Joe Calzaghe became the undisputed king of the super-middleweight...

[JMan]

Joe Calzaghe became the undisputed king of the super-middleweight division with a unanimous points win over Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff.
Cheered on by a crowd of 50,000 at the Millennium Stadium, the 35-year-old Welshman got the better of the Dane after 12 gruelling rounds.

The judges gave the home favourite the verdict 117-111, 116-112 (twice) on the scorecards, meaning Calzaghe adds the WBC and WBA titles to the WBO belt he already owned.

It was also a 44th straight victory for the British boxer who may now look to move up in weight after confirming his domination of the division.

Kessler was the last real stumbling block at super-middleweight, and the Dane certainly lived up to his billing.

Just like Calzaghe he was unbeaten in his professional career, arriving in the Welsh capital with an unblemished 39-fight record.


Possible upset

The early rounds suggested he could cause an upset as he controlled the pace of the fight, keeping his rival on the back foot with some crisp shots.

A trademark right in the fourth certainly found the target, while Calzaghe's head was jolted back by an upper cut in a superb spell of boxing by Kessler in the fifth.

However, like a true champion Calzaghe dug deep to turn the fight in his favour with the type of precision punching that has defined his career.

Not even a warning from referee Mike Ortega towards the end of round eight for hitting round the back of Kessler's head could slow him down in the second half of the bout.

The 12th saw him come on strong in a bid to convince the judges, landing heavy hooks with both hands that had Kessler in trouble.

In the end Calzaghe won comfortably on the three judges scorecards to continue his decade-long dominance of the division.

****

did anybody catch this? was gutted to find out the fight time was 1 cos i was feeling so tired last night, ive recorded it so will definatley watch it through the day.. really pleased Calzaghe became undisputed super middleweight, deserves all the recognition he should get from this, 44 straight wins is an incredible fete in whatever weight class your in.

[bez]

He did well. Strange thing about Joe is though, I never actually rated him as a boxer. Sure he does well and his record speaks for itself but I just think if he was to go up against someone really hungry and a proper well trained and minded boxer he would get whopped. Hes too open.

[Hatesrats™]

Joe has been one of the best fighters in his weight class for the last couple of years..
only now have people really seen and appreciated his skills with his victory's over lacy and now kessler.
I'd take Calzaghe over either Hopkins or Wright.

Congrats Joe

[Michael]

Joe has been one of the best fighters in his weight class for the last couple of years..
only now have people really seen and appreciated his skills with his victory's over lacy and now kessler.
I'd take Calzaghe over either Hopkins or Wright.

Congrats Joe

complete and utter raping of Lacy was the proper term lol

Jeff Lacy landed summit like 10 punches in the fight lol

[bgko1]

i watched it good fight,suprised that joe won.let you know he is 35

[Vegasmac25]

Calzaghe put on a show vs Kessler especially rd 8 and on.Kessler is a really good boxer but Calzaghe just had the style to beat him but Kessler will be back.They were talking about a Hopkins vs Calzaghe fight but dunno if it will happen or maybe he might get the winner out of Taylor vs Pavloic.

[Tay]

Yeah, I don't think he gets much attention because he is European, but he is a good fighter. I saw talk of him fighting Hopkins, and that would be good exposure.

[STILLDRE IS THE GODFATHER]

yeah joe has been a great champ for so many years but my dude hopkins would destroy joe bad mistake by joe to challenge hopkins they guy never lets you down

[JMan]

yeah joe has been a great champ for so many years but my dude hopkins would destroy joe bad mistake by joe to challenge hopkins they guy never lets you down

i wouldnt say it was a bad decision by joe.. he has won everything and proved he is one of the best super middle weights ever to step into the ring.. so steppin up a weight was always going to happen and hopkins will give him the fight he deserves.. but yes it will be a very hard fight joe