Saturday,
October 27,
Joe Calzaghe - 'The Italian Dragon' - WBO Super-Middleweight Champ Goes for
Kessler's WBA and WBC Belts
The
ANNOTICO Report
Joe
Calzaghe, WBO Super-Middleweight, 35 now, of
Italian-Welsh ancestry is called 'The Italian Dragon' and 'The Pride of
Wales'.
His
magnificent, unbeaten record of 43 fights and the fact that since he
knocked out Chris Eubank, he has been a champion for 10 years
means that those great American Light Heavy Weights, Bernard 'The
Executioner' Hopkins (42) and Roy Jones Jr (38) and
others, have ensured avoidance with excessive pay requirements
Proposed
invasions of the
Another
win, predicted against Mikkel Kessler, will make it
his 21st successful title defence. Only two other
boxers, Dariusz Michalczewski,
of
Kessler,
another undefeated boxer with 29 knock-outs in his 39-fight career, suggests he
is worthy of creating apprehension . At 28, he is supposedly at his peak. The timing of next
Sunday's televised fight is tailored for American television.
Telegraph.co.uk
-
By James Mossop
October 28, 2007
A
swarthy warrior feints with a southpaw right, fires a
piston left and looks down upon a flattened Danish pastry called Mikkel Kessler.
Joe Calzaghe is the uncompromising punishment dispenser and
intends dispatching his latest victim before tens of thousands of admirers
somewhere between one and two o'clock in the sharp, middle-of-the-night air at
the Millennium Stadium,
There
is one worry. The hand that is expected to end the night's business can be as
fragile as glass. He fractured it when fighting Evans Ashira
in September 2005, but Calzaghe disguised
the pain of a redundant weapon to win one-handed. It went again in the gym
shortly before he was due to meet Glen Johnson last summer.
His
magnificent, unbeaten record of 43 fights and the fact he has been a champion
since he knocked Chris Eubank around 10 years ago means that those great
Americans, Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr and others, have
ensured avoidance with excessive pay requirements.
Hands
up, Joe, can you trust that fist of yours to stay firm against Kessler, the
bruiser from
"You only have limited protection with the 10-ounce fight gloves,
so it is all in the lap of the gods. If you hit the guy on the top of the head
in the first round you are going to break your hand.
"But
I am not going in there thinking about it. My hands are strong and I am going
in there throwing both of them."
Calzaghe is 35 now, of Italian-Welsh ancestry which means
the poster boys announce him as either 'The Italian Dragon' or 'The Pride of
Wales'. Another win, predicted against Kessler, will make it his 21st
successful title defence. Only two other boxers, Dariusz Michalczewski, of
Proposed
invasions of the
Lacy
arrived as the man most likely restore a fading
American scene. He was to consign Calzaghe to the
archives, thrill armchair viewers from
Some
may say that the absence of an American stamp on his passport means there is a
credibility gap in his career. "I still think there is a possibility that
I will go there," he said, "but there have not been any big
super-middleweight Americans. Jones and Hopkins were ear-marked but neither of
them really wanted it.
"It's
just one of those things. If I never fight in
After
the Kessler fight, Calzaghe plans to step up to
light-heavyweight, a division where
Calzaghe, always supremely fit and perfectly prepared by
his father-trainer, Enzo, can also see the day when the gloves are removed for
the last time. What would be the ultimate fulfilment
and how should we remember him?
He
thought for a moment and said: "Fulfilment would
be to win this fight and then go for one, maybe two, at light-heavyweight, do
something in that division and then retire undefeated. That's the scenario for
the rest of my career.
"I
suppose I would like to be remembered as one of the best, perhaps the best
super-middleweight there has been, and one of the top fighters in this country
with my reign of 10 years as champion. I am proud of all of my achievements.
Everyone has an opinion. Every fight is career-defining. I am my own worst
critic but to dominate a fellow world champion the way I did against Lacy was
not bad. I was proud of myself about that."
Now
there is Kessler, another undefeated boxer with 29 knock-outs in his 39-fight
career. His record suggests he is worthy of creating apprehension in the Calzaghe camp and says he has a plan.
"Ah,
they all say that," snorts Enzo. "They all have plans for beating
Joe. There is no way, no system for beating him. There is only one Joe Calzaghe."
Kessler
clearly is not a man to respect reputations. At 28, supposedly at his peak,
there is plenty of bark as we wait for the bite. Calzaghe
is ready, saying: "He had better watch out because there is nothing I like
more than a bit of needle. When I smell danger, my fighting instincts kick in.
He has never been involved in a fight like this before."
The
timing of the televised fight is tailored for American television and insomniacs and provides Calzaghe
with another chance to impress those critics who continue to question his
credentials.
To
prepare himself for Kessler he has been training at midnight. This week the
hard work is diminishing but there will be some fretful dieting as he sheds
seven pounds to make the 12st limit. Out of training, he tops 14st, hence the
resolution to turn to the 12st 7lb light-heavyweight
class. "I can't wait for Friday's weigh-in," he said,
"because after that I can start eating and drinking the stuff I like. I'll
be irritable till then."
Saturday
will be a long one. He would love to lie in bed late but admits it is
impossible. He will be alert at 8am. He may try to rest in the afternoon but
"the adrenalin will be racing and the fight will be on my mind. I am not
like Lennox Lewis who could sleep in the changing room before a big
fight".
Cometh
the ungodly hour, may the hand of glass become the
fist of stone.
· Setanta
Sports 1, Saturday from 8.15pm, not pay-per-view.
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