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ANNOUNCER: Introducing, the Hghting pride of Newbridge, Wa/es,
former undisputed Super Middleweight World Champion and reigning,
defending Light Heavyweight Champion of the World,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
REFEREE: Okay, gentlemen, we went over the rules in the dressing room.
Obey my commands at all times and protect yourself at all times.
Touch 'em up.
JOE CALZAGHE: /t was as if my life was flickering through all my careen
looking around and just taking it in.
Just looking round thinking, ”Look where I am. "
There's no way I'm just going to throw everything away on my last fight.
-(BELL DINGs) -REFEREE: Box!
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
Break!
(CROWD cl-lANTING)
REFEREE: Four, five, six, seven, eight...
ENZO CALZAGHE: Just another wet day.
I remember these steps.
I created them one by one.
They're 36 up there and 36 coming down.
So much...
Pretend it's going to be hard to get in here.
So people don't rob me.
So, it's really hard.
This is it.
There you are.
Bingo. The lights are back on. I must have paid the rent.
(svvlTcHEs Fl_lCKING)
You can imagine what it was like in Sardinia.
If you don't work, you don't eat.
We had Hve kids.
So, my dad worked his bollocks off
Day and night, day and night.
I got brought up to hope about him, wish about him.
”l wish he'd seen me playing football, I wish he would turn up. ”
I knew my dream was to be a footballer.
And he told me,
"No, leave football alone and try music. "
Because my uncle wanted me to be a bass player.
So there you are, I couldn't argue with that at all.
And then /became a musician.
My dream kept going.
I'm gonna leave Sardinia.
I'm going to follow the music.
I gotta leave.
And that's what happened.
I run away, and I put two words on the wa/I when I left.
Ritorno, quandosaromillionario
"I'll come back when I'm a millionaire." (CHUCKLING)
And that's on the wall.
They couldn't believe it.
I went hitchhiking all round Europe,
and I ended up in Cardifi Wa/es.
I met Jackie, and we were married four weeks later
And it was love at first sight.
JOE: First time I actually hit something, it was not a punch bag.
I think, uh, it was my dad's hands,
a rolled-up carpet and, uh, and settee cushions,
watching the Rocky H/ms.
My dad, / think he worked as a bus conductor.
But mainly he was a musician, you know, he'd do gigs,
and my mum was a housewife, obviously myself and two younger sisters.
So, yeah, it was pretty hard.
Dad had like, uh, pad or something, didn't he?
-He bought Joe one of those stand on pads... -That's right.
...Uh, fOI' Christmas, and ljLIStl'€l'T1€l'T1b€I'
Joe just punching at it and Dad was like "Ah",
he just noticed something different about Joe, the way he was doing it.
ENZO: I just picked bits and pieces off A/i,
the way he'd throw his jabs, Sugar Ray Leonard,
you know, I copied a bit, you know.
And I let him do things on the bag...
Not with an intention of turning him into a boxer.
JOE: /always remember the first day going to the gym,
like a little, tiny, skinny, little 9-year-old.
Actually, it was quite frightening.
Because I remember walking in and just the smell of the gym,
the sweat and, um,
the big guys, the noise on the bags, and the bags were swinging round.
And I had this nervous, nervousness,
and, wow, you know, I'd never seen anything like it.
It was made of wood and tin, it was always freezing cold and dusty and dirty.
Basically, the council said it was so unsafe, it was going to fall down anytime.
ENZO: A guy called Pau/ Williams was there, and Pau/ said to me,
"Has he trained before?" UNO-ll
"Has he been to another gym?" "No, never has."
llokaylll
JOE: "Put your hands up. ” I think he tried to stand me as a right-hander.
Obviously, me being a leftie, I'm a southpaw.
So I stood straight up, put my hands up.
You know, he said, like, double jab left and I'd done exactly what he said-
"You've got an open class boy there."
So, "Open class". I didn't have a clue what that meant.
I asked everyone. "Hey, mate, you know, open class, what that mean?"
That means very special.
Joe came back.
He Said, "Dad,liked it! I liked it!"
UCCIO CALZAGHE: We were taking a walk with my mother.
She kind of, uh, you know, thought there was something wrong with him
'cause, you know, with all his gestures all the time,
just punching the air, you know.
Like he was, uh, trying to catch flies or mosquitoes. (CHUCKLES)
He knocked flies out, believe it or not, he did!
It's not a joke. (CHUCKLING)
I realised I was never going to play for Italy or Juventus or Wales or any team like that.
Uh, my hands were a lot quicker than my feet.
ANNOUNCER: ...CalZaghe.
(BELL DINGS)
The winner is Calzaghe.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
JOE: Paul was my main trainer at the time.
I'd go Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to the boxing gym.
Then every other day, my father trained me.
And I trained myself
So I trained every day, not three times a week.
Like a professional.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
ENZO: This was his choice to be a boxen not me making him a boxen
He knew himself how good he was.
He knew.
ANNOUNCER: In the red corner from Wales, Joe Calzaghe.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
JOE: Just being a champion, being a winner; to become the best.
That's what motivated me more than anything.
Was I a happy kid?
Um, yes and no, I suppose.
It was hard when I got a bit older.
I suffered a /ot of bullying.
Not physical, but verbal.
-And we were bullied as well. -Because we were his sisters.
I never told Joe 'cause we were frightened that Joe would do something about it,
and he'll get in trouble.
So, I never ever told Joe.
-It was horrible, Weren't it? -Yeah, it was terrible.
JOE: I was like the skinny boy from a different area
who was the British champion, obviously getting picked on by older kids.
And because I was pretty quiet, you know, /'d take it to heart.
There wasn't that many foreigners as well in our days.
And I think a lot of it came 'cause Dad was foreign
and we had a lot of things like spaghetti...
It was like our name as well, Calzaghe.
-It was like... -Yeah.
They always called us "dirty, stinking, Itai___"
"Look at what he is, look at olive oil guy", you know.
Joe probably was isolated.
He had no brother with him.
Because if he had a brother with him, they wouldn't bu//y him.
MELISSA: Joe unwittingly, as we/I, he had a lot of girl attention,
which Joe never wanted because Joe was so shy.
'Cause he was a good looking boy.
And there was a lot of jealousy, I think, 'cause of that, as well.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
SONIA: One day, they came to the house and there was about 40 of them on bikes.
MELISSA: Yeah they did, yeah.
SONIA: So, Dad just said, come in one by one and he'll beat 'em up.
You know, /et's have a go.
They didn't. They just drove off on their bikes, didn't they?
I find it difficult to talk about it, I do.
I find it hard to talk about it, it upsets me.
JOE: Boxing was my way of escaping and having self-worth.
You know, feeling good about myself
MELISSA: / think that when he was taking the physical pain,
it was taking his emotional pain out.
'Cause Joe was such an emotional person, he's so sensitive, it's unbelievable.
I think that that was his way of getting...
When he'd come from school feeling so hurt,
that he would go and do that, and it would get the anger out.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
JOE: Everything is meant for a reason.
I look back at everything, and / don't regret nothing, you know.
Maybe toughened me up, maybe it made fighters that tried
to, to bully me verbally.
Maybe that education in school made me strong.
COMMENTATOR: Joe Calzaghe,
18 years old,
from Newbridge way.
