Calzaghe faces tough challenge
When it comes to the Sweet Science, where a boxer has fought is almost as important as whom he has fought.
For instance, a boxer may have an impressive undefeated record, but if all of his victories have come in Europe, that record will be viewed with great skepticism.
On the other hand, if most or many of a boxer?s victories have come in the United States, he will likely get much more respect within the boxing fraternity.
This may not sit well with boxing fans outside of the U.S., but like it or not, the competition level in America is much higher and the judging tends to be 100 times fairer.
Thus, boxers tend to make names for themselves in America, regardless of whether they?re Mexican, Russian, Filipino or British. And more often than not, those boxers become recognized World Champions by beating Americans.
All of which leads to the case of Joe Calzaghe. The so-called ?Pride of Wales? has an outstanding record of 40-0 (31 KOs) and has held the WBO Super Middleweight (160-168 pounds) title since 1997.
He has successfully defended his lightly-regarded belt 17 times. However, the 33-year-old Brit has fought his entire career in the U.K. save for two fights, one in Germany and one in Denmark.
Calzaghe is well-known for dodging opportunities to fight in the U.S. and almost none of his opponents are recognizable except to the hardest of hardcore fight fans. His most noteworthy victory likely came in 2000 by way of a fifth round TKO of Omar Sheika, one of only three Americans Calzaghe has ever faced. Sheika was 20-1 at the time, but has gone 6-6 since then.
On Saturday, Calzaghe will face arguably the toughest challenge of his career when he squares off with American Jeff ?Left Hook? Lacy at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England (9 p.m. ET, Showtime).
A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Lacy, 28, has fought his way to a record of 21-0 (17 KOs). Like Calzaghe, he has beaten Sheika - in his case it was a 12-round unanimous decision (UD) in 2004.
But Lacy?s most impressive win was an 8-round TKO of hard-nosed Canadian Syd Vanderpool, who went toe-to-toe for 12 rounds with Bernard Hopkins in 2000. With that victory in 2004, Lacy captured the IBF Super Middleweight title, which he has successfully defended four times since.
Before turning professional in 2001, Lacy had a successful amateur career having fought over 220 times and winning more than 200. He subsequently represented the U.S. at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Although the U.K. tends to be a slightly more trustworthy boxing country than mainland Europe, Lacy is taking a risk going overseas to challenge Calzaghe and his hometown judges.
However, one of the slight advantages he will have is time - the fight will take place at 2 a.m. local time in order to accommodate American TV. As a result, Lacy has not had to radically alter his training and preparation, whereas Calzaghe has been training in the early hours of the morning.
Despite being significantly less experienced, BetWWTS has Lacy listed as a -140 favorite to beat Calzaghe, who?s an underdog at +110. The round total has been set at 9.5 rounds with odds favoring the OVER at -130 and the UNDER at even odds.
One thing that could present problems for Lacy is that Calzaghe is a southpaw. Orthodox fighters often have great difficulty reacting to punches coming from the left. A recent example would be Roy Jones Jr., who couldn?t seem to adjust to Antonio Tarver?s lefts. Regardless, Lacy claims he?s fully prepared for a southpaw.
?I?m very comfortable with southpaws,? he told Maxboxing.com. ?I started boxing by sparring with one of the best southpaws out there in the business, that?s Winky Wright. I learned how to fight fighting a southpaw before I learned how to fight a right-hander.?
Other notable fight this weekend:
Also on Saturday night, Miguel Cotto will face Gianluca Branco for the WBO Junior Welterweight (135-140 pounds) Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico (10 p.m. ET, HBO).
Cotto is 25-0 (21 KOs), but the 25-year-old Puerto Rican has been inactive for six months.
Branco, a 35-year-old Italian, is 36-1-1 (19 KOs). In one of only two fights outside of Italy, he lost to Arturo Gatti in a 12-round UD in Atlantic City in 2004.
