The retirement of Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe has been met with a mixed reaction from fight fans and media alike. On one side are those who look at Joe’s 46-0 record and deem him a ‘Hall of Fame bound Legend’. They point to victories over greats such as Chris Eubank, Roy Jones Junior and Bernard Hopkins as proof that Joe is at home in elite company. “And in the opposite corner….” there are those who believe ‘stay at home Joe’ built a padded 46-0 record fighting domestic class fighters and ‘has beens’ in the comfort of his ‘own backyard’! They point to the likes of Tucker Pudwill and the two easy wins over Mario Veit as evidence that Joe cruised through his career without seeking the biggest challenges out there. This article intends to highlight the positives and negatives of Joe’s career and to give an unbiased conclusion on the ‘Pride of Wales’ based on fact, not hearsay! Here goes, ‘let’s get ready to rumble’:
Highs:
I consider the ‘high’ points of Joe’s career to be:-
• The unanimous points decision victory over Chris Eubank in October 1997, to win the vacant WBO Super Middleweight belt. He put Eubank on the canvas in the 1st and won the contest by 116-111, 118-110 and 118-109 on the judges scorecards.
• The UD ‘Shut out’ of the previously unbeaten American Jeff Lacy in March 2006. Lacy was being dubbed as ‘the new Mike Tyson’ and was tipped to destroy Joe in a couple of rounds with his awesome power. What materialised was a master class, with Joe winning every round. At the end of the fight Lacy was an absolute mess after enduring the beating of his life. Many people have since questioned Lacy’s credentials, but prior to the fight there were few who could argue with his 21-0 record.
• The UD win over previously unbeaten Danish champion Mikkel Kessler in 2007. Kessler, with a 39-0 record of his own, held the WBA and WBC Super Middlewight titles. His power and youth were seen by many as the key to unlocking Joe. And so it seemed for the first half of the fight as Kessler rattled Joe. However, Calzaghe shifted his game plan superbly, turning the second half in his favour and ultimately cruising to victory.
• The split decision victory over Bernard Hopkins last year. Joe came in for plenty of stick for fighting the 43 year old American. He scraped a split decision after being floored by Hopkins in the 1st. He struggled to perform against the experienced and ‘ring-crafty’ Hopkins, but did just enough to take the win. Hopkins looked to hold and ‘tie up’ Joe at every opportunity and his game plan nearly paid off. Hopkins win over the hotly tipped Kelly Pavlik later in the year cemented the credibility of that victory and made a mockery of those who said Pavlik would destroy Joe.
• Good victories against World Class operators such as Omar Sheika, Richie Woodhall, Byron Mitchell and Charles Brewer all add to Joe’s portfolio.
• 21 defences of the WBO Super Middleweight crown over a ten year period is an achievement rarely seen in the sport.
• Achieving 46-0 with a win against the legendary Roy Jones Junior this year. To achieve 46 wins without reply in a sport were a one second lapse in concentration can result in a KO, is an amazing feat. Joe has always found a way to win regardless of the opposition, and since he’s never been beaten, who’s to say that any boxer, past or present, would have beaten him??
Lows:
I consider the ‘low’ points of Joe’s career to be:-
• Joe never fought in America until the last two fights of his career. That’s were the big names and big fights were in the 90’s and early 2000’s, yet Calzaghe seemed content to fight in Britain and particularly from the comfort of his home city, Cardiff. He claimed to have a fear of flying, something which has been mysteriously cured over the last year!
• Joe never fought the great American’s of his weight class in their peak. In the 90’s and early 2000’s Roy Jones Junior, Bernard Hopkins, James Toney and Winky Wright were all considered pound 4 pound top 10 fighters. Joe never fought any of them in this period despite being a World Title holder. The question is, who ‘ducked who? He also avoided fighting the very dangerous Glen Johnson, on more than one occasion!
• Joe is on record as saying he ‘doesn’t do re-matches’ when a return bout with the likes of Hopkins and Kessler have been touted. However, he certainly did a re-match against the German Mario Veit – A fighter he had TKO’d in one round in 2001 and then did the same to in 2006 in six very one sided rounds.
• The split decision win against Robin Reid. Joe snatched the victory, but many observers believe that Reid did enough to take it. A definite ‘off night’ for JC.
• He struggled to stop fighters such as David Starrie, Richard Thornberry, Evans Ashira and Kabery Salem. These fighters were not in the world class bracket, but Joe struggled to get the job done quickly.
• Lack of power and injury prone. Joe’s KO and stoppage rate, particularly since 2004 has been poor. He has well documented ‘brittle hands’ which have resulted in him withdrawing from fights.
• He never fought Benn, Collins and Watson, would he have beaten such hard opposition?
• Frank Warren ‘hand picked’ fighters in an attempt to prolong the career of his number one ‘cash cow’. Joe seemed happy to go along this route.
Conclusion:
Joe Calzaghe’s career has been judged more than any other fighter I can remember. Whilst I agree that if he had chased certain fights and been willing to travel the globe in search of them, the argument would be more ‘clear cut’, However, I still rate Joe Calzaghe as a legend who should be inducted into the ‘Boxing Hall of Fame’. I believe a boxer should be judged over the full span of his career. Many state that Joe didn’t fight fighters in their peak, but when was JC’s peak?
Is it not testament to the fighter that he has boxed at World Title Level for over 10 years, seemingly getting better with age. Few could argue that Roy Jones Junior isn’t a legend, however at the age of 32 he was considered ‘past it’. At the same age Joe was defeating younger genuine contenders like Lacy and later Kessler.
And finally, the art of boxing is simple – to ‘hit without being hit’. Joe certainly achieved this more than most as his unblemished appearance, articulate mind and bulging bank account confirm. Joe Calzaghe – ‘The Pride of Wales’, ‘The Italian Dragon’, ‘The Legend’!