Joe Ca/zaghe, he really has got something going for him out there.
JOE: And then my trainen Pau/ Williams, wanted me to turn pro with him.
He came up, he tried to make me sign something to manage me.
I was still a kid, and I thought, "/ can't do this"_
COMMENTATOR: The experience now, of Michael Smyth, catching up with Calzaghe.
He's good, but he's got to be careful.
JOE: And I just to/d him. And Paul gave the keys to my dad.
And I never saw him again.
My dad took over.
I'll manage it, myself.
But what happened, any boxer disappears, and it's just one man alone.
It's just me.
I spent everything I had to carry on with his gym.
UCCIO: At the time, we were playing in a band, me and Enzo.
Picked up the phone.
He said, "I'm gonna quit."
I said, "What do you mean, you're gonna quit? You can't quit."
I mean, you know, we're near to a record deal and stuff like that.
He said, "No, no. I'm, I'm gonna train my son."
Like, I was a bit shocked, you know.
'Cause he didn't have that experience, you know?
ENZO: I said "Joe, what shall we do?
"Paul's gone_"
He said "Crack on, Dad! Just get on with it."
Fuck 'em, you know? Get on with it.
So, he gave me the power of thinking we could still do it.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: Round two of the ABA Welterweight Final.
Wearing the red singlet, the Welsh champion Joe Calzaghe, who's only 19,
trained by his father; Enzo, Italian ancestry.
ENZO: Let's see if/ can be a part of him.
Let's see if I can be a trainer.
Let's see if I can be a pusher.
ANNOUNCER: Calzaghe. In the blue corner.
Joe needed a push.
And I can push.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: Ca/zaghe, probably the only boxer in the world
with a singer-songwriter as a trainer.
REFEREE: Stop! Stop!
And it's been stopped.
And Joe Calzaghe has won another ABA Championship.
ENZO: Everybody knew he was talented.
He's a one and only.
I, I don't believe it's been done before.
No one's ever done it at three different weights.
I'll be the first.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: He is one of those boxers who, uh, has no doubt at all in his mind
when he goes into the ring, that he's going to be the dominant character.
-Soaking up punch after punch. -(BELL DINGS)
So it's all over, and it looks pretty clear that Joe Calzaghe has done it again.
To win three titles in a row at different weights.
GARETH A. DAVIES: Joe had his own style.
He was a southpaw, obviously.
So... And very adept and very athletic.
But he had a father who was not classically trained as an amateur boxer,
but he'd been in the musical world playing in a band.
He's got that energy about him.
But what it did was, he transferred a lot of musical movement
into Joe throwing five, six and seven-punch combinations.
(BALLAD PLAYING)
Doesn't every song start off with a verse?
# Change your heart... #
ENZO: \/Vhich is...
Jab, jab...
After the verse, it got a bit late.
Bring it forward, bring it forvvard_
Then you've got the chorus.
One, two, three, four, five, Wham, wham, wham, bam, bam, knockout punch.
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
ANNOUNCER: Round one.
(BELL DINGS)
JOE: /remember I turned professional in 1993.
I think I was 21.
First pro fight was, um, in the stadium, Cardiff Arms Park.
I remember boxing a guy called Pau/ Han/on.
COMMENTATOR: Joe Calzaghe.
How good is he going to be here in this Super Middleweight Division?
JOE: Yeah, /boxed on the, on the undercard
of Frank Bruno and uh, Lennox Lewis.
And I won in the first round.
Obviously, I stayed on after to watch the fight with Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno,
and, you know, to be there when the crowd was full
and the sense of atmosphere was amazing.
And it was giving me tingles, and I used to think to myself,
"This is what I want. One day, this is going to be me."
Get up in the morning, rain, sleet, or snow, and just go for a run.
Go to the gym.
Go home, come back and train again.
That's it. Every day.
Every single day.
Iran, I ran, I ran.
I jab, I work. I worked with him before he did it.
And that's what Joe loved.
JOE: I used to train 12 weeks before the fight.
The first few weeks would be hard, and then you get into the groove.
(GRuNTING)
Start sparring.
Go!
JOE: We had different combinations like A's, B's and C's.
And we'd like throw 300 punches a round, possibly.
One, two, three, four, five.
ENZO: What if I've got a machine gun in my hands?
Seven shots, you're gonna hit him with four, five you'll hit him with. Common sense.
Why not make boxing the same way?
Rock 'n' roll. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Numbers, numbers. You gonna hit.
COMMENTATOR: A lot of boxing writers
wouldn't have picked him as their tip for the top.
And look at the clusters here.
Rosamond is taking a thorough pounding and the referee has got to step in.
And he has.
Four Sffa/Qhf W/DS for ._/O9 C8/Zaghe.
COMMENTATOR: His wife Mandy is there.
He's something of a family man, Joe Calzaghe,
who never leaves home during his training.
That's the way he likes it, and you have to respect that.
JOE: I was knocking everybody out.
The first 21 fights, I knocked 20 out.
Sixteen in the first two, three rounds.
I was named as Young Fighter of the Year.
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
COMMENTATOR 2: Tremendous left hook.
COMMENTATOR 1: What a shot, what a beautiful uppercut
ENZO: I was mad boover.
I was pretty good, don't worry about that. Pretty good.
So therefore, if I caught him once,
I used to go "Ah, ah, ah, here we go, he's coming."
Bang, and I would be like, "Look at my nose.
"Who busted that? I didn't bust it. Joe busted it_"
JOE: Most of the time, / would have an argument with my dad.
Because he was pretty fiery and he'd get on my nerves and /'d get on his nerves.
That's Italians anyway. We argue all the time.
But because Joe was his son, Dad didn't give a shit.
So it didn't matter what he said, Joe, so, Dad could just let it go.
So he just, "Phew!"
It was just...
An explosion. (CHUCKLES)
JOE: I never saw a contract.
Still on my £300-a-week.
That was it. I mean, it was difHcu/t from the start.
COMMENTATOR: A /ot of people have criticised Calzaghe
for not having really fought anyone of note.
Well, we can't be far from the finish now.
Surely, the referee, Coy/e, looking very close.
Well, it's all over now.
Joe Ca/zaghe's father; Enzo, lifts him high.
The new British Super Middleweight Champion, Joe Calzaghe.
There he is, and who knows where that championship could take him?
More of him to come. Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER2 Joe Calzaghel
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
COMMENTATOR: Referee Denzil Lewis is looking on here.
-There's nothing coming back... -ANNOUNCER: One, two...
- ...and Torres takes refuge from the canvas. - ...three, four.
COMMENTATOR: It's horribly one-sided.
(CROWD JEERING)
Calzaghe has won.
INTERVIEWER: Are you getting a bit fed up because they,
they keep putting you in these high-profile fights.
And then everybody moans about the quality of the opponents and says,
"Oh, what's Joe Calzaghe proved now?"
I mean, what's your reaction to all that?
It's nothing to do with a classy opponent, people are saying that.
But people don't realise just how good I am.
And until I fight for a world title,
then they're going to see what Joe Calzaghe's all about.
'Cause I'm going to destroy anybody who's gonna get in the ring with me.
I'm only on 70% so far.
When I get that world title fight, that's different,
then you're going to see the power.
