The Ten Count 11.05.07: Calzaghe's Domination
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 11.05.2007
This week we recap Joe Calzaghe's twelve round dominating performance against former super middleweight titleholder Mikkel Kessler. No one can deny Calzaghe is the man at 168 pounds.
In a month that is sure to provide plenty of thrills for boxing fans all over the world, this past Saturday night demonstrated what world class fighters can do when they're on their game. We had two major fights taking place in opposite sides of the globe as super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe took on one of his toughest challengers in Denmark's Mikkel Kessler in Wales. Over in the U.S. we had a showdown between WBC super featherweight titleholder Juan Manuel Marquez and Rocky Juarez in Arizona. Both fights had huge potential and both fights resulted in the slight favorite putting on a display of boxing skill and ring savvy.
Joe Calzaghe W12 Mikkel Kessler
To better understand the significance of this bout, you have to understand that these two guys meeting in the ring in the UK is the equivalent of what Trinidad vs. De La Hoya was here in the States. Going into the fight, both were undefeated and both held a title belt though Calzaghe was holding The Ring Magazine super middleweight champion making him the universally recognized champ. Calzaghe, having held his title belt for just a tad over 10 years was coming off of two straight impressive wins over Peter Manfredo and Jeff Lacy. With Lacy out of the way and sporting a shiny 43-0 record, the only other meaningful fight at 168 pounds would be a "unification" bout against Mikkel Kessler. Kessler, the younger of the two at 28 was coming in at 39-0 with two title belts to his name and becoming wildly popular in Europe. In his last bout, Kessler put on a 12-round beating on Mexican power-puncher Librado Andrade in which he called out Calzaghe after the fight.
Word was that Calzaghe went straight to promoter Frank Warren and demanded that this match be made as he is winding down his career and only wants meaningful fights. Joe had been criticized over the last few years for not taking on the top challengers in and around his division but had been putting those criticisms to rest with his recent fights. With 50,000-plus jam packed into the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, the stage was set for what was to be the biggest fight in the history of the super middleweight division.
The two started off at a fast pace with Kessler appearing to be the cooler of the two despite fighting in his opponent's backyard. Calzaghe made a point to try and test Kessler's resolve by throwing fast combinations though some of them came off a bit sloppy. Calzaghe had a successful round one and three while Kessler landed the better punches in round two. The scariest moments for Calzaghe came in round four when Kessler landed two blazing right uppercuts that momentarily stunned Calzaghe (to which he admitted getting dazed after the fight). It was looking like Kessler was once again turning the tide but the fourth round would be his last hurrah until the end of the fight.
Calzaghe apparently was knocked around silly enough to realize that he was in for a fight. Coming out on his bike in the fifth round, Calzaghe began to pump his jab to the face and body of the Dane challenger. This would become a recurring event throughout the fight as Calzaghe began to take over the fight by the end of the sixth round. Kessler was being befuddled by the faster hands of Calzaghe and to make matters worse, Joe danced circles around Kessler, avoiding all the big punches and setting up counter-punching opportunities. The eighth round was particularly good for Calzaghe as he landed a monstrous right to the body that nearly forced Kessler to take a knee. He later admitted that he convinced himself to keep on fighting though the bodyshot hurt him. By the championship rounds (10-12), Kessler looked like a mentally beaten fighter. Though Kessler kept trying to come forward and land power punches, the speedier Calzaghe gave him zero openings while torpedoing Kessler with rights and lefts.
Mikkel tried to make one last stand in the twelfth round by coming forward and forcing Calzaghe to trade punches in the center of the ring. Kessler clearly won the round but it was too little too late as all three judges had Calzaghe ahead by wide margins of 117-111 and 116-112 (twice). Make no bones about it, Calzaghe didn't expose Kessler as a weaker fighter so much as simply cementing himself as an elite warrior who should be considered among the top pound for pound fighters in the world. Kessler will likely rule the division once Calzaghe decides to leave which may be for his next fight. Mikkel should be given credit for fighting the best fighter at 168 pounds and putting on a good effort against a superior fighter. Calzaghe for his part simply proved to the world that he can no longer be ignored and must be recognized as a force to be reckoned with. At 35 years of age, Calzaghe turned away a younger and stronger opponent who was favored by some in the media to win. After the fight, Calzaghe said that he now wants to fight Bernard Hopkins for the light heavyweight championship. In reality, it's the only fight that makes any sense for Calzaghe and could possibly be his last as a professional. It's a fight that could be highly entertaining and prove to be the swan song for either of the two.
We'll be watching closely to see if that fight will be made but until then, let's appreciate what Calzaghe has accomplished in his career and give the man his due. He has most definitely earned it.
