06.02.09 – By Vivek Wallace: In this weeks ‘Call Em Out Fridays ‘ segment we take a look at a man who needs no introduction. Zero defeats, 15 years, 46 victories, and a million accolades, yet it’s the questions surrounding this individual which most will undoubtedly remember him by. Like every other ‘Call Em Out Fridays’ segment, we’ll take a look at all perspectives. The ‘Supportive’ perspective, the ‘Critics’ perspective, and to tie all loose ends, a more ‘Neutral’ one to keep it fair and balanced. So with no further ado, we now shine the spotlight on the “Pride of Wales”, Mr. Joe Calzaghe..
Joe Calzaghe (Supportive Perspective): When taking a glimpse back at the career of Mr. Calzaghe, it’s literally impossible not to notice the rare mark of perfection. Adding to the unblemished record, yet greater in stature, is the fact that Calzaghe did it with his Father.. There have been many Fathers to steer their sons along in the sport of boxing, but none have walked away undefeated, and practically all of those Fathers had a foot somewhere in the sport prior to beginning the mission. For Enzo Calzaghe there was no such history, and truth be known, he probably couldn’t fight his own way out of a wet paper bag with a set of brass knuckles on, yet the finished product he created was a masterpiece and the dedication the two men put in apparently paid off. Over his long career, Joe Calzaghe was best known as a scrappy southpaw who left little room for era, smothering opponents and tiring them out, if not knocking them out first. Calzaghe was often viewed as a fighter with little power, but few take note of the fact that 32 of his 46 opponents were assisted back to the showers before the final bell sounded. Not bad for a guy known to be ‘slappy’. After his career defining moment against Chris Eubanks, Calzaghe went on to literally dominate, although there were moments of adversity, namely his first career knockdown against Byron Mitchell. To his supporters, the road for Calzaghe was a fairly easy one because Calzaghe made it that way. Oddly enough, his critics feel the same, yet for very different reasons. The critics of Calzaghe feel that Calzaghe made it easy, but in the sense of side-stepping top echelon contenders. To better understand that perspective, we now hear them out…..
Joe Calzaghe (Critics Perspective): For every good reason to adore Calzaghe there seems to be two to tear down his many accomplishments. Of all the critical things one could say about Calzaghe, it’s the level of competition that speaks the loudest. With more than 15 years in the sport, it seems that each of the globally recognized talents on his resume were either very raw and untested, or facing the proverbial ‘westside’ of a sun setting career. Eubanks had suffered two losses and gone into a retirement that lasted a year before facing two ‘cupcakes’ and subsequently facing the young and hungry Calzaghe. Then there was Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, two fighters with budding talent, yet to quote boxing guru Brad Cooney, “without the help of boxrec.com”, the biggest diehard boxing fan on the planet would be hard-pressed to name a world class opponent on either fighters resume. Some may find it a leap of faith that he decided to cross the pond and face American legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones jr., but with both men residing in the “frail and 40” club (Hopkins to a lesser degree), one can’t help but wonder what would have happened had the fights taken place a decade ago. So when looking at things from the critics perspective, whether the points are deemed valid or not, one sure can’t dismiss the fact that the many questions leave quite a bit to ponder. Both the supporters and critics of Calzaghe leave much to think about, but for the sake of peace, we attempt to find a middle ground of sorts….which takes me to the ‘Neutral’ perspective….
Joe Calzaghe – (Neutral Perspective): When it all boils down, there will always be room for questions, no matter who the source or what the course. Would Marciano have been defeated had he crossed wires with Ali? Would Mike Tyson have gone undefeated had he been more focused and less strayed by the vices of the lime light? We can go on all day, but when the rubber hits the road, we’ll never know, and I think that’s the plight behind Calzaghe’s argument when he states that he “has nothing left to prove” to anyone. I’d be the first to say I think a young Jones jr. in particular would have given him ‘the business’, but it’s all speculation, and since Roy, Hopkins and many others never went out of their way to make it happen back then, the blame probably goes both ways. That one truth means all of the what-if’s from critics are cleanly nullified with a why-ask from supporters. To wrap it all up, I think Calzaghe has been great for the sport, but what he could have done but didn’t do is no better than what he should’ve done but wasn’t asked to, if you feel me on that one. And besides, the word retirment falls out of a bored fighters mouth like a wet noodle in the not-so-tight lip lock grasp of a toddler. We won’t know if Calzaghe’s chapter is truly closed until the sport runs out of “O”‘s. Right now, it’ll take approximately seven “O”‘s behind one big digit to get him off the couch. I somewhat expect him to be back, but if no promoter can produce it, I guess it’s safe to say Calzaghe will gladly find contentment in the one “O” he does still have. If he is gone for good…..IT’S BEEN A GREAT RUN JOE, NOW TAKE A SEAT AND WATCH THE RACE! — Best wishes!
(Got questions or feedback? Contact ESB’s Vivek Wallace at vivexemail@yahoo.com and 954-292-7346, follow more of his work at 8CountNews and The Examiner, or show some love at Myspace).