By Terence Dooley
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
Two fights on from the seemingly false, or overcast by poor matchmaking, dawn of the Jeff Lacy win even Joe Calzaghe’s biggest fans must be wondering why this elite-level fighter is now taking on the runner-up from boxings first reality TV program ‘The Contender’ as Joe clashes with Peter Manfredo Junior next April.
Rumours abound that Joe lined-up a fight with Darius from the X-Factor yet the cry of “Hit me baby one more time” from Darius would merely result in Joe hitting him a thousand times in a one-sided walkover unpalatable to ITV viewers.
The assumption is that Joe Calzaghe is taking on Peter Manfredo due to the fact that Manfredo is instantly recognisable to HBO viewers and US fans.
Well Tony Soprano is also recognizable to HBO viewers and US fans yet a catchweight bout between Joe Calzaghe and James Gandolfini is not in the works (I believe negotiations broke down due to James demanding ‘silly money’).
In fact Gandolfini is not such a bad match, he looks the part as Tony Soprano and will represent that rarity, a Calzaghe foe that is coming down in weight rather than jumping up in weight.
This is not to denigrate Manfredo, his recent performances have been very impressive yet they did not make one think “Wow! This guy is a top-level super-middlewieght fighter…get him in the ring with Joe Calzaghe.” They made you think he was a competent contender who has a big win over Scott Pemberton, a fighter who has seen better days.
Only two fights ago Manfredo dropped two fights to ‘The Contender’ winner Sergio Mora. Keeping on the two-two’s theme Manfredo has only had two fights at super-middleweight versus opposition that can be kindly described as shot or inexperienced. In Scott Pemberton he took on a guy who was wiped-put in two rounds by Jeff Lacy, remember what happened when he fought Joe?
This seems damning enough yet it also needs to borne in mind that Manfredo fought around the middleweight limit during ‘The Contender’ (he oscillated between 157-161lbs) so, his previous weight struggles aside, fighting an outstanding career super-middleweight is not ideal. Although given his recent losses and the size disadvantage he is par for the course in terms of a Calzaghe foe.
Manfredo is being picked due to the fact he is recognisable via the popularity of ‘The Contender’ yet on the other hand he did not win the show, he is boxings Gareth Gates, popular yet ultimately the loser in his biggest ever test.
We probably should not mention the fact that Manfredo lost his first fight on ‘The Contender’ to the unheralded (which was the whole point of the show really) Alfonso Gomez, we will mention it though, he lost and that should have been that.
Manfredo was given the opportunity to continue the show when fate (according to the fighter) intervened as Jeff Fraza dropped out with Chicken Pox - medical science also put in a claim as to his continued involvement in the show so feel free to take your pick.
Manfredo avenged his loss to Gomez in the semis, lost to Mora in the final and was then deemed unlucky to lose a return bout via split-decision.
You can see why Manfredo would be popular, his story is a compelling one and the thinking seems to be that a good yarn should override the fact that he is not suitable opponent for Joe right now. It can be argued that any fighter bar Kessler is an unsuitable foe yet that is another yarn, something of a comedy of errors and posturing.
In short we must ask what the thinking is behind a Manfredo fight. Well the assumption seems to be that it will be Manfredo then Jermain Taylor. Taylor has expressed a desire to move up in weight plus is a huge middleweight who is, begrudgingly, respected Stateside.
The reality could be that Taylor unleashes thirty-six rounds of frustration – built-up in his tactical fights with Hopkins, twice, and Winky Wright – onto Kasim Ouma in two weeks time whilst Wright will have had a week to realise (having fought and, we presume, defeated Ike Quartey this weekend) that his unreasonable stance – proclaiming himself World Middleweight Champion in a move reminiscent of Idi Amin pronouncing himself king of Scotland, Amin had a greater claim – is preventing him from making reasonably big money fighting Taylor again.
At this point Wright is playing the part of a woman playing hard to get. The rub is that once a woman starts playing hard to get you already have her, it is just a case of thrashing out the terms, plus the endless small-print, then reeling her in.
If Winky beats Ike Quartey this weekend he could throw a spanner into Calzaghe’s plans by calling out Jermain for a rematch. Jermain likes to do things the proper way; he beat Hopkins – a long-reigning Champion – then fought a rematch with Hopkins before fighting Wright in boxings version of ‘Technical Boxing: A Three Part Class’. Jermain would probably like to avenge that blemish on his record.
Whisper it but the truth is that Joe could lose out on a big match with the fighter, this time a quality one it must be said, from the lower division.
Calzaghe’s beating of Lacy was the fistic equivalent of taking a rook in a chess game, it usually signals the endgame period of the battle and Joe is clearly in the endgame phase of his career, his hands are pointing this out to him in every single fight, meaningless or not.
Yet after the Lacy fight we were promised a big fight, it fell though. After the Bika debacle we were promised a big fight, the Manfredo one can be spun into one for sure yet it does not feel big. Maybe next time they should promise us a competitive fight instead, seeing as Kessler is not considered big enough right now but is certainly competitive.
With this said a fight with Manfredo is a step backwards for Joe, especially if Taylor stays at 160lbs for another fight with Winky Wright.
Calzaghe could well find himself raring for a big fight with nothing on the horizon. Burning bridges lie behind him when it comes to Clinton Woods and Glen Johnson. Hopkins is back yet sees a fight at heavyweight as a more attractive option than Calzaghe. Roy Jones could be an option yet his credibility at the higher level is as shot as his chin. A fight with Kessler for super-middleweight supremacy is a massive, red-lettered option that would answer all questions and legitimise the division, so it is never going to happen.
So where does that leave Joe if Taylor takes on Wright for a second time? It could leave him saying “I am a (potentially) elite-level fighter…get me out of here (Joe’s promotional comfort zone)”.
