19.05.06 – By Michael Klimes: The Beast : ‘The Welsh Dragon’ has been breathing fire for a long time now and at thirty four years of age, one has to ask whether the belly of the beast is becoming dry? Joe Calzaghe has been one of the jewels in British boxing for the last ten years. He famously dethroned the ‘King’ of celebrity eccentricity in the British Isles, the quixotic Chris Eubank in 1997. Even, though, Eubank had passed his prime, it was a considerable performance from a twenty five year old that floored the ‘Lord of Brighton’, displaying a potent combination of skill, speed and power.
Calzaghe’s victory was deeply symbolic as the formidable trio of British middle and super middleweights of the late 1980s-mid 1990s, which had consisted of Michael Watson, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, were handing in the uniforms from their careers and medals from their world title campaigns. The guard was changing.
These three musketeers had made the boxing world stand up and take notice with their charges into, perhaps, the two finest divisions of the decade. Each was saturated (at some point between 1990-1995) with outstanding fighters, varying styles and colourful personalities. Eubank had definitely been the strangest of gladiators..
The New Ranks
The three new faces that emerged as the replacements were Ritchie Woodhall, Robin Reid and most encouragingly Calzaghe. What generated such a buzz around him were his sensational natural capabilities. He had footwork, reflexes, intelligence and was a flawless combination puncher. The power, speed and sharp shooting were all there to make his excellent flurries feasible. In fact, Calzaghe still possesses all these attributes.
He delivered his greatest showing in his definitive fight at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, March 2006. In what the majority of the boxing writers believed would be a 50/50 affair, Calzaghe proved to be the puppeteer commanding the strings of his opponent, Jeff Lacy.
Lacy came into the bout as the new poster boy of his division. He is twenty eight years of age, a hulky physical specimen and wore the more prestigious I.B.F. Super Middleweight Title around his belt. He is an explosive puncher that does his best work on the inside and was undefeated in 21 fights. He had some good scalps on his record but none of them were near the calibre of Calzaghe. Many of his champions perceived him as the brightest hope for American boxing and even the newest superstar whose ‘wild west’ style would spin new energy into a sport that is frankly not what it once was. The hype was understandable and forgivable since Lacy’s style was exciting and many were frustrated with Calzaghe’s nine year title reign. There was a lack of credibility as a major belt holder because just prior to Calzaghe’s masterpiece, he was in the ring with a fighter he should not have been: Evans Ashira.
Ashira was not well known and was hopelessly outclassed. In the fight, Calzaghe broke his left hand half way through the bout and maintained control over Ashira through his jab. To many, this fresh memory reinforced the notion that Calzaghe’s anointed rank as the king of his castle was questionable at best. Many viewed the power shifting with Lacy’s emergence.
The Teacher Schools the Student
During the encounter between Lacy and Calzaghe I witnessed the most one side beating anyone could have in a lifetime. Calzaghe unleashed a snow storm of punches that could fill up any boxing textbook. It was a performance, which only comes once in a career. To the question of how much does Calzaghe have left? The answer is a lot and this is a sound preposition for boxing as it cannot afford to lose a fighter of his stature just yet.
Caution, however, must be noted. The problems that hampered Calzaghe at the beginning of his career might not have been eclipsed with his awesome artistry.
The Shadow
Just before the fight, when Calzaghe was interviewed by I.T.V. he said, ‘This is a normal fight for me.’ What he meant with these words was there was no big financial reward for the largest fight of his lifetime. It may be seem scandalous but as James Toney once remarked to the brilliant boxing writer Donald McRae in his book Dark Trade, Lost in Boxing, ‘This is boxing baby.’ After 41 fights and a clean sheet, Calzaghe is still fighting for the most instinctive thing any person needs, which is money.
For, whatever reasons that are relegated to history, Calzaghe was not able to secure fights from the two big American superstars who were hovering near his weight and have virtually finished their careers, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Junior. Hopkins, like Calzaghe, is one of the best boxers of his generation who was strapped for cash and only managed to secure a decent payday in the last portion of his career. Although it was a complete mismatch, one can sympathise with Hopkins taking on the matinee idol, Oscar de la Hoya in September 2004. The majority of the incentive was completely financial.
Hopkins has lost his two previous bouts by close margins to the new undisputed middleweight champion, Jermain Taylor. He hopes to have one last glorious swansong by beating the premier light heavyweight in Antonio Tarver. This bout is happening in June and even if it wasn’t, it is hard to see a clash between Calzaghe and Hopkins (at this point in time) creating the vast sums of cash wanted by both men.
Roy Jones Junior has not faired much better. He moved to light heavyweight, in 1996 and from then on dominated an extremely weak division. He revelled in becoming the first middleweight in a hundred and six years to win a heavyweight title (since Bob Fitzsimmons) from John Ruiz.
