Weekend Smackdown

Joe Calzaghe v. Mikkel Kessler
Millennium Stadium - Cardiff, Wales
HBO, 9 p.m. EST
WBC, WBO and WBA supermiddleweight belts at stake

Despite his massive Welsh pride, Calzaghe is one of those guys who has to wish he was American right about now. Were he a Yank, he would be the biggest star in boxing today by far, even potentially a crossover mega-star to rival Tyson, or at least Roy Jones. I mean - a dark, handsome undefeated white southpaw with Luke Perry's sideburns and Meldrick Taylor's handspeed? Guy would have been the MACK Stateside. Probably be married to Lil Kim by now.

As it is, though, he has the love of his countryman ("what's the booty of Lil Kim compared to the love of my people?") and the rolling green hills and he's made a nice living for himself claiming ownership of the 168 division for ten full years. It's an accomplishment that should land him in the Hall of Fame. I say "should" for two reasons - super-middleweight never has been a glamor division, and Calzaghe has not a single name on his roster of defeats that inspires awe, except, perhaps, for Miguel Angel Jimenez. And I don't know about you, but to me beating up a great Spanish golfer sounds like little more than a publicity stunt.

No, sadly, the Robin Reids and Chris Eubanks of the world do not send a shiver down the American fight-fan's spine, and despite the fact that Calzaghe pulverized the American we recently sent over there to take his crown, we've long made our peace with the fact that that American was perhaps not our soundest export. At this late stage of his career, when you would expect such a decorated veteran as Calzaghe to be fighting huge PPV fights to solidify his legacy once and for all, he's just not been able to summon the talent into the ring. His last two bouts have been against Contender fighters. He had a tough time getting past one of them.

His opponent tomorrow night is unquestionably the best fighter he's ever faced, Denmark's Mikkel Kessler, The Viking Warrior (I've decided this nickname is, in fact, awesome - I should note here that at one time in his career, Calzaghe, who now fights as The Pride of Wales, called himself The Italian Dragon - myself, I think he should bring that back just for one fight to make this showdown truly worthy of Nintendo). I've been reading analysis of this fight all week that focused on Kessler's vaunted defensive prowess, and I must say, I just don't see it. The most recent Kessler fight that I saw was against the German Markus Beyer, from whom Kessler seized the WBC belt that he wears into the Calzaghe bout. The Viking was impressive, but in that way that fighters are always impressive when they are fighting someone who should not have dared to enter the ring with them. The main thing I noticed was that Kessler held his right almost down at his chest. Beyer, like Calzaghe, is a southpaw, and the left-hand lead was as open for him as a roadside Denny's at 4 a.m. He did not avail himself much of the opportunity - Calzaghe, I suspect, will not be so obliging.

What makes this fight exciting is that there's so much at stake for both principals. Kessler is 28, and this is the moment his entire career has been building towards - in that way he feels right now like the Danish Kelly Pavlik going into his fight with a Welsh Jermain. For Calzaghe, on the other hand, despite ten years at the top of the division, he's still fighting for respect, and for the chance at a massive payday here in the States. If he loses to Kessler, he will lose considerable amounts of esteem, haunted forever by the claim that he never fought anyone worth a damn, and when he finally did, he melted like a nice gooey Welsh rarebit left a smidge too long on the grill. If he wins, however, he may at last have enough clout in the U.S. arena to get the fight with Hopkins that has been talked about for so long. To make that happen, though, he can't just win by getting on his bicycle and outpointing the Viking. That's why the only prognostification I'm going to offer here is for a bonafide bloodfest. I really don't have a feel for who's going to win this fight - I can see it going either way. But I do feel almost certain that it will be a donnybrook of sizable proportions. The Viking Warrior has never shied away from a brawl, and Calzaghe simply can't afford to stay out of the fray.

p.s. Two other fights this weekend with big implications for future bouts. Tomorrow night on Showtime, Juan Manuel Marquez puts his WBC super-featherweight title on the line against a tough little bastard from Houston, Rocky Juarez. More than the alphabet belt, what's really at stake in this fight is a potential big-money rematch for Marquez against Manny Pacquiao, who he fought to a thrilling draw in 2004 after tasting the canvas three times in a perilous first round. Marquez has a habit of fighting up or down to his competition, and he better not be taking Juarez lightly, for this is the same Juarez who nearly defeated Marco Antonio Barrera in May of '06 when Barrrera dared to brawl with him. I fear an upset is in the making in this one - Marquez has been through some wars, and valiant though he has seemed of late, Juarez feels to me like exactly the rugged sort of fighter to capitalize on a softened opponent who underestimates him. The other fight worthy of our attention is a heavywight title eliminator tonight in Tacoma between Calvin Brock and Fast Eddie Chambers. Most of you No Masians are aware that I am a Brock fan, but tonight my sympathies will be with Chambers, a Philly fighter making a huge step up in competition. I'm hoping (far from certain on this one) that Fast Eddie has the skills to put a solid American name back into the heavyweight mix. Tonight's winner earns a bout with Alexander Povetkin, and the winner of that fight will fight Klitschko for his IBF belt.