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CALZAGHE DESTROYS MITCHELL TKO2 June 28, 2003 By Craig Watt
WBO 168 pound champion Joe Calzaghe retained his title tonight in Cardiff for the 13th time with a second round stoppage of former WBA champion Byron Mitchell. In a ferocious fight Calzaghe rose off the canvas in the second to force a stoppage victory by referee Dave Parris at 2.36. This was Calzaghe’s best performance against a recognised challenger who showed great toughness to withstand some fast and distrustful barrages from the 31 year old southpaw from Wales.
In the exciting final second round Mitchell dropped Calzaghe after 30 seconds with a tremendous right hand that was the first knockdown of the WBO champion’s career. Calzaghe did appear dazed and Mitchell responded with some good punches to the body but this seemed to spark Calzaghe into a further gear and he unloaded with some fast and hurtful punches. A left hook 40 seconds later sent Mitchell to the canvas for the second knockdown of the round. For the next 45 seconds the unbeaten Calzaghe jumped on Mitchell with a barrage of 20 unanswered punches and when Mitchell fell backward into his corner on wobbly legs the referee intervened to stop the bout.
This was the first time Mitchell has been stopped in his 29 fight career and was an excellent comparison for Calzaghe against WBA/IBF champion Sven Ottke with whom Mitchell lost a split decision earlier in the year. Much of the build up had centred around Joe Calzaghe making a statement to the world he was the best fighter at 168 pounds. The manner in which Calzaghe blew away such a quality opponent should see him claim this mantle in the super-middleweight division.
Calzaghe attacked from the opening round and whilst Mitchell seemed to try and hold during the first minute he was able to catch him with fast combinations that wobbled Mitchell on several occasions. It appeared the superior speed from Calzaghe would be decisive and as the round ended the 5,000 crowd gave both fighters a fantastic ovation.
The second round was one of the best seen in a UK ring in 2003 as both traded in the centre of the ring and the two knockdowns fuelled the drama. Whilst it was obvious Mitchell did hurt Calzaghe he showed excellent powers of recovery to continue with such a devastating onslaught.
After the fight Calzaghe paid respect to Mitchell but stated, “ I have not fought for 6 months and had 3 cancellations and to be honest I took my frustration out on Mitchell. He was a tough fighter and showed great spirit but I was too fired up and this was one of my best performances in my 36 fight career. I hope this sends a message out to Sven Ottke as to who is the best fighter in the super-middleweight division”
Frank Warren stated that after such an impressive performance by Calzaghe he wanted to try an secure a fight with Bernard Hopkins. This fight had nearly been inked in 2002 and this was the team’s preferred option after the Ottke camp seem unwilling to create a triple title WBA, IBF and WBO unification bout.
On this performance Calzaghe can now be regarded as the top fighter at 168 pounds and he stretches his unbeaten record to 36-0 with 29 KO’s. Mitchell drops to 25-3-1 with 18 KO’s.
Saturday, June 28
Mitchell stuns Welshman briefly, but Calzaghe scores TKOAssociated Press
CARDIFF, Wales -- Joe Calzaghe successfully defended his WBO super middleweight title for the 13th time Saturday, coming back from his first-ever knockdown to stop former two-time WBA champion Byron Mitchell in the second round.
In a short but explosive fight, Mitchell sent the unbeaten Welshman spinning to the floor with a short right hand with 1:35 left in the second round.
Calzaghe (36-0) looked in trouble for the first time in his 35-fight career before a sellout 5,000 crowd of his fans at the Cardiff International Arena. But he responded in the best way possible, dropping the American 20 seconds later with a chopping left to the side of the chin. From that point, the Welshman rained lefts and rights onto the head of the challenger and referee Dave Parris stepped in to stop the contest with 24 seconds left of the round.
It was the first time that Mitchell (25-3-1), who lost his WBA title to Germany's Sven Ottke in a split decision in Berlin in March, had been stopped. Calzaghe, unbeaten since he was an 18-year-old amateur, took the title from Chris Eubank in October 1997. The 30-year-champion also has beaten three more former world champions, Robin Reid, Richie Woodhall and Charles Brewer.
"I'm shocked. It's the first time in my entire life,'' he said of his knockdown. "There nearly always comes a time when the champion gets put down. Then you see a champion's heart to see him come back to win by knockout.
"I took him out. Bashed him up first round, got caught with a sucker punch in the second.'' Mitchell acknowledged Calzaghe won the fight but thought it was stopped too early. "I thought it was a little prematurely,'' he said. "But the best way I can look at it was that the referee was looking after my best interests in that I wouldn't get hurt. So great job done (by Calzaghe) but I still thought it was stopped prematurely. "I made a mistake of going in for the kill. We didn't want a decision in this fight I was going for the knockout. I got careless and wide and I got caught.''
HOLYFIELD TO FIGHT TONEY OCTOBER 4 Tuesday, June 24
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) _ At age 40, Evander Holyfield is making a personal declaration of independence, a statement that he won't let his career be controlled by promoters. So when Don King demanded future options as Holyfield's price for a fight with WBA champ Roy Jones Jr., the four-time heavyweight champion turned elsewhere, taking an Oct. 4 match with IBF cruiserweight champ James Toney.The fight, which will be broadcast on Showtime pay-per-view, does not have a site yet and won't do much for Holyfield's goal of holding boxing's most glamorous title again. But it will maintain his free agent status.