Well, let's, um, let's bring in Frank Warren here
who was saying off microphone that there was nothing wrong with that opponent.
Um, explain?
Well, you're saying that, you're saying that the opponent
that Joe had in front of him tonight was no good?
I don't think that he was a particularly great fighter.
I'm not criticising Joe's performance, he's done the job.
I mean, what do you want to see, to see him have a 12-round war or something,
and then you'll be satisfied?
It won't happen because they can't take the power,
they can't take the hand speed.
He's done well at this level, he will be stepped up another level.
He will fight for a world title. It will happen this year.
I don't agree with what you're saying. You're doing him a disservice...
He made them look bad because his style of boxing was unique.
So, they always had something against what Joe was achieving.
And I gotta say this now, it pissed me off big time.
JOHN FAIRCLOUGH: Joe's relationship with his father is a very complex one.
Because this man,
when he was going out to a fight, he's going to let his son be injured.
The son was going to trust his father, who's sitting at his corner.
And I think it is an immense accolade to both Enzo and Joe
that they managed to keep that relationship, a very, very unusual relationship,
but it seemed to work.
JOE: He's gonna be worried, he's gonna have fear.
He's thinks we're gonna win, but it's stressful for him, as well.
It's not like he's just training any other fighter.
He's training his son
that's about to get in the ring where somebody
who is going to try and knock your head off
ENZO: My son is going into a sport that can be very dangerous, right?
And Joe knew that and accepted the consequences.
JOE: My mum, she's, uh, totally the opposite of my dad.
Uh, she never wanted me to box.
She's like "Joe, you know, do something else.
"What are you boxing for, getting punched in the head?"
I've never been to any of Joe's fights, no.
I couldn't bear it, no.
It's horrible. It's a horrible feeling.
And I, and I did see Johnny Owens going down.
COMMENTATOR: And Owens down for the second time in his boxing career.
The only times he's ever been down, and he's in trouble now...
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
And I can remember he went down and he didn't get back up.
A father has to teach his son how to live.
A trainer has to teach his son how to fight.
Those are not always compatible.
Years before, if you wanted to ruin a fighter, you had him trained by his father.
I mean, there were almost virtually no success stories.
ENZO: I'm not a masochist, I'm a father.
But in that ring, it's war.
He chose to go to war.
I chose to be with him in the war.
Now, course I got sentiments, but I got no sentiment whatsoever
for that 36 minutes of fight.
I got no sentiments.
I can't have sentiments.
I can't! I wish I had!
But I haven't got 'em.
Because simply as that, that's my kid that I'm putting to war.
I put him to war. Right?
He's gotta get out of that war.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
COMMENTATOR: Oh, and that went through straight as a lance,
and he is not going to like that.
That really was bang on the money.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
At the press conference, he looked at me and laughed.
He went "Hey, kid, I'm gonna take you somewhere you've never been before,
"I'm going to take you into the trenches."
I'm thinking, "Yeah, right, okay."
ANNOUNCER: And now, ladies and gentlemen,
for 12 rounds of boxing,
for the vacant WBO Super Middleweight Championship of the World.
CHRIS EUBANK: /was complete, I was total. I was pure as a fighter.
I was always in shape.
And I'd been training from the day I'd started.
I never had breaks.
When I was going to fight Joe Calzaghe, I knew that he was unbeaten.
I knew he was a southpaw.
I had watched him fight.
I thought that perhaps, he has never fought anyone like me.
Chris Eubank_
EU BAN K: / am pure.
I'm a very difficult man to beat because it's not about money,
it's about honour.
All right, gentlemen.
We went over the ru/es in the dressing room.
I expect a good clean fight. Give me good Sportsmanlike conduct.
Obey my commands at all times. Shake hands. Good luck.
EUBANK: I didn't know whether his punching ability was real.
Fast hands, yes, but you have to have lead.
You have to have heavy hands.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: Oh, left hand puts Eubank on the floor.
What a start from Calzaghe!
EUBANK: I remember landing on my back.
I messed the seat of my pants,
is how hard the shot came out of nowhere.
JOE: I caught him with a left hook.
First 15 seconds, he went flying across the ring, landed on his arse.
Man, I thought, "This is going to be easy."
(CHUCKLES) "What are you talking about?
"What'S Chris Eubank all about?"
Bingo!
Fucking dropped him down. I said, fucking this, "Joe, that's brilliant. Excellent.
"That not going to last another round.
"Fucking brilliant, get on with it."
EU BAN K: All his so-called slaps,
they were hard punches.
He was a hurtful puncher.
Fast and hard.
And at that point in the first round, I knew I would have to be resourceful.
Motherfucken
He did. He got up and, uh, he was a good fighter.
He was a good fighter.
COMMENTATOR 1: Good body shot from Eubank_
Two or three.
COMMENTATOR 2: Ca/zaghe there asking a /ot of questions
about his heart, his chin, his determination...
And his right to be here.
I mean, I threw every punch I could possibly throw.
Two rounds, three rounds, I remember thinking...
Come back to the stool and like, breathe heavily,
and he's still doing this little strut that he does,
looking around and I'm like, "Oh, Dad, it's going to be a hard night."
EUBAN K: I knew in the 11th round, 12th round, /'d stil/ be there,
and if he isn't the real deal, I will break him in those rounds.
No one stops me.
It's just, uh, it's just a thing.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR 1: Eubank again, always with a fast start.
Can he break Calzaghe's resistance?
JOE: Trust me, after seven or eight rounds, / had, I felt I had nothing left in me,
and wanted to win and wanted to win
and just, you know, coming through the pain barrier
and gave me a second wind.
And he was right, you know, he did put me through the trenches.
That's how we do. (CHUCKLING)
We're real.
COMMENTATOR 1: Oh, big left and a right, and Eubank, how did he stay up from those?
COMMENTATOR 2: Ca/zaghe landed a good left hand there.
It's a good exchange from him.
COMMENTATOR 1; Eubank let him go with his right hand.
He just cannot put out Calzaghe's Hre though.
EUBAN K: I mean, he stood strong. He had it all.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
(BELL DINGS)
(CROWD APPl_AuDING)
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, we go to the Scorecards.
Dave Pepper scores the bout 118 to 109.
Paul Thomas scores it 116 to 111.
And Roy Francis scores it 118 to 111.
For the winner who is now WBO Super Middleweight Champion of the World,
Joe Ca/zaghe!
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
INTERVIEWER: Joe Calzaghe, World Champion, how does that sound?
Sounds brilliant, you know, after all the hard work I've done.
I just thank God. Obviously, I thank my dad.
I thank all the fans who've come to support me tonight.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
They gave me a lot of incentive and there's only better to come.
I was not that familiar with Joe Calzaghe prior to him winning his first world title.
But when he beat Chris Eubank, uh, that was very exciting.
And I realised this might, this guy might be something.
Unfortunately then, he made a string of defences that were mediocre at best.
Uh, it was difficult to get excited by him in terms of rating him among the very best.
COMMENTATOR: Ca/zaghe wants that finish here, and he might get it, too.
-And it's stopped. -(CROWD CHEERING)
It is oven and Ca/zaghe has retained his title in emphatic style.
