I'm not a boxer. I'm not a fighter. I am just a simple writer.
At 20 years old, I am fortunate to know that I want to be a writer. Many people are still confused as to what they want or where they want to go in life. I know I want to go where the stories are, wherever that may be.
I didn't get my inspiration from the writers that told the stories, but the characters of the stories. It's why I fell in love with boxing. No story is more compelling than a young, aspiring fighter coming up the hard way and putting a whole city on his back. The fighter works his way through the amateur ranks and blossoms into a seasoned professional with one shot to bring a world championship to his city. Boxing is the only sport where one man has the weight of a city or country riding on his shoulders.
That story happens in many different ways with many different twists, but it was Joe Calzaghe who lived it best. It was Joe Calzaghe that made me want to become a boxing writer.
The 36-year-old from Wales announced his retirement Thursday, closing the book on one of the finest careers, and stories, ever seen in boxing. He was 46-0, one of the only undefeated boxers in the history of the sport, and an amazing 22-0 in championship bouts.
Calzaghe was never supposed to succeed, he was trained by his father who was a professional jazz musician. While his father may not have been from a boxing pedigree, he knew two things — rhythm and the importance of pushing a fighter to the limits in training.
Calzaghe's training sessions were legendary. Myth has it that he would throw 1,000 punches on a heavy bag at superhuman speeds. I have heard he could throw that many in as fast as three minutes.
That type of speed is usually only see in lightweights, not super middleweights. The speed he threw punches at sometimes drew criticism from boxing writers because it looked more like slapping than punching. But his ability to sneak in multiple punches on the inside while his opponent tried to throw power punches kept him in control at all times.
Calzaghe only fought twice in America and defeated legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. He only had a few of his fights hyped and shown to the American public, including fights with Jeff Lacey, Sakio Bika, Peter Manfredo and Mikkel Kessler.
I more or less only caught the final six bouts of Calzaghe's career, which makes him even more special to me. I read about Calzaghe in articles from Europe, and because I could not see his fights he seemed more mythical than man. The stories painted vivid pictures of his speed and dominance. By the time he was about to fight Jeff Lacey, I was one of the few American boxing fans who thought he could win.
I didn't think he could win because I was smarter than anyone, I thought he could win because I saw Lacey fight before. Lacey fought on American television for a long time and I had every opportunity to see his weaknesses. But Calzaghe...well he was as sure of a thing as the words I read about him. He had no weakness in my eyes, because I watched his fights through words and not screens.
Calzaghe is beyond a legend in his hometown. He still lives there and when he goes to the little local shop, he sees articles about his past fights all over the walls. He is a true people's champion and his hometown should be proud.
For as excellent as Calzaghe was in the ring, he was even more excellent out of it. He kept a low profile, was always respectful and stayed active in his community.
There was always a great story with Calzaghe fights. From the unbeatable Kessler to the "I will never lose to a white boy" Bernard Hopkins fight, Calzaghe made every opponent eat his words. And at the end of the day, it will be the words not spoken by Calzaghe, but written about Calzaghe, that will live on in boxing history.
Many boxers come back after retirement, in fact, most of them do. But not Joe, he has a "0" he plans on keeping. He left at the top of his game, a hard reality for fans to accept, but a noble move that will secure his spot in history.
His father and trainer, Enzo Calzaghe, summed up his son's career perfectly when he said, "You we're brilliant Joe." He was brilliant, there is no doubt about that.
I am sad to see the story that inspired me to write about boxing come to an end, but it has come full circle. Before he fought Lacey, I had never seen Calzaghe in a ring. He was a mythical man from across the Atlantic that I could only read about. Now no one will be able to see Calzaghe in a ring. And once again, he is just a mythical man we can all read about.
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