``I did say that I would only fight for belts,'' Holyfield said Tuesday. ``They try to take advantage of my goal, the heavyweight championship. They don't want to pay me and they want to tie me into a long-term contract.''
Holyfield wouldn't agree to that, even though he knows that at his age his opportunities at title fights may be dwindling.
``I'll wait in line and I'll get a chance,'' he said. ``I'll be the champ, maybe not as quickly as I want to be. I may not get it when I want to, but I will get it.'' If that happens, he doesn't want to be beholden to anyone, least of all King, who wanted control of Holyfield's future as an insurance policy.
``I don't feel I should have to sign long term for a title fight,'' Holyfield said. ``I'd love to fight Roy Jones. The most important thing, though, is that I get treated fair. I'm not going to let somebody abuse me. I don't have to be abused. I will not be taken advantage of.''
According to Jim Thomas, Holyfield's longtime adviser, the former champ was offered $8 million to fight Jones, who would have received $16 million. ``That's $24 million out of a $44 million net based on 1.2 million pay-per-view buys,'' he said. ``That leaves another $20 million. Where does that go?'' Thomas said Holyfield would get less for fighting Toney but that the payday was fair.
``Evander has consistently fought the toughest guy available,'' Thomas said. ``Roy Jones' promoters made him unavailable. James Toney was available.'' Holyfield wants to leave boxing as the undisputed heavyweight champion. ``It means when all is said and done, you're remembered by the last thing you did,'' he said. ``I want to get all three belts and then I'll retire.''
The quest could be complicated. Holyfield lost a bid for the IBF title to Chris Byrd last December. Lennox Lewis owns the WBC title and, according to Thomas, has no great desire to fight Holyfield a third time. Jones holds the WBA crown and with King in charge of his first defense, Holyfield's prospects for that fight seem slim.
For Toney, the IBF cruiserweight champion, the Holyfield fight means a shot at a high-profile opponent. ``It will be a pleasure to fight a great champion like Evander Holyfield,'' he said. ``I've always wanted to fight heavyweights and beat heavyweights. We're both great fighters, both warriors.
``We're like old school boxers. We don't run away. Blood and guts is what I bring. I try to hurt people for a living. That's my job.''
For his part, Holyfield recognizes Toney could be a threat. ``I won't take James for granted,'' he said.
And he'd appreciate it if promoters didn't take him for granted.
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AUSSIEBOX NEWS CROWE LANDS BOXER ROLE Russell Crowe is set to star with Renee Zellweger in a new film called Cinderella Man, about a depression-era boxing hero, Variety reported. The movie will be directed by Ron Howard with Akiva Goldman working on the script.
In Cinderella Man, Crowe will play Jim Braddock, a Depression-era boxer who became a folk hero by winning a brutal 15-round match with heavyweight champion Max Baer in 1935. Zellweger will play his wife.
Zellweger will be paid a handsome $US21 million ($A32 million) for her work on this movie and another - her reprisal of her role in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, the report said.
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AUSSIEBOX NEWS COTTO WHIPS MARTINEZ Cotto climbs closer to greatness by whipping Martinez
By Dan Rafael, USA TODAY
Junior welterweight Miguel Cotto is being groomed as the next Felix Trinidad, the Puerto Rican icon who retired last year.
While it's almost unfair to compare a 22-year-old with 16 pro fights to a former three-division champion and future Hall of Famer, no less than Trinidad himself has praised his countryman. Cotto, headlining his own pay-per-view card, did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for his burgeoning career on Saturday night.Miguel Cotto, left, hits Mexico's boxer Ray Martinez during a title defense fight at Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
By Herminio J. Rodriguez, APCotto, USA TODAY's 2002 Prospect of the Year, destroyed typically durable Rocky Martinez in two rounds with 12,000 roaring in approval at Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Comparisons to Trinidad don't overwhelm Cotto. "I admire what Trinidad did," he said. "I know he was a great champion and the people love him, but I don't feel pressure. I hope I can achieve what he did, but he already wrote his story and I am now writing mine."
Cotto (16-0, 13 KOs) cut Martinez's right eyelid in the first round and then, like Trinidad usually did, used a left hook to finish him in the second, unleashing a body shot at 2:42. It was the first time Martinez (38-9-1) has been dropped for a 10-count. His two other stoppage losses came via TKO.
Promoter Bob Arum is so enthralled with Cotto's potential and his drawing power in Puerto Rico that he made him the headliner of Saturday's card, even though it included two title bouts involving champions from Puerto Rico.
"We don't mean any disrespect to either of the champions (Eric Morel and Daniel Santos), but Cotto is coming off his first HBO fight, and we felt that he was the big attraction," said Arum, who will bring Cotto back Sept. 13 on the Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley II undercard. "The same thing happened with De La Hoya when he was coming up. We featured him on a number of cards when there were other title fights. That is how you build a superstar."
Arum hopes to line up a title shot for Cotto in 2004. "He just needs experience against different types of fighters so he can handle anyone in his division," Arum said.
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