INTERVIEWER: I hear in the build-up to this fight, too,
you had a bit of a handicap with the sore hands,
you weren't able to do very much sparring?
Well, in fact, ldidn't do no sparring at all for this fight.
I haven't sparred for maybe two months.
JOE: Coming from beating Eubank and being there,
to suddenly underperforming and struggling.
COMMENTATOR: Oh, terrific shot, huge shot of the fight.
Right hand, and Calzaghe getting hit too often.
He must have /ost that round.
Um, very disappointing, it seems very much like he's, he's losing his power.
He used to have destructive punching power; maybe that's beginning to evaporate.
COMMENTATOR 2: VVe'l/ try and find reasons in a moment.
These little bones in your hands, they're called the metacarpals.
And these were broken very early because
when you keep on stressing that bone, it breaks,
and unfortunately, even though it mends, it's actually a weakness.
JOE: I couldn't span I was seeing all these specialists.
I was having all this treatment, I just couldn't punch.
Simple as that.
And to be honest, it was like a minor miracle,
I managed to be able to win fights not training properly.
MICHAEL PEARLMAN: Sometimes, Joe wouldn't lift a glove
to punch another human being,
between ending one professional fight and starting another world title defence,
because his hands were so bad.
INTERVIEWER: You don't want to mention the hand trouble,
but we were wondering in the fight,
because you seemed to revert to your boxing skills quite early on.
Has the hand gone again?
-ANNOUNCER: Round one. -(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: I think last year; he was thinking,
he was gonna become a millionaire overnight and his path would be paved with gold.
-It doesn't work like that. -COMMENTATOR 2: It doesn't.
It's, it's a very tough sport and it's a very tough business and, you know,
Calzaghe's beginning to /earn how tough it is.
COMMENTATOR 1: Frank Warren there,
not happy with Joe Calzaghe's performance there, really.
COMMENTATOR 2: Good shots going in from Brewer now.
-This is a bad patch for Calzaghe. -(BELL DINGS)
JOE: I remember boos in the crowd.
I had a meeting with Frank Warren, he said, "Listen, Joe, are you going to retire or what?”
It was never an option to stop.
I had a family, kids.
I had to fight for money.
COMMENTATOR 1: Ca/Zaghe'S down.
That's the first time he's been down in his career.
COMMENTATOR 2: First time back in the ring in eight months.
He's had a back injury and there's been some domestic problems in the background.
There was a battle there that Joe had to do.
He had to have a battle, because believe me, he was hurt.
Thinking of doing it, you can cope with it,
but when it had and has been done, the divorce, then you think.
Truthfully, / didn't think he'd box any more.
I had to find a format to make him interested,
that he had to train for this fight.
Now, how do you block that out?
I couldn't block it out.
It happened, it's reality.
He had some Hght_ He had that in his mind.
So, imagine a guy who gotta fight.
Can he concentrate on it?
Twelve rounds for a world title. His career could be gone straightaway.
COMMENTATOR; What a right hand from Salem!
Calzaghe is down for only the second time in his career.
ANNOUNCER: Seven, eight...
God says to everybody...
"It's what's inside of you that counts most of all."
it's what's inside of you.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
It was a hard, hard road.
He was tested, and he got through it.
ANNOUNCER: And still, the undefeated Joe Calzaghe!
JOE: Think I was 34.
I was eight years World Champion.
Not really given the respect in the States for doing what I did.
There's no doubt that there is an American bias when it comes to boxing.
We have dominated this sport for the better part of a hundred years.
So as a result, he never got the credit he deserved from American fight fans
for the simple reason that he was British.
Even though he was undefeated,
and even though he had a very lengthy, uh, title reign.
DAVIES: Jeff Lacy came with a big noise.
A really, really dangerous hooker, a very powerful guy, incredible self-belief.
ANNOUNCER: Undefeated in the professional ranks,
with a record of 21 wins, no losses, one no decision,
with 17 wins coming by way of knockout.
He was hyped as a smaller version of Mike Tyson.
He had the body and the story of his pro-debut not happening
because his opponent saw him take his shirt off at the weigh-in and left town.
Got into a bus and left, "I'm not fighting that guy!"
ANNOUNCER: Here is the undefeated /BF and IBO
Super Middleweight Champion of the World.
Introducing, Jeff "Left Hook” Lacy.
Jeff Lacy had been a US Olympian.
Um, and was knocking everybody out with his big left hook,
so, hence the nickname Left Hook Lacy.
His physical makeup was different from Joe, you know?
He looked like a condom stuffed with walnuts, you know?
He was properly built, Jeff Lacy.
From what we had seen, at least in this country, with Joe,
we saw a fighter who was often technically inferior,
slapped with his punches, was not the hardest guy to hit.
So, as a result, it was an easy pick, and virtually,
I would say, 95% of the US media
picked Jeff Lacy to win and expected him, fully expected him to knock out Joe Calzaghe_
JOE: Ten days to two weeks before the fight, I remember injuring myself
Under no circumstances did Joe want to fight Jeff Lacy with a damaged hand.
Joe started to believe this guy really is that good.
Enzo had studied him extensively and didn't agree.
And it was his job to try and cajole Joe into realising
yes, this is a fight you can win injured.
ENZO: Have you seen him?
Lacy does five moves to throw one punch.
Do five punches in one move, you do.
JOE: I wanted to pull out the fight because I actually doubted myself
scared of failure against this bad guy from America.
ENZO: Do you know what happens if you don't fucking fight the Hght?
They call you a bastard, coward, they'll cal/ you every name under the sun.
You can forget your boxing careen you're oven
JOE: And my dad said ”You have to fight this fight.
”Joe, if you got to fight with one arm, it doesn't matter;
”l 'm proud of you no matter what. "
The day before the weigh-ins,
I wake up and there's like, a couple of feet of snow.
And I can't explain, it's magical.
From that moment of walking in to the garden, I had no nerves.
I was completely calm.
Everything was lifted off me.
ANNOUNCER: He is making the 18th defence of his title.
Ladies and gentlemen, the undefeated Joe Calzaghe!
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
(BELL DINGS)
Al/ right, gentlemen, the time you have been waiting for is here.
The opportunity of a lifetime, so remember; take advantage...
JOE: I looked in his eyes, man, and I just knew I had him.
He looked away, he didn't want to look at me in the eyes.
He looked stiff he looked nervous.
There was no way this guy was ever going to come over and beat me.
-ANNOUNCER: Round one. -(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: Finally, the unification fight
C8/Zaghe /TBS CI'8V9d /788 arrived.
The Lacy camp think Calzaghe is over the hill,
and that he's a man ready to be taken.
As Calzaghe gets hit, he starts going into a tear up.
Rememben the left hand is the fragile one.
He can't afford to have that one damaged.
(ENZO sl=>EAKING)
COMMENTATOR 1 : Lovely right uppercut.
COMMENTATOR 2: Joe Ca/zaghe at the moment,
but there's a long way to go.
And a little contemptuous smile from Ca/zaghe.
(SPEAKING)
He's saying to him. "Don't worry, man. Don't worry.
"He's gonna cool down now. Don't worry about that."
COMMENTATOR: Look at that superb flurry of punches.
I say, there might have been nine or 10.
Round eight, the guy's looking at us saying, "Where's the cool down?"
