight, I wouldnʼt want to bet on it, itʼs a 50-50 pick ʽum fight. The first one, the fight could of easily been stopped in the second round, but Taylor run out of puff and Pavlik was able to come back very well. Itʼs difficult to say, but I wouldnʼt be surprised if Taylor swings this fight and beats him this time.

“I think Taylor has a little bit more in terms boxing skill where as Pavlik punches very hard, but Taylor last time just went to mad and punched himself out, though fair play to Pavlik, he is a very hard guy and can hit very hard, but I donʼt know, man [laughs] itʼs a very hard one to pick.”

SB: Thanks for taking time out to speak with SaddoBoxing, champ.