Boxing Viewpoint: Lights! Camera! Calzaghe!

Joe Calzaghe ladies and gentlemen, let’s give him a hand!

9 years undefeated, 19 successful title defenses, and more criticism than ten men could handle. For those that do not choose to applaud the distinguished Welshman, for those that want to discredit him, this writer protests and also agrees with you whole-heartedly.

Curious? I hope so, hence the point of this article.

For years, this writer has been a die-hard fan of Joe Calzaghe. That’s quite an uncommon thing. Even among Joe’s circle of fans, there have been few diehards. It’s even more of a rarity coming from an American boxing fan such as myself that grew up on the great Roy Jones Jr and the legendary, record breaking Bernard Hopkins. Let me go even further and state loudly and proudly; Joe Calzaghe is a phenomenon who is on the cusp of becoming a legend himself.

In all truth, fight fans on this side of the pond have rarely uttered Joe Calzaghe’s name. Joe had quite often been regarded as a hometown hero in Britain and a protected paper champion to most Americans in the know. Not often was he mentioned among casual boxing fans, especially here in the United States. But that never stopped Joe and his father, Enzo Calzaghe, from screaming loudly and proudly that Joe was boxing’s best kept secret; an unseen modern tactical marvel touted as “the One True World Champion of 168 lbs”.

However, In the eyes of most American fans, Joe was just another protected champion waiting to be decimated. But to himself, his father, and a small cult-like following, “The Italian Dragon” was just waiting to burst through to the other side and blaze through the competition waiting stateside.

Enter Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy.

Young, undefeated, marketable, strong as hell, and a world-beater. But oddly enough, this past March the world-beater was eaten alive and the entire boxing world was put on notice. Joe Calzaghe had stepped out of the darkness and into the light of day. Finally, fight fans around the globe began listening to what Joe and Enzo had been proclaiming for years. Joe had proven that he was more than just a well kept secret.

Joe had proven to be unbelievable, sensational, explosive, and yes, phenomenal.

That was then and this is now. As boxing fans, we can be a hypercritical bunch. Certainly, Joe has put on some fantastic performances, but none have made waves across the pond, as did the twelve round destruction of Jeff Lacy. Even though Joe showed his skills and will against the durable Sakio Bika after the Lacy fight and has dispatched forty other would be contenders by either decision or knockout before that, he has once again fallen under scorn for his choice of opponent.

Now, before you go any farther with this read (and believe you me, it’s a long one) let me say that I have followed Calzaghe loosely for many years, but devoutly over the last two years. I would also like it noted by my peers that, during that time, I have been branded a traitor and called many vile names for supporting Calzaghe over Lacy.

An American rooting for a foreign champ over one of our own! Judged and convicted, I still stood as a proud fan of “The Dragon”. When you have a favorite fighter, one that you stand by through thick or thin, you see all the ins and outs and you take them for what they are. You take the good with the bad and you ride the many ups and downs of their career, That being said, nothing could have ever prepared me for this statement:

“There is a world of difference between being a reality TV star and a world champion boxer. He has only seen the glitz and glamour of the sport, now he is in for the real thing. From what I have seen, he is a good, tough kid and is well known in America. But this is my 20th defense and ninth year as champion, and he is not going to spoil that.”

That’s a quote lumped up from a Joe Calzaghe statement that was transferred to our glorious SaddoBoxing forum just a few days ago by one of our many dignified posters. Needless to say, that article has armed Calzaghe critics and dropped one hell of a shelling aimed at his record. To put it bluntly, it’s not been well received and has caused one hell of a stir from fan and foe alike.

The “he” that Joe is speaking of when referring to his next opponent is none other than Peter Manfredo Jr., of “The Contender” TV show.

The word around the boxing mill is that this fight was made by HBO as Joe’s set up match; his introduction to the American boxing public, if you will. Also it is to be, quite possibly, a spring board for a mega-fight with HBO’s newly dubbed world middleweight champion, Jermain Taylor.

In boxing, everyone has an opinion and quite often facts and opinions get mixed up along the way. Personally, I feel that it’s only fair to analyze these “factual opinions” and call them like you see them. So here goes, here’s how this writer (right or wrong) see’s the facts, in his unbiased opinion. Factual opinions? Sounds confusing, right? Well, bear with me.