(LAUGHING)
COMMENTATOR: Dear me, that face is just a mess.
Look at the eyes of Jeff Lacy.
He didn't beat him,
schooled him!
COMMENTATOR: Fantastic!
Winding up the right hand, striking the jab.
Hitting him with the left hook.
If it was a ballet, it would have been Nureyev.
It, it was just magical.
I can remember not sleeping for two days after that fight.
A man danced with another man,
like he was blessed, like something was shining on him.
Landing punches and avoiding punches like you've never seen before.
Joe's right foot was sort of nailed to the canvas,
'cause he would pivot on it, on a 90 degree
and just... And he was gone.
And Lacy was punching mid-air.
Finally, he'd painted a masterpiece that you could see was there.
-Twelve rounds of brilliance. -(BELL DINGS)
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
The Lacy fight is where he took off,
and where America went, "What the fuck? Who's this guy?"
DAVIES: Joe was one hand.
Forced into the fight, didn't want the fight, truly delivers.
That was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen live.
It ignited something in the public and in the media.
Thanks to my dad, without him I wouldn't be here today.
He's a great trainer, great dad. I love him to bits.
Um, and thanks to, you know, my little kids, Joe and Connor. I love you both.
ENZO: He's just come up to me, whispered in my ear,
"Dad, you're right!"
I was right.
With an "f-ing", of course. "Dad, you were right."
"I told you Joe. I told you Joe."
And we kissed each other on the lips.
I was having injections in... Oh, remember, that's right.
Went to Harley Street, had an operation,
and you, you parked the car, and you forgot where you parked the car.
That's right. I walked all over the place.
That's it, you were saying "My fucking hand, but my hand..."
No, it was wrapped up.
-You parked the car on the road somewhere. -Yeah.
You couldn't find it, and I was fucking running around, for an hour.
-That's right. -Fucking hour.
Saying, "My hand, my fucking hand."
Right, 'cause I was coming off an anaesthetic,
-I didn't know where the fuck I was. -(LAUGHING)
And I just remember, "I think it's on this street, I think it's on this street."
That's it, looked everywhere, do you remember?
If I had two good hands I reckon I would, I really could have...
(LAUGHS) That's it.
DAVIES: Two completely different characters.
And maybe that's why they work.
I mean physically, as well.
They are Abbott and Costello.
They are chalk and cheese.
You would not pick them out in a room as father and son.
And they act differently as we//_
That's great.
PiaceMolto, PiaceMolto.
(LAUGHS)
DAVIES: The energy that Enzo speaks with, and enunciates with,
and flies around a room with,
is the same energy that Joe then explodes with when he fights.
COMMENTATOR 1: Calzaghe's throwing punches by the dozen.
COMMENTATOR 2: The referee might stop it. The ref's having a look.
COMMENTATOR 1: He's stopped it. He's stopped the fight.
Joe Calzaghe, that one came from nowhere.
DAVIES: Father and a son.
If the son is fighting professionally, they are a unit.
This makes a formidable team.
You see, your father will never mislead you.
And your father is always going to tell you every single thing that is a liability
(ENZO sl=>EAKING)
JOE: I always knew in the corner.
He always knew if I had a bad round, I could have six good rounds.
And one bad round, and he'd, he'd be mouthing off and swearing.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
But he knew how to get to me.
(SPEAKING)
DAVIES: There are lots of times when you, you have seen his father
literally whipping him into action, whipping him into shape.
On fight nights, I was not his dad.
Forget that.
We were divorced.
COMMENTATOR: He's on the floor and it's stopped in the very first round.
Joe Ca/zaghe in sizzling style
retains his WBO Super Middleweight Championship.
Every time we went in the corners for a minute, he was confident.
His eyes were with me.
Not looking round, looking round, where, where?
He's looked to me in the eyes and he knew that when I said,
"Throw three B's, trust me, do things", I said. "Do it!"
COMMENTATOR: And he's stopped.
Everything in two rounds.
His father; Enzo Calzaghe, has been with him from the word go.
He's the man who shaped this magnificent champion and Ca/zaghe remains just that.
STEVE FARHOOD: At times, you need a trainer who's a psychiatrist.
At times, you need a mother.
At times, you need a cheerleader. At times, you need a conditioner.
At times, you need a boxing strategist.
And the fact that Enzo, with really no boxing experience,
was able to create a fighter,
help create a fighter as good as Joe, is absolutely mind-boggling
Forget the fact that he's his father,
just that he was able to do that as a trainer was remarkable.
DAVIES: After beating Jeff Lacy, after beating Sakio Bika,
Joe needed a fight of magnitude
which'd justify him as the rightful owner of the Ring belt,
the rightful owner of the Liheal Championship.
JOE: Mikkel Kessler by far was the biggest, biggest name in my weight.
I was the Ring Magazine Champion, WBO Champion, IBF Champion.
Mikkel Kessler was obviously WBC, WBA Champion.
And he was undefeated in like, 39 fights, so everything on the line.
PEARLMAN: For both of them, the main motivating factor was,
we want to be recognised as the best Super Middleweight fighter in the world.
(CAMERAS Cl_lCKING)
MIKKEL KESSLER: I know I can beat him, don't hit that hard and, I can beat this guy.
JOE CALZAGHE JR: Him and my dad had got really close,
and they were like, you know, shouting at each other.
My granddad was shouting at his manager, you know?
All that Kind of stuff happening.
Block him out, Joe. Come on, Joe, come on, Joe.
JOE JR: And that's when you know how real it really is.
'Cause when the fight gets first announced, it's weird, it's like two months away.
You don't really think about it, going to school every day.
Then suddenly, the day before, going to bed, you can't sleep
because you know tomorrow is going to be that fight night
when your dad is, you know, is gonna be in that ring
fighting somebody like Mikkei Kessler.
ANNOUNCER: it was here in the old Cardiff Arms Park
that Joe Ca/zaghe's career began back in 1993.
Now he has what may be one of the toughest nights of his career.
A very, very late night fight
to catch the premium market in the United States as well.
Fifty-five thousand people at the Millennium Stadium.
One of the biggest stadium fights we've ever seen.
JAMES BRADFIELD: Knowing that you're in Cardiff
and everybody has turned out to see you,
and it's a defining fight for you.
And not only might you lose the fight, you'/I lose your undefeated record.
To actually take that pressure on board, it just takes unbelievable strength.
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: Trying to wing the shot around,
that straight left hand lead of Kesslen who's started well.
That's a decent right hand from Kesslen and a good left jab.
And now, Kess/er's starting to come in.
And he's looking for Calzaghe.
Good right hand. Good work from Kessler.
DAVIES: Mikke/ Kessler was fantastic.
Strong, lovely movement, crisp timing, heavy shots.
Mikkel Kessler was schooling him.
COMMENTATOR: Great uppercut from Kessler.
Calzaghe takes it though.
Terrific shot from the Dane.
And these are dangerous moments for Calzaghe.
DAVIES: The crowd had been silenced.
The dragon wasn't breathing any fire.
(BELL DINGS)
(SPEAKING)
Bam, bam, bam, bam. Bam, bam, bam, bam.
(SPEAKING IN DANISH)
COMMENTATOR 1: Calzaghe trying to work to the body and making Kessler miss.
