By Jim Amato
Undefeated W.B.O. Super Middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe raised his impressive record to 39-0 by halting Mario Veit at 2:18 of the sixth round. It was Calzaghe's 31st KO won.
Talk is that Jeff Lacy is up next. If not Jeff then possibly the winner of Glen Johnson-Antonio Tarver II.
At one time there was serious talk of Calzaghe moving up to 175 and challenging the then "King Of The Hill", Roy Jones Jr. That fight never materialized. I hear it's a struggle for Joe to make 168 but he might be willing to sacrifice one more time for a nice payday against Lacy. I feel this would be a mistake. Jeff is too strong and he hits too hard for Joe. Calzaghe would steal some rounds on hustle but in the end I think he would be overwhelmed by Lacy.
If Joe bypasses Lacy and calls out the winner of Johnson-Tarver, I see him having more success against Johnson. Tarver would be too big and strong plus Tarver seems to pack a better wallop then Glen. Against Johnson he would be in with a strong, rugged and determined individual who could match Joe's work rate.
Calzaghe's a good fighter. You don't get to 39-0 without some serious talent. Still Joe is on the downside of a fine career. He deserves a nice, big payday. He can get that against Lacy, Tarver or Glen Johnson. I just don't think he'll win.
Kelly Pavlik was to have met Ike Quartey, the former welterweight champion on the comeback trail. They were to have fought on June 18th on the Glen Johnson-Antonio Tarver under card. The Johnson-Tarver bout will be shown on HBO.
Now it looks like Kelly's out and Quartey will meet former W.B.O. light middleweight titleholder Verno Phillips. In Verno's last bout he lost a decision to Kassim Ouma in a bid for the I.B.F. junior middleweight title. According to BoxRec.com, Verno also has a bout scheduled May 24th against a pretty decent fighter named Teddy Reid.
Meanwhile there is talk that Kelly will end up in Madison Square Garden on June 11th. On that date Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto will defend his W.B.O. junior welterweight title against Mohamed Abdullaev. This bout will also be shown on HBO. Cotto would like a big win in the wake of his fellow countryman, Kermit Cintron's recent meltdown against Antonio Margarito.
It's not etched in stone yet that Kelly is on the card. Also there has been no hint as to a possible opponent may be if he is added.
Teddy Atlas one of boxing's top commentators and former trainer of ex-heavyweight titleholder Michael Moorer hinted that Michael was going to retire. That was a week or so ago, now Michael has made it official. He was slated to meet highly ranked Fres Oquendo but Fres will now have to look elsewhere for quality opposition.
I remember Michael well as he was making quite a name for himself in the 175lb. weight division. He won the W.B.O. Light Heavyweight title at a venue near Cleveland,Ohio by halting a game Ramzi Hassan.
Moorer was the best Lt.heavyweight around when he began to make his move toward heavyweight. In 1991 he broke into the heavyweight ratings with a thrilling four round stoppage of Alex Stewart. Michael won the W.B.O. version of the heavyweight title in May of 1992 coming out on top of a five round slugfest with Bert Cooper.
On April 22, 1994, Michael would become the W.B.A. and I.B.F. heavyweight when he rallied to outscore Evander Holyfield. Then on November 11th Michael would be stopped by George Foreman in the tenth round to complete George's storybook comeback. Most people forget that Moorer probably won the majority of the rounds until getting clocked in the tenth.
On June 22,1996 Moorer regained the title that had been vacated. Michael outscored the capable Axel Shultz. In November of 1997 Michael lost his titles to Holyfield by a stoppage in eight rounds. Even in losing to Holyfield he gained a ton of respect for his courage.
Michael took some time off and returned to put together a modest win streak. Then in August of 2002 he met David Tua. The murderous punching Tua sent Michael to dreamland in the first session.
It would be almost two years later that Michael would lose again by a decision to then undefeated Eliseo Castillo. Then on December 9,2004 Michael would have to come from behind to halt a dangerous Vassily Jirov.
Michael Moorer retires with a 47-4-with one draw. He blasted out 37 opponents
Word has come out that Akron, Ohio heavyweight hopeful Robert Davis will next meet British hopeful Audley Harrison. This is a good match for the highly regarded Harrison as Davis is a top 25 caliber heavyweight.
Davis won his first twenty two fights before losing to by KO to Lance Whitaker. Among his early victims were Greg Page and Charles Shufford. In his other career losses he was stopped by Terrence Lewis. ( Davis beat Lewis in a return bout). Robert has dropped verdicts to Monte Barrett and Michael Moorer. He has been stopped by Michael Grant and Joe Mesi.
Robert Davis is no bum. This should be a stern test for Harrison.