CARDIFF, WALES — While boxing’s current longest-reigning world champion JOE CALZAGHE was feted today marking 10 years of superstardom and 20 consecutive successful title defenses, his opponent MIKKEL KESSLER tried to rain on Joe’s parade and issued a few choice word to The Sun’s Gavin Glicksman.
“Joe is a great champion but I’m going to beat him,” said Kessler. “I’m going to be 200 per cent better than my last fight and he’s going to get a big surprise. I’ve seen some of his fights and he’s never fought a guy like me before, that’s why he’s going to be in trouble. I hit straight, I hit hard, I hit directly. I’m going to show everyone I’m a bigger champion than he is.” http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol /homepage/sport/ boxing/article329362.ece
“I know Hans Christian Andersen is from Denmark, but If Kessler wants to believe in fairy tales, I suggest he read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” before he starts believing the tales his camp is telling him,” responded Calzaghe. “Kessler is going to get exposed on November 3. I just hope I don’t get a hernia carrying all those belts out of the ring!”
WBO/The Ring champion Calzaghe (43-0, 29 KOs), from Newbridge, Wales, and WBC/WBA champion Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs), from Copenhagen, Denmark, collide Saturday, November 3, in arguably the biggest title unification fight between non-heavyweight champions since the Sugar Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns welterweight rumble of 1981. Promoted by Frank Warren in association with International Entertainment, the Calzaghe-Kessler world super middleweight championship will be broadcast live to the U.S. from Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on HBO World Championship Boxing at a special time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Millennium Stadium will be scaled for an indoor-record 60,000-plus fans.
Calzaghe, who has held the WBO title since October 11, 1997, will be looking to successfully defend his title for a division-record 21st consecutive time — tops among active world champions — which would tie him with super middleweight champion Sven Ottke at fourth place on boxing’s all-time list behind heavyweight champion Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski (23) and strawweight champion Ricardo López (23)