This is a better round for Calzaghe.
Oh, this is better. Right hand from Calzaghe.
Rocks back the head of Kessler.
COMMENTATOR 2: What I was saying about Calzaghe, John,
he can adapt and he can change his style.
DAVIES: That's what the great sports people do.
Muhammad Ali could change the pattern of a fight,
Lionel Messi can change the pattern of a match.
And that's what we saw in this fight.
COMMENTATOR: Good round though, this for Joe Ca/zaghe.
Good uppercut. Left hand from Calzaghe.
This is a big round for the Welshman,
-he's bossed this last minute. -(BELL DINGS)
ENZO: Beautiful work.
(SPEAKING)
DAVIES: We saw the athletic genius of Joe Calzaghe.
His movement became different.
He tied Kessler up.
He, he began to sneak round.
KESSLER: I had timing, I had the shape.
I was there, but he could adapt his boxing style.
And that was something I was too young to, to understand then.
COMMENTATOR: Ca/zaghe showing superb boxing skills there.
DAVIES: That desire in him, the heart.
You have to give him 100 out of 100 for heart, Joe Calzaghe_
(BELL DINGS)
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
COMMENTATOR: The two hug. May even be a word from Calzaghe.
I think Kessler knows that he's /ost that one.
C3/Zaghe raises hfS 3l'mS BDU C6/9bl'8l'6S.
-At the age of 35... -(WHOOPS)
...maybe his biggest test has been this one.
KESSLER: After the Hght I said to him, let's have this rematch.
He said, "No, mate.
"Tonight was my night."
KESSLER: I think you were a little nervous right there.
I could see that in your eyes.
-Oh, yeah, little bit. -Is that true?
Oh, yeah, well obviously, when you're fighting in front of 50,000 people, come on.
-(LAUGHING) -I was fighting you.
You had knocked everybody out, nearly, you know?
'Course I'm gonna be a bit nervous, you know what it's like.
I thought to myself, "If I lose man, I don't want to think about losing,
"but I can never show my face in Cardiff again."
-(BOTH LAUGH) -They'd carry me out, mate, carry me out.
My trainer, Jim Montoya, you Know Jim.
Yeah, yeah, he did my bandages.
Yeah, he's, um, he said,
"When you hit Calzaghe with a right, you should have come back with a left hook."
I only threw the right hand, you Know.
Yeah, thanks.
(BOTH l_AuGHING)
Hey, your father is happy.
That bastard.
(BOTH l_AuGHING)
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
(BOTH l_AuGHING)
Hey, come on, man.
As I said, I hate watching my fights when I lose,
but this is good, this is good.
-Oh, thank you, man. -This is okay, man.
I lost that fight. But I tried everything.
Good fight, my man.
Good fight, Joe. (CHUCKLES)
PEARLMAN: I think, even if there had been those of us who hoped Joe might say,
"I'm the undisputed Super Middleweight Champion.
"There's nowhere else for me to go. I'll hang them up."
It just, it became obvious from what we were hearing from America
that, that wasn't going to be an option for him, you know.
All of a sudden, all the calls had come in to Frank Warren
and they're coming to Joe Ca/zaghe, "When can you get over here?"
And I think that was... That was irresistible for him.
JOE: You need to go to the States to be recognised by the American press,
by the American writers.
You have to go there.
SO what I did, the Week after the Kessler Hghf,
bought my own ticket, went out to America,
and, um, the whole point of me going over was to bump in to Hopkins.
Bernard Hopkins was, pound-for-pound, one of the best in the world.
I knew I wanted to fight that guy.
Hopkins was in the press room, and I could see him come in.
'Cause / was doing interviews and Hopkins was on the other side of the room.
I remember him making his way towards me.
Twenty five years a boxer with this face, man. It's for a reason.
You fought in every... Because you fought over in Europe...
-Because you fought in Europe. -You think you could beat Kessler?
You fought in Europe. Kessler ain't not in my league, man.
It was like the school playground.
Fight... There's a fight going on over there.
And, of course, that's where Bernard famously said...
I would never let a white boy beat me.
If we fight you will lose.
I you fight me, you will lose.
-I'll never let a white boy beat me. -You will lose.
"l ain't never been beaten by a white man. I ain't never been beaten by a white man."
And we were just like...
And you can call in any statement you want.
Anybody can put it down, I will never lose to a white person.
I can't wait, man.
I thought, "Yes!" I loved it.
I thought, "Yes", this fight's gonna get made right now.
And all the cameras before he realises are on.
Rung up Frank Warren, I said, "Listen, the Hght's been made. ”
BRADFIELD: Always scares me when a fighter goes up a weight
because you never know how their body is gonna react to it you know.
Will he keep his work rate up, you Know.
You're thinking the punches are perhaps gonna have a bit more heft to them,
but kind of like, will he be able to keep his work rate up?
And Joe's work rate was always great.
So, I was... Again, I was scared for that fight.
DAVIES: He said, when they came face-to-face,
”You're a small guy.
"You are this Super Middleweight they been talking about?"
MATTHEW RHYS: You know, here's a man known as the Executioner,
who spent time in a penitentiary, and...
At the age of what he was,
was a very intimidating and terrifying man.
Every red-blooded American's gonna be happy with the outcome.
I'm gonna kick his British ass come April 19th.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
The nine year old Joe Calzaghe, the kid that had been bullied by the bullies
was fighting probably the biggest bully in boxing.
He was somebody who you thought, this is gonna maybe be a step too fan for Joe.
JOE: I remember the weigh-ins, and having thousands of people
queue up for a weigh-in.
And all the Welsh flags, Welsh banners,
and Hopkins came out and they were booing him.
And he must have looked in the crowd thinking,
"I'm fighting in my country and there's like all Brits and that."
It was brilliant and, you know, it's like, you know, the British fans are the best.
Welsh fans, British fans are amazing.
They don't do it anywhere else in the world,
and British fans will travel and come watch you fight.
RHYS: I remember when getting off the plane in Nevada, thinking,
”\/Vho turned off the lights in VVa/es when they left?"
Because everyone was in Las Vegas.
You couldn't move for dragons and... And that's all you could hear,
was that slow...
# Super; super Joe! Supen super Joe #
MAN: (CHANTING) # Super; super Joe! Super; super Joe!
# Super; super Joe!
# Super Joe Ca/zaghe! #
-Ah! I know that one. -BOTH: Yeah.
We peaked at the anthem.
It felt like Cardiff out there.
The amount of supporters who went out there,
and everyone saw, it was like that mini community going around.
-"Oh, you're from Wales? Da-da-da-da-da." -Yeah.
And it's_.. It was a great buzz.
# Super; super Joe! Super Joe Ca/zaghe! #
DAVIES: Seven thousand people travelled oven which was extraordinary.
The fans, everywhere, just having a great time.
MICHAEL J. FOX: Just so many Welshmen there.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Tom Jones and...
Howard Stringer, the head of Sony, and all these...
All these crazy Welshman_
CONNOR CALZAGHE: A/ Pacino as we/I.
I literally just remember shaking his hand as well...
And I was like, "This made it absolutely, even better."
Even though you can feel the atmosphere, you know,
but you don't really see anything.