After that, Jones has lost all three of his previous fights and the former aura of invincibility he once commanded has been shattered. Maybe, the only people that believe he has anything left are his most fanatical supporters but time has (it always does) stolen Jones’s unreal reflexes and coordination, which he once so devastatingly wielded. Instead of Jones enjoying a happy retirement, he has decided to try and propel himself back into contention by fighting Prince Badi Ajamu in July.
Who knows why Calzaghe was never able to square off against these two all time greats? Calzaghe, for a long time seemed to make the right noises but sometimes in the strange world that is boxing, noises are not enough. Hopkins was always determined to carve his legacy in the traditional way by staying at middleweight and defeating the best his division had to offer. His twenty title defences are a testament to this and it is a tremendous shame that a fight between them never occurred. It would have pitted a very cagey counter puncher against a very versatile boxer puncher. Hopkins would have been more defensive and Calzaghe more offensive, this would have led to some thrilling exchanges.
Perhaps it was boxing politics, not enough money, bad timing, a shortage of motivation from both fighters and maybe all these factors combined? At the end we can only speculate. Talent, dedication, being a world champion and a humble character are, outrageously, not enough to succeed in the toughest sport in the world. Hopkins and Calzaghe had, for a substantial period of time, none of the respect and money they rightly deserved. Well…Calzaghe still needs the money.
At super middleweight, Calzaghe would have been one of the only boxers who would have stood a chance against Jones’s phenomenal all round ability and speed. Jones was blindingly fast but so was Calzaghe and he still is. If both met in their respective primes, Jones would most likely have won but I am cautious to just write off Calzaghe’s chances. The evidence is there with the Jeff Lacy’s battering.
The Problem Goes On
The doyen of British boxing promotion in the U.K., Frank Warren has arranged one country’s the biggest ever boxing event at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, set for July 8th. Calzaghe is heading the bill but there have been delays in finding an opponent for him. In the past, Calzaghe, has stated his intention to move up to the light heavyweight division and fulfil his ambition of becoming a two weight world champion. For the time being, this is on hold as Antonio Tarver, the man Calzaghe has an appetite for is engaged with Hopkins. Maybe Tarver is also feeling wary of facing Calzaghe after such a brilliant showpiece.
Glencoffe Johnson, a tough brawler that Calzaghe was scheduled to fight a couple of years ago could be an option but he is currently the number one contender for the I.B.F Light Heavyweight Champion Clinton Woods, another British fighter. Woods made a successful defence of his title recently and has discovered a good form. Calzaghe and Woods have traded words in the past and a fight between them would be a big domestic clash but Woods has other plans. He wants Johnson, ‘more than anyone – including Joe Calzaghe.’ He has fought with Johnson on two separate occasions already and believes,’ If I beat Johnson then I’m number one. I don’t care what anybody says.’
Looking to the lower weights is a less preferable option since Enzo Calzaghe, Joe’s trainer and father has admitted his son has had problems making the weight. This weight issue is old news for the boxing world and it is common for a boxer in the latter stages of their career to move up a division to retain their strength. Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright are going to meet this summer for their own slugfest and one has to ask where does this leave Calzaghe?
The Dilemma
Calzaghe has at least cemented his legacy at 168 pounds with his emphatic victory over Lacy. If the world was a utopia, Calzaghe would have three last fights that are challenging and produce a hefty profit. I would love to see him fight anyone from Wright to Taylor or Woods to Johnson. Unfortunately, everyone is just about tied up right now.
I cannot help but feel a slightly sick taste in my mouth that even after Lacy, Calzaghe still cannot get the financial rewards he needs. Marcus Beyer and Mikkel Kessler are viable options but one feels Calzaghe really has done all he can at super middleweight. He could go on unifying but is the jack pot there?
The Conclusion
Perhaps ‘The Welsh Dragon’ just might have to quench his thirst in his next fight with a lacklustre defence which we been so used to seeing in his career. Time and time again his fights have fell through and now he is staring at the brick wall.
Charles Brewer, Jeff Lacy, Chris Eubank, Byron Mitchell, Ritchie Woodhall and Robin Reid are the names on Calzaghe’s record but what if he could have been born ten years earlier?
Julian Jackson, James Toney, Roy Jones Junior, Gerald Mcllenan, Bernard Hopkins, Mike McCallum, Michael Nunn, Reggie Johnson, Nigel Benn and Michael Watson are a glittering assortment of names. These fighters could have simultaneously pushed Calzaghe much further while earning money for them and him.
Time in life is everything and I fear that Calzaghe could as the cliché goes, ‘grow old over night.’ Robert Graves, a British poet once mused, ‘If there’s no money in poetry, neither is there poetry in money.’
Boxing is an art but also a brutal business. Calzaghe’s career thus far has demonstrated he has mastered the art but not his bank balance.