By Tom Donelson
It was 3:15 am in the morning in Manchester and the face of Jeff Lacy provided the correct summation of the fight. Joe Calzaghe showed American audiences and Lacy as well - why the Welsh fighter dominated the Super Middleweights for the past decade. Calzaghe put on a boxing clinic against the rugged Jeff Lacy. Calzaghe hand speed and foot movement neutralized Lacy’s power as the Welsh fighter reduced Lacy to one-punch and Hail Mary shots.
Lacy's defensive shortcomings were fully exploited by Calzaghe, something that 21 other fighters could not. The reason was simple. Lacy’s power overcame his mistakes against lesser opponents but against Calzaghe, he could not overcome Calzaghe accurate punches. Calzaghe had something that other Lacy’s opponents often lacked- his own power. With 31 knockouts in 40 previous fights, Calzaghe had more than enough power to hurt Lacy and keep the young American on his heel.
Looking at the crowd, there wasn’t empty seat in Manchester as boxing is alive and well in British isle. To satisfy American audiences, the Brits had to wait until 2 am in the morning to see their hero dismantle the previously undefeated Lacy. And this fight showed that Europe has many fighters who can match the best that America can offer. With Kessler and Beyers owning portion of the titles, Calzaghe victory has made it a clean sweep for all of the Super Middleweights titles.
In the various weight divisions between Middleweights thru Light heavyweights, European fighters add to the depth to these divisions. Fighters like Arthur Abraham, Felix Sturm, Zsolt Erdei, Tomasz Adamek , Mikkel Kessler and Joe Calzaghe are leading a European boxing renaissance..
The present light heavyweight King is Antonio Tarver, but Tarver is past 36 years of age and his last fight was with Sylvester Stallone while filming Rocky 6. His next fight is with the aged Bernard Hopkins in a big money fight but underneath the King are some excellent European fighters ready to take the mantle. The Middleweights are no different. Jermain Taylor is the crown king of the Middleweights, but his grasp on the title is precarious.
Knock out artist Arthur Abraham and slick boxing Felix Sturm along with American Winky Wright are challenging the reign of King Taylor. The winner of the Wright-Taylor battle still will have many fine European fighters to contend with. If nothing else, the Middleweights division thru the Light Heavyweights shows the global impact upon boxing. And the Europeans now dominate the Super Middleweight division!
Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, Miguel Cotto broke down Italian Gianluca Branco with vicious left hooks. The young Cotto hit every part of Gianluca Branco body. By the time the fight ended, Branco’s shoulder ached from the constant pounding and his right side of his face was swollen from Cotto’s left hook. What this fight showed was the obvious talent of Cotto but it also showed boxing popularity in Puerto Rico. Jim Lamply mentioned that the fight received front-page coverage and when was the last time that any boxing match in America received front-page coverage on any sports page of American major newspaper. (Hell, ESPN doesn’t even show highlights of their own fights on their popular Sports Center.)
Vic Darchinyan showed the strength of the flyweight division as he took apart the slick boxing Diosdado Gabi. Gabi won the first two rounds as he moved and jabbed while avoiding Darmycin sledgehammer shots. By the third round, Darchinyan took control and Gabi foot and hand speed slowed down. In the eighth round, Darchinyan left hand sent Gabi down for the count. Darchinyan raw style and constant pressure provided the edge along with his heavyweight power.
The flyweights division is a deep division with at least five fighters with legitimate claims to the championship and there is not an American among the group. Lorenzo Parra, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Oscar Narvaez and Jorge Arce each have their claim to being the best and below them are other contenders ready to compete for championship belts. Many of these fighters come from the south of our border or Asia and again these lower weight divisions show the preponderance of foreign fighters. Least I forget, Chris John became the new king of the featherweights as he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez, a victory that will certainly shake up the featherweight division and cripple Marquez's chances for a big money fight down the road.
So this weekend was that weekend that showed the globalization of boxing and further showed that the health of boxing internationally is still robust outside the United States. The screaming fans of Manchester showed that boxing indeed still has a future.