ANNOUNCER: The moment the world has been waiting for.
Twelve rounds of boxing
for the Linea/ Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.
Joe...
Calzaghe!
Bernard, the Executionen ..
Hopkins!
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR 1: The talking ends, the action begins.
Calzaghe against Hopkins.
Twelve three-minute rounds.
A good right hand.
Hopkins has put Calzaghe down with the very first right.
Calzaghe down with a clashing right hand from Hopkins.
Six, seven, eight. You okay?
He goes down in the first to a straight right hard,
and we're sort of metres away.
You sort of hear the "thup", you go "thup". Down he went, and we just went...
This is it. This is gonna end how we hoped it never would.
(SPEAKING)
Yeah.
COMMENTATOR 1: The chant is "Wa/es, Wa/es. "
Break! Break out, break out. Break out.
BRYCHAN ENGLAND: Bernard Hopkins is a very clever boxer.
It was a really frustrating fight to watch 'cause___
Calzaghe couldn't get into his flow.
-Couldn't get into his flow. -He was just smothering him.
Every chance, he was just closing him down.
COMMENTATOR 1: Hopkins here, he's constantly holding.
COMMENTATOR 2: He should be getting warned now from the referee.
All right. Stop, stop, stop!
He's holding again.
All right, break. Break! Step back.
ENZO: Joe knew already, it's gonna be a nasty fight.
And as it was, it turned out to be that way.
He went out to spoil Joe's style of boxing.
(SPEAKING)
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
COMMENTATOR 1: The movements...
Calzaghe needs a big round.
COMMENTATOR 2: Calzaghe is starting to make his left hand
produce music upstairs.
(ENZO sl=>EAKING)
(SPEAKING)
COMMENTATOR 1: I think the second and the fifth rounds could have gone either way.
It's difficult to come to a conclusion as to who won the fight.
(BELL DINGS)
(SPEAKING)
COMMENTATOR 12 Better left hand, Calzaghe.
COMMENTATOR 2: Joe Ca/zaghe can finish the fight,
having landed more punches than anyone's ever landed against Hopkins
in a Com,ouBox counted fight.
Down goes Hopkins on a low b/ow.
FOX; Hopkins is particularly annoying to me.
As a fight fan, I just the hate defensive stuff,
and the slow down and the grab and the clutch, and the...
I just can't stand that stuff.
And... And Joe was very anti-that.
COMMENTATOR 2: I wonder if Hopkins is choosing to stop
Calzaghe's flowing momentum here.
Is it an Oscar-winning performance or did Ca/zaghe land a foul?
COMMENTATOR 1 : Hopkins stil/ grimacing.
Ca/zaghe waving to the fans suggesting this one is now going his way.
(SPEAKING)
Stop, stop. Come on, let's go. Come on, let's go.
(CROWD BOOING)
COMMENTATOR 2: Hopkins is claiming another low blow,
but Cortez didn't see it.
(SPEAKING)
ANNOUNCER: And the final round...
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR 1: This could be a very difficult fight to score.
COMMENTATOR 2: American judges tend to favour aggression fighters-
Fighters who come forward.
Break! Break, break.
There was no real consensus of who was winning the fight.
And I can honestly say that when the bell rang and it went to the cards
no one around me with any conviction had an idea one way or the other who,
who was gonna get the decision.
(BELL DINGS)
Hopkins continues after the be/I.
And both men celebrate.
I'm okay, man.
(CROWD cl-lANTING)
ANNOUNCER: We go to the Scorecards.
Adalaide Byrd scores it 114 to 113 for Bernard Hopkins.
Ted Gimza scores it 115 to 112 for Joe Ca/zaghe.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
Chuck Giampa scores it 116-111.
To the winner by split decision,
from Newbridge, Wa/es,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
COMMENTATOR 1: The celebrations, the aggression has paid,
the judges have gone for the man who forced the fight.
And Joe Calzaghe has got off the floor in the first round to win this one.
There were a few tears down there when the verdict was delivered.
From South Wales... Oh, from Newbridge, South Wales!
Me and Joe, honestly, boy!
-(EXHALES) -JOE JR: It was gone mad, mate.
It took only five seconds, but it felt like ages, man,
like, just waiting, like, silence and then...
"The New Ring Magazine.-. " Oh, man, it was amazing!
That was the best, weren't it, man? That was good.
-Still gives me goose bumps, man. -It was good.
-Me and Giuseppe. -(BOTH LAUGHING)
We Kept asking him if he was gonna retire, but he kept, you know,
"Oh, one last fight. One last fight."
I just... I just wanted him to retire, you know?
Yeah, after he got knocked down as well in the first round.
Seeing him from knocking all them people out and then, you Know,
him fighting in America and getting knocked down in the first round again.
Just don't want to go through that ever again, man.
It broke their heart when they saw their father box.
-Connor, weren't he... -It absolutely broke their heart.
And they said to him, "Please, Dad, please not again,
"I don't want to do it. Please, Dad."
I said, myself. I said, "Don't retire."
I said, "Well, you can beat Rocky Marciano's record by all means_"
He said, looked at me straight in my eyes,
"Dad, I lost the hunger."
When I heard the words "I lost the hunger",
that to me was...
That's it.
So... (SIGHS)
You know, 25 years in a sport as hard as boxing is a longtime.
And when your body's starting to break up, which it was...
Pain, I couldn't spar. Big massive pillows for gloves and...
You know, everything aches more and more, and then, I think I was 36 at the time.
It was terribly important to Joe that he was undefeated.
And I think eventually,
when you get the accumulative problems with pain,
difficulty in training for fights.
That inevitably leads you to the point at which,
"Am I going to be able to get one more fight?"
One more fight too far may not just be pain, it may be defeat.
You got the sense that he couldn't go on much longer.
Because there was so much pressure on him not losing.
The idea of having one in the loss column
was actually destroying him in...
In really deep psychological ways.
It made me feel that I got to be a father.
I knew that enough is enough.
I changed from trainer; become a father.
JOE: I didn't want to keep fighting until I couldn't fight no more-
I wanted to Hght with something left in the tank.
I to/d my dad the next fight's gonna be my last one.
Who better to face than another American ring legend, Roy Jones Junior.
A man the same size as Joe, but when he steps into a ring,
he looks 6'6" because of his extraordinary Wingspan and reach and speed.
Roy is ready.
He's more ready now than he's ever been
in the fights that I've trained him for the last, the last 18 years.
DAVIES: There was no one else, really. No one of that stature.
SO fall who's QOf U76 45 and 0, mate?
Who's got the 45 and 0?
Stand up and praise Joe Calzaghe. He's got 45 and 0.
And then on the fight night, it's gonna be 46 and 0.
Put your hands together for Joe Calzaghe, thank you.
To Hnish off my career fighting one the greatest Hghters there's been, that's it!
And Hghting in Madison Square Garden, you know, that's all the motivation I need.
On Saturday night, you're not gonna see a good fight,
you're gonna see a great fight.
DAVIES: No one wants to miss the end
of what has been an extraordinary, and, remember, unbeaten career.
But there's a fear that the great Welsh champion,
the Italian Dragon might lose his last fight.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, from the Mecca of boxing,
Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA.
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
Introducing first, from Pensacola, Florida,
a future hal/ of famen
Roy Jones...
