05.09.07 – By Ron Hansen: Going into his November 3rd bout in Wales with WBA/WBC super middleweight boxing champion Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs), Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs), the WBO super middleweight champion, has stated that he’ll likely move out of the super middleweight division if he doesn’t get a match with the winner of the Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor bout (taking place on September 29th in Atlantic City..)
However, besides the obvious fact that the 35-year old Calzaghe may not in fact get past Kessler, 28, Calzaghe seems to have overlooked the other excellent fighters in the super middleweight division, such as Allan Green, Edison Miranda, Fulgencio Zuniga, Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal and Librado Andrade.
I think a battle against any one of them would be highly interesting for most of the boxing public, and certainly more appealing than Peter Manfredo Jr., Sakio Bika, Evans Ashira, Mario Veit and Kabary Salem, all fighters that Calzaghe has defended his title against in the past few years. To be frank, Andrade, Pascal, Bute, Miranda, Green and Zuniga, would each likely be able to do as Calzaghe has done by remaining undefeated during his career if they, too, were able to face similar opposition that Calzaghe has faced.
In fact, the super middleweight division is currently loaded with talent, more so now than ever before in the past 10 years during the period in which Calzaghe has held onto the World Boxing Organization title. I’ll go one step further by saying that Green, Miranda, Bute, Zuniga and Andrade could easily have held a super middleweight championship during the past decade.
Incidentally, Calzaghe would likely have a very difficult time in beating any of them regardless of his reputation of being almost unbeatable. Though each of them is far from perfect, they bring in more skills, power and ability than what Calzaghe has faced thus far in his career from my perspective, especially in recent years. So, why should Calzaghe feel as if he has to bail out on the super middleweight division if he somehow doesn’t get a match with either Taylor or Pavlik?
Would the boxing public be any more interested in seeing Calzaghe fight the 42-year old light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins? I seriously doubt it. That would be merely a business oriented fight, one to make money for both Calzaghe and Hopkins. It wouldn’t be an interesting fight to watch, at least to me, because of Hopkin’s counter-punching style of fighting. Simply put, I don’t see the fight being good for boxing. Indeed, the fight would be similar to the other boring fights we’ve seen recently between Hopkins and Winky Wright or Hopkins against Jermain Taylor.
Below, I’ve listed what I feel to be a group of the top super middleweights in the division. As I said before, any one of them would make for an exciting fight for Calzaghe, and would wipe the deck with any of Calzaghe’s opponents thus far in his career.
1.) Lucian Bute (20-0, 16 KOs) – Bute, 27, originally from Romania and now living and is now fighting out of Montreal, Canada. Perhaps the best pure boxer of the super middleweights, recently easily beat Sakio Bika, a fighter that Calzaghe struggled to beat in October 2006. At 6’2, Bute has the size and speed to create huge problems for Calzaghe without the need to get in close like many of Calzaghe’s shorter opponents. Bute is scheduled to face IBF super middleweight champion Alejandro Berrio in October 2007, and is favored to win the title.
2.) Fulgencio Zuniga (20-2-1, 17 KOs) – Zuniga, 30, a volume puncher with good power, who regularly averages 100 punches thrown per round, and is difficult to fight given his routine high punch output. He gave Kelly Pavlik his toughest fight of his career, before being stopped on cuts. He recently stopped knockout artist Victor Oganov in the 9th round on September 1, 2007. His style of fighting would be a huge problem for Calzaghe, who has never faced a fighter that throws as many punches as Zuniga.
3.) Edison Miranda (28-2, 24 KOs) – Known for having extraordinary power in the middleweight division, a lot of things were expected of the 26-year old Miranda, who started his career with a large string of knockout vicories. However, he ran into problems in the past two years when he faced Arthur Abraham and especially Kelly Pavlik. While Miranda lost a disappointing 12-round decision to Abraham in a fight that many people felt that he’d won, Miranda was completely destroyed by Pavlik in an embarrassing 7th round KO in May 2007. However, Miranda’s power remains devastating regardless, and he could present big problems for Calzaghe should he connect with one of his powerful shots.
4.) Allan Green (24-1, 17 KOs) – A rare talent with a combination of exceptional speed and power, Green, 27, has blazed a knockout trail, mowing down most of his opponents during his still young boxing career. Although he ran into a speed bump last year in losing a tough 10-round decision to Edison Miranda in March 2007, Green was reportedly not in the best of health at the time of the fight. Having since then taken time off for surgery, Green is once again in excellent condition. Most recently, Green overwhelmed tough ring veteran Darrell Woods, stopping him in a 1st round KO. Green’s power and speed combination would make him a huge problem for Calzaghe, who would likely have problems facing someone who is both faster and more powerful. Of the super middleweights, Green arguably possesses the most overall talent of the bunch.
5.) Jean Pascal (18-0, 13 KOs) – Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti and now living in Quebc, Canada, Pascal competed in the 2004 Olympics. Since turning professional, Pascal, 24, has easily destroyed most of his opposition. Like Miranda, he has incredible power with either hand and is noted for having blinding speed to go along with his massive power. He does, however, have a tendency to keep his glove open at times, which takes away much of his power. When he’s using good punching form, he’s a devastating puncher, perhaps the hardest pure puncher in the super middleweight division. He recently defeated Kingsley Ikeke in August 2007. Pascal’s power would make him a constant threat to Calzaghe, who would be in danger should Pascal connect with one of his shots. Unlike most power punchers, Pascal is noted for his ability to punch incredibly hard even late in his bouts.
6.) Librado Andrade (25-1, 19 KOs) – of the Super middleweights, Andrade, 29, is perhaps the toughest of the log, having given Mikkel Kessler a fierce battle in which bother fighters traded continuously for 12 brutal rounds before Andrade ultimately lost by unanimous decision. Kessler said afterwards that it was his toughest fight of his career. Andrade’s fighting style is much like Fulgencio Zuniga, which involves high volume punching, albeit without the power that Zuniga possesses, enabling Andrade to overwhelm most of his foes. He skin is especially tough, as is his ability to withstand severe punishment like the type he absorbed from Kessler.