WBO Boxing Champion Joe Calzaghe Approaches Tenth Year Of Title Reign

Boxing’s current longest-reigning world champion, Joe Calzaghe, will mark the tenth year of his monarchy on Thursday, October 11. Calzaghe captured the vacant WBO title on October 11, 1997, knocking down two-time world champion and British boxing legend Chris Eubank twice en route to a dominating unanimous decision on scores of 118-109, 118-111 and 116-111.

His impressive resume boasts victories over former world champions Charles Brewer, Byron Mitchell, Robin Reid, and Richie Woodhall. He unified the title last year when he fought a masterclass against the previously undefeated IBF/IBO champion Jeff Lacy, the first 2000 U.S. Olympian to win a world title.

The victory was so emphatic, Calzaghe won every round of the fight , and so important to the division, that The Ring magazine conferred its prestigious championship belt upon the new unified champion, the first time in the division’s 22-year history that The Ring has ever recognized a super middleweight as its world champion.

Calzaghe, 43-0, (29), from Wales, is in the throes of heavy training for his super-fight against undefeated WBC/WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, 39-0 (29), of Denmark, arguably the biggest world title unification fight between non-heavyweight world champions since the Sugar Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns welterweight rumble of 1981.

Promoted by Frank Warren in association with International Entertainment, the Calzaghe-Kessler world championship fight will take place Saturday, November 3, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, which will be scaled for an indoor-record 63,000-plus spectators. HBO World Championship Boxing will broadcast the fight Live to the US at 9 P.M. ET / 6 P.M. PT.

Calzaghe will be looking to successfully defend his title for a landmark 21st consecutive time; tops among active world champions and which would tie him with super middleweight champion Sven Ottke at fourth place on boxing’s all-time list, behind heavyweight champion Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski (23) and strawweight champion Ricardo López (23).