Junior!
Introducing the Hghting pride of Newbridge, Wales,
former undisputed Super Middleweight World Champion,
and reigning, defending,
undefeated Light Heavyweight Champion of the World,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
Twelve rounds of boxing
for the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.
REFEREE: Okay, gentlemen, we went over the ru/es in the dressing room.
Obey my commands at all times and protect yourselves at all times.
Touch 'em up, when the bel/ rings, come out fighting.
Okay, gentlemen.
-(BELL DINGS) -Box!
COMMENTATOR: Joe Ca/zaghe, Roy Jones Junion herein New York,
for the Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.
I don't Know that Roy Jones ever fought anybody
that was faster than he was until he got in the ring with Joe.
And I'm not sure that Joe ever fought anybody who was faster than he was
until he got into the ring with Roy.
REFEREE: Okay, break.
(CROWD cl-lANTING)
Foul; five, six, seven, eight...
I, like, literally thought my dad was Superman.
I thought he was like, invincible.
We were in a frenzied state of terror.
That it could all come undone, you know, on the biggest stage of the boxing world.
(BOTH SPE/\KING)
(BELL DINGS)
COMMENTATOR: There's blood on the bridge of Ca/zaghe's nose.
Calzaghe has to dig out of a hole.
ENZO: I can't put the winning method in his life,
in his heart while he's boxing.
That comes from himself, personally.
It's something that creeps in his mind.
"I shall not lose."
(BELL DINGS)
COMIVIENTATORZ Calzaghe unfazed.
Goes out with his hands out low.
Throws one punch at a time and Calzaghe throws six.
Calzaghe showboating in the centre of the ring.
Never before have you seen that with an opponent against Roy Jones.
Roy Jones Junior was the ultimate showboater_
He could do everything.
He could knock a man out five feet away across a ring with a punch they never saw.
So, Joe begins to showboat.
He rolls his shoulders, he shuffles, he does everything.
COMMENTATOR 1: And Ca/zaghe is standing in front of Roy Jones
with his hands down, showboating.
COMMENTATOR 2: it's abundantly clean at least with body language,
Ca/zaghe is trying to portray to the audience and to the judges
that he has weathered the storm.
He has dominated round three.
(BELL DINGS)
(SPEAKING)
COMMENTATOR 1: Another left hand by Calzaghe,
follows it up with a couple of body shots.
Another flurry by Ca/zaghe. Roy maybe momentarily hurt.
COMMENTATOR 2: He's hurt, he's hurt...
COMMENTATOR 1: Blood above the left eye of Roy Jones.
Joe was sticking his face out.
He was sticking his face out and just, just...
Screwing with Roy's brain, and Roy had done this for years to people.
COMMENTATOR 1: Roy has never; never experienced this,
and I think that the fact that Joe can do this all night.
And then I was watching that, I thought that's jazz. That's___
It's smooth, it's silky, it's sneaky, it's syncopated, it's just, it's just jazz.
COMMENTATOR 1: Calzaghe dropping his hands and staring at Jones
and watching the blood flow, and going back to work.
He did everything but knock Roy Jones Junior out.
And he probably was there for the taking.
Why didn't Joe knock him out?
Maybe because he wanted to savour those last 36 minutes.
It was as if he was saying, "/ 've loved this,
”l want you all to see me be doing everything I can do here today and it's goodbye. "
JOE: And it was as if my life was flickering through, like, all my career;
like where I started.
I was counting down the rounds in my head.
Just looking round thinking,
”Look where I am. ”
(BELL DINGS)
(CROWD cl-lEERING)
JOE: To finish on my own terms, money can't buy that.
Money can't buy that.
DAVIES: Very few fighters go out on their terms in that way.
I can literally name on five fingers
the fighters in my era that have gotten out with their faculties,
with their money, and with their pride.
I give him a lot of credit.
And it says a lot about his sense of self
and the understanding he had,
that he had more than ha/f his //fe stil/ to /ive, after boxing.
BRADFIELD: People still talk about him,
and people kind of still want him to be around,
you know, and there are not many people that once they go away,
you know, the only thing people will start talking about is,
just like, you know, "l wish he was still here", you Know.
That's a big achievement.
If I had flags, I would put the flags out. It was really...
Well, you see now I've just...
JOE JR: It was unreal seeing my dad after all he's done, really be appreciated.
I just fe/t like that was the best moment ever.
So proud of him, like, that's probably my proudest moment ever.
I respect him as a father for what he's done for us.
Nobody knows what my dad went through to get,
to get there, from a little kid.
That's, that's what I feel, you Know.
INTERVIEWER: You wanna come in, Joe?
ENZO: Never happened, it wasn't us, it couldn't be us, no way.
Look at the memories, that's there, it's us.
JOE: Oh, he's my best friend and a great dad, and he's an awesome trainer.
I couldn't pay him back for the way he brought me up
and also for instilling that animal in me
that I become in the ring,
who refused to be beat, refused to be knocked down.
If you get knocked down, you get back twice as bad.
That Was me.
Refuse to lose.
That was instilled in me, so thanks, Dad.
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
JOE: Oh, it's been a brilliant ride,
and I'm a happy man now and I'm thankful for everything I've got.
Nothing's come close to the family, children and health.
Nothing matters unless you got that.
ENZO: You'/I never be forgotten.
What you are is eternal.
Hey, listen, Joe put in a lot of work.
He fought a lot of tough guys. He um...
He beat the odds, you know, he has um...
He's beat the who's-who of his division of his time.
He chose to retire early, that's on him. He's still, you know...
I believe he still has a lot of good fight left.
You know, Flock would have been a great fight for him.
Um, in England, Wales, one of those arenas.
That would have been a financial moneybreaker_
It would have broke some records.
But, you know, he chose to retire early. I have much respect for him.
Matter of fact, um, he got his bones of becoming a confident fighter under my cards
when I fought in Europe.
He fought in all the undercards and looked sensational then as well.
I think he's the greatest British fighter we've ever had, to be honest with you.
And he's a great fighter, a great mechanic in the ring.
And he understands what it is to win.
He totally eradicated the word "losing" out of his vocabulary.
He comes from a division where in England we had a wonderful name back in the day
with Ben, Eubank, and, you know.
I mean, to have your dad in your corner, you know you're not going to get ripped off.
You've got your old man there who loves you.
Your father don't let you side down. Father knows who you are.
There's always a strong bond.
One of the most important things in boxing is the bond between trainer and...
And when your father, you Know, when you look in his eyes, he's obviously.
YOU C3l'1 tl'LISt him.
Well, it's always going to be different strokes for different folks.
For Tito Trinidad and his dad, same thing as Enzo and Joe.
You've got something there that's family or tie.
They both respect each other.
They respect the boundaries of each other's ideologies, of course.
And so, that makes it just.__ It just looks good, you know.
Very rarely, at the end of the game, it looks good. It still looks good.
I think he could have gone on.
I think he could have gone out there and smashed...
I think he could still do it now.
-(LAUGHING) -I can only beat the old man.
Where's your son? Where's your son?
(BOTH l_AuGHING)
Congratulations, Joe. God bless. Just keep on keeping on. I love you.
He's got the life now. He doesn't have to... He's living the life.
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