---Perry
Lines Dept of
BetWWTS.com
When it comes to the Sweet Science, where a boxer has fought is almost as important as whom he has fought.
For instance, a boxer may have an impressive undefeated record, but if all of his victories have come in Europe, that record will be viewed with great skepticism.
On the other hand, if most or many of a boxer?s victories have come in the United States, he will likely get much more respect within the boxing fraternity.
This may not sit well with boxing fans outside of the U.S., but like it or not, the competition level in America is much higher and the judging tends to be 100 times fairer.
Thus, boxers tend to make names for themselves in America, regardless of whether they?re Mexican, Russian, Filipino or British. And more often than not, those boxers become recognized World Champions by beating Americans.
All of which leads to the case of Joe Calzaghe. The so-called ?Pride of Wales? has an outstanding record of 40-0 (31 KOs) and has held the WBO Super Middleweight (160-168 pounds) title since 1997.
He has successfully defended his lightly-regarded belt 17 times. However, the 33-year-old Brit has fought his entire career in the U.K. save for two fights, one in Germany and one in Denmark.
Calzaghe is well-known for dodging opportunities to fight in the U.S. and almost none of his opponents are recognizable except to the hardest of hardcore fight fans. His most noteworthy victory likely came in 2000 by way of a fifth round TKO of Omar Sheika, one of only three Americans Calzaghe has ever faced. Sheika was 20-1 at the time, but has gone 6-6 since then.
On Saturday, Calzaghe will face arguably the toughest challenge of his career when he squares off with American Jeff ?Left Hook? Lacy at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England (9 p.m. ET, Showtime).
A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Lacy, 28, has fought his way to a record of 21-0 (17 KOs). Like Calzaghe, he has beaten Sheika - in his case it was a 12-round unanimous decision (UD) in 2004.
But Lacy?s most impressive win was an 8-round TKO of hard-nosed Canadian Syd Vanderpool, who went toe-to-toe for 12 rounds with Bernard Hopkins in 2000. With that victory in 2004, Lacy captured the IBF Super Middleweight title, which he has successfully defended four times since.
Before turning professional in 2001, Lacy had a successful amateur career having fought over 220 times and winning more than 200. He subsequently represented the U.S. at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Although the U.K. tends to be a slightly more trustworthy boxing country than mainland Europe, Lacy is taking a risk going overseas to challenge Calzaghe and his hometown judges.
However, one of the slight advantages he will have is time - the fight will take place at 2 a.m. local time in order to accommodate American TV. As a result, Lacy has not had to radically alter his training and preparation, whereas Calzaghe has been training in the early hours of the morning.
Despite being significantly less experienced, BetWWTS has Lacy listed as a -140 favorite to beat Calzaghe, who?s an underdog at +110. The round total has been set at 9.5 rounds with odds favoring the OVER at -130 and the UNDER at even odds.
One thing that could present problems for Lacy is that Calzaghe is a southpaw. Orthodox fighters often have great difficulty reacting to punches coming from the left. A recent example would be Roy Jones Jr., who couldn?t seem to adjust to Antonio Tarver?s lefts. Regardless, Lacy claims he?s fully prepared for a southpaw.
?I?m very comfortable with southpaws,? he told Maxboxing.com. ?I started boxing by sparring with one of the best southpaws out there in the business, that?s Winky Wright. I learned how to fight fighting a southpaw before I learned how to fight a right-hander.?
Other notable fight this weekend:
Also on Saturday night, Miguel Cotto will face Gianluca Branco for the WBO Junior Welterweight (135-140 pounds) Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico (10 p.m. ET, HBO).
Cotto is 25-0 (21 KOs), but the 25-year-old Puerto Rican has been inactive for six months.
Branco, a 35-year-old Italian, is 36-1-1 (19 KOs). In one of only two fights outside of Italy, he lost to Arturo Gatti in a 12-round UD in Atlantic City in 2004.
---Perry
Lines Dept of
BetWWTS.com
