Calzaghe needs a real contender.
By Kishan Nundloll
Joe Calzaghe maintained his undefeated record as world middleweight champion with a third round stoppage win over Peter Manferdo Jnr. The homecoming that greeted the Welsh superstar was something to behold, and probably the last time Calzaghe will ever fight on British soil. This performance being broadcast stateside and the reaction is what has been the standard on this side of the Atlantic, that it would take someone very special to get close to ending the reign of Joe Calzaghe.
Manfredo Jnr came into the fight promising to expose calzaghe for the ‘slapper’ he supposedly is and left Cardiff in doubt that he had well and truly been taught a lesson. The stoppage although predictable was arguably not needed as Calzaghe landed with a flurry of puches, but with very little actually connecting. The referee Terry O Conner enforcing the letter of the law and calling the stoppage. Manfredo’s corner incensed but the harsh reality was there man wasn’t throwing and was not good enough to withstand the barrage of punches being thrown at him.
A very humble Manfredo later admitting that he may have been out of his depth in this fight, admitting what most I Cardiff and worldwide knew that talk is very cheap in boxing, and actions always speak louder than words.
The immediate future for Briton's finest boxer is less clear. Frank Warren admitting that a fight with the equally dynamic WBC and WBA champion Mikkel Kessler isn’t on the cards. The fight seems to getting further away, and with Calzaghe seemingly not needing or wanting to fight Carl Froch; the only and popular solution is the mega money fights stateside, with Jermaine Taylor or Former middleweight king Bernard Hopkins.
Each fight being a great option for Calzaghe and his bank manager. It would be unfair to say Joe is looking simply for a payday, but having now fought twenty times as champion and never having been beaten in his professional career, the time is right to make some big money and retire as the greatest boxer ever to grace these shores. As for Manfredo his fifteen minutes of fame are well and truly over.