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by David P. Greisman - It’s called prizefighting.
The title belts are gaudy and, considering the sanctioning fees, exorbitantly expensive. The highest-paid boxers sign contracts that include a minimum of seven digits. That money, in turn, pays for managers, trainers and luxurious lifestyles.
It’s the pride that should be worth the most.
As the champions of their respective divisions, Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe are superstars who carry a reputation of having faced high-profile opponents and having earned high paydays for their efforts. And with only eight pounds separating them, there has been much speculation concerning a megafight that would be worth megabucks.
But before Taylor and Calzaghe meet in a pay-per-view collision, there’s a little matter of some unfinished business – namely, cleaning out their divisions.
Calzaghe, since defeating Peter Manfredo last month via the epitome of an early stoppage, has seemed to steered clear of eighty-sixing his biggest threat at 168, Mikkel Kessler. With Kessler coming off of an impressive drubbing over Librado Andrade, Calzaghe’s team has reportedly resorted to the usual maddening negotiation tactics – arguments over when, where and for how much.
“People think I am avoiding fighters, but that’s not true,” Calzaghe said last month in a promotional press release. “I’ll fight Kessler anywhere. At the end of the day, a ring is a ring, and I’ll beat him anyplace.”
Calzaghe, though, has also set his sights on the current middleweight champion.
“I want to fight Jermain Taylor,” Calzaghe said during an interview segment on last week’s episode of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. “Number one, at the end of the day, he’s the middleweight champion. He’s the number one. He’s beaten [Bernard] Hopkins. He’s beaten Winky Wright. He’s The Ring champion. He’s undefeated. I’m undefeated, super middleweight champion of the world, Ring champion also. So I think it’d be a tremendous fight. It’s a natural fight to put together.” [details]
The title belts are gaudy and, considering the sanctioning fees, exorbitantly expensive. The highest-paid boxers sign contracts that include a minimum of seven digits. That money, in turn, pays for managers, trainers and luxurious lifestyles.
It’s the pride that should be worth the most.
As the champions of their respective divisions, Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe are superstars who carry a reputation of having faced high-profile opponents and having earned high paydays for their efforts. And with only eight pounds separating them, there has been much speculation concerning a megafight that would be worth megabucks.
But before Taylor and Calzaghe meet in a pay-per-view collision, there’s a little matter of some unfinished business – namely, cleaning out their divisions.
Calzaghe, since defeating Peter Manfredo last month via the epitome of an early stoppage, has seemed to steered clear of eighty-sixing his biggest threat at 168, Mikkel Kessler. With Kessler coming off of an impressive drubbing over Librado Andrade, Calzaghe’s team has reportedly resorted to the usual maddening negotiation tactics – arguments over when, where and for how much.
“People think I am avoiding fighters, but that’s not true,” Calzaghe said last month in a promotional press release. “I’ll fight Kessler anywhere. At the end of the day, a ring is a ring, and I’ll beat him anyplace.”
Calzaghe, though, has also set his sights on the current middleweight champion.
“I want to fight Jermain Taylor,” Calzaghe said during an interview segment on last week’s episode of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. “Number one, at the end of the day, he’s the middleweight champion. He’s the number one. He’s beaten [Bernard] Hopkins. He’s beaten Winky Wright. He’s The Ring champion. He’s undefeated. I’m undefeated, super middleweight champion of the world, Ring champion also. So I think it’d be a tremendous fight. It’s a natural fight to put together.” [details]
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