Factual Opinion #1: If Joe Calzaghe cares anything about his legacy and his fans, we’d be reading about the build up to the only fight that matters on the horizon for Joe and that is the 168 lb unification bout with undefeated Danish warrior Mikkel Kessler. For some reason, this matter cannot be settled, nor does it appear to even be in the cards any longer.

What happened? Negotiations stalled, purses got over inflated, along with egos, fears arose, and in the end contracts crumpled before ink could dry. There were rumors of a three million plus offer from Team Palle on Kessler’s behalf and there were rumors that Joe turned it down or walked away from it, but that could be more rumor than fact. We will never know.

Factual Opinion #2: Every fighter has his worth but facts being what they are, Manfredo has proven to be little more than a B minus fighter that came up empty handed on a reality show that also ended up empty handed.

Also, he isn’t as well known as one might be led to believe and in essence, he brings nothing to the table. The facts of this opinion is that while Manfredo is a boxer that can fight, he’s just too far below Calzaghe’s level to make a competitive fight of their upcoming date.

Factual Opinion #3: American exposure? Didn’t HBO just televise and showcase Joe Calzaghe vs. Sakio Bika just two short months ago? Joe gave us what he did against Lacy, a technical brawl but the difference here was that Bika used a form of defense, something that Lacy opted out of during their match. While Bika did give Joe a few spots of trouble here and there, for the most part, Joe did what was expected of him; he dominated another game opponent.

Factual Opinion #4: While Calzaghe vs. Jermain Taylor is mouth watering, and be that as it may, as a fan of both Calzaghe and Taylor a question must be asked here: just what in the hell is going on here? Taylor is hardly a threat at 168 lb and he still remains a bit of a question mark in his respective 160 lb division. Why Taylor? Because he defeated Hopkins and drew with Wright?

Factual Opinion #5: Let’s break out another opinion. Long before lining up the Lacy fight, Joe had centered his thoughts upon moving up and conquering another weight class. In this writer’s eyes, Calzaghe would better be suited to jump up to one hundred seventy five pounds and conquer someone worthy. Someone along the lines of Clinton Woods, Glen Johnson, or Tomasz Adamek, even the dwindling faculties of Roy Jones Jr would impress more than a Taylor or Manfredo.

Now, some of you may take these so called “factual opinions” and tear them apart. Some of you may have a better list than the one above, some of you may discount this article and Joe all together, but before you do you must give Joe Calzaghe the benefit of the doubt, as I have for many years.

You must take what you have heard, what you have read, and then discern what, if anything, out of the above is factual and what is opinion.

The reason being is that much of what you read today in the media is little more than factual opinion. Unless you hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, over the bridal and through the bit, well, it just isn’t so. It’s been a long ride in the saddle with Joe and I’ve enjoyed all of the hurdles that he has jumped, but I honestly feel that it’s time to bet it all on the races and go for broke.

The fact of the matter is, whether it be your opinion or mine, Joe is his own man and while we may not like his latest choice of conquest, he is only following the carefully laid plans of the powers that be at HBO and his promoter. My only issue is that, in the end, I still feel that Joe has a say so in the matter of whom he faces. Truly, I am shocked that he has allowed himself to be stripped of his IBF title, the one that he so proudly ripped from Jeff Lacy’s grasp.

In closing:

Factual: Joe Calzaghe has reigned nine years undefeated as the true champion of the super middleweight division. He has faced adversity and he has overcome every challenge placed before him. That is a fact and no opinion can change that.

This Writer’s Opinion: Joe Calzaghe has already impressed the American public enough by conquering the up and coming might of Jeff Lacy and more recently, Sakio Bika. Now it’s time to impress the world, unify the titles, conquer Mikkel Kessler, and then move on to your mega fight. If that be Jermain Taylor, then so be it, but just be what you are: Joe Calzaghe is the Undisputed Champion of the super middleweight division.

So let’s all hope that HBO’s gamble pays off; you’re in the big time now Joe.

Lights. Camera. Go get ’em boy.