Joe Calzaghe Jonathan Meets...

I'm here in Newbridge to meet its greatest son.

With the help of his dad,

he probably became the best British boxer of all time.

And what better way to honour Newbridge's favourite son,

by building him a new bridge?

-ANNOUNCER:

-Introducing the fighting pride of Newbridge, Wales,

Jo-o-o-oe

Calzaghe!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Joe Calzaghe was born in Hammersmith in 1972,

before moving with his Sardinian dad, Enzo, and Welsh mother, Jackie,

to Newbridge.

Unhappy and bullied at school, too slow for soccer,

he instantly felt at home in the ring.

-CROWD:

-Yes!

-Go on, go on, Joe!

-Yes!

Unusually, he was trained by his father.

And after a successful amateur career,

despite missing out on the Barcelona Olympics, he turned pro in 1993,

with his first fight in Cardiff

on the same bill as Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis.

22 unbeaten fights later,

Joe took on Chris Eubank and the world sat up.

But it wasn't until he beat Jeff Lacy that the Americans wanted him

and he finished his amazing career with massive fights against Kessler,

Hopkins and finally Roy Jones Jnr.

46 fights undefeated,

the longest-reigning super-middleweight world champion of all time.

Well, apparently, the gym is down this way.

It used to be Abercarn Rugby Football Club.

So, hang on, there's something here.

I have to say,

not the flashy gym I expected, but spit and sawdust.

The Joe Calzaghe gym.

Let's go and have a look who's here.

Solid door, anyway.

Hello?

Anyone in?

-Oh, here he is.

-Hey!

-Enzo.

-How are you?

-How are you keeping?

-Long time no see.

-Are you all right?

-All right.

-Good man.

-Can I come in? Can I come in?

-Hang on, you've got grey hair.

Grey? Oh, I've gone. I lost it all, mate. It's all gone. You all right?

-Yeah, good.

-Good to see you, good to see you.

-Amazing memories here, Enzo.

-Basically like being in the gym.

-It is amazing, isn't it?

-Look at this lot.

-It's incredible, isn't it?

-Can you see that?

He named everybody in boxing.

Right, you know, everyone he's boxed.

All there.

Are you kind of relieved now he's retired?

Yes, happy. I'm really over the moon with it.

Because the minute he said, "Last fight..."

He took me in the corner, he said, "Dad, I lost my hunger."

-I knew then...

-That's it, then.

-Bang.

-Job done, though. Job done.

Yeah, but it's hard to, you know,

because obviously I knew his life would be a different kind of life

that he had later on. But one thing that would...

-His word, that word, just took me...

-That was it.

-That's it.

-Can't trade him in.

-No way.

-No, no, no.

He could be... We were offered 20 million, 50 million.

I said, "Joe, don't take it.

"If you take that and something happened, you've lost everything."

That O, though. That O was important.

-The O is... Oh...

-That O was so important, wasn't it?

Of course it is, course it is, course it is.

Not because of vanity or vain, it's the fact that it he remains a legend.

-Brilliant.

-A legend.

-Brilliant.

Pop in.

-There you are.

-Ah!

-Here he is, man.

-Hey.

-Joe. How you keeping, boy?

-How are you doing, Jon?

-Good to see you, how are you doing?

-Good to see you.

-Looking well, boy.

-You OK?

-Yeah, looking well, looking well. Hey.

-That's great.

-It's a shrine here, isn't it? It's amazing.

-It is.

-It's fantastic.

-They have all these pictures up on the wall and over the

years, and it's created like a bag of some...

-It's incredible.

-..decent memories.

It's absolutely incredible, isn't it?

Eubank fight.

The bridge, both of you on the new bridge in Newbridge.

The Calzaghe Bridge, yes. So everybody gets to walk over me every single day.

I don't think so. I don't think... The only way, the only way.

Luckily for me, there was a boxing gym in Newbridge, Old Blue Shed.

And I went there.

I just remember the first day I walked in

and the smell of the gym

and just seeing these bags getting hit and just,

like, a little tiny nine-year-old.

I was like, "Wow." Yeah, I was nervous as well,

and I still remember putting gloves on and the old trainer at the time,

Paul Williams, said, "No, do a double jab left."

And I'd done it automatically.

And he said to my dad, "He's boxed before."

But my dad had taught me how to box from, like, the age of eight,

before I went to the boxing gym.

Being brought up in the South Wales Valleys, you know,

was a pretty blessing to be a boxer, do a hard sport like boxing.

You know, the age of nine, it was very tough.

I broke my seven teeth, you know, brought up on a council estate,

not much money.

Didn't really like school and boxing was my way out, to be honest.

So, yeah, it was difficult.

If you look around you, all the hills and the mountains, you know,

people used to say, "Why don't you go training camp?"

Because this is my training camp.

You know, the only things we had to get in was sparring partners.

But from the age of ten, 11, you know,

I'd run the same runs I'd run to the end of my career.

You know, your mental toughness.

You know, everyone has not got a certain degree of mental toughness,

but for you I think it stood out in your younger days,

but also later on in your, you know, in your big fight as well.

What it is, I lost my first-ever fight.

A lot of people don't know that, right.

-I didn't want to mention it.

-Yeah. I lost... Chris Starke, his name.

I lost my first-ever fight as a ten-year-old.

I remember crying my eyes out in the rain.

I got robbed, by the way, because...

God, of course you did, of course you did!

..his dad was also the judge.

I have to add, I beat him six times afterwards.

-All right, OK, OK.

-So I lost my first fight.

And I remember, every single loss I had,

the last loss was the European Junior Championships,

-where I got robbed as well.

-Yeah.

-As a 17-year-old on points.

And I remember every single loss.

So what drove me on was the fear of losing.

Never fear of an opponent.

I loved winning, it was my escapism.

I didn't have a good time at school

and I felt myself while I was in this ring.

When I was in this dangerous place in the ring, that was me.

I think the first big fight

and everyone, maybe non-boxing fans go,

"Oh, it's Calzaghe versus Eubank, I've been waiting for this."

And, yeah, it was a massive fight.

And like I said, I was quite apprehensive,

because he had 21 world-title fights. You know, I just had 21 fights.

I knocked everybody out in the first few rounds,

I went eight rounds once.

And then boxing Chris Eubank, I watched him on TV.

-COMMENTATOR:

-So now, can the young lion take over from the old master,

as he likes to call himself?

And in the fight, it was the best ever thing to happen, I think,

was to go 12 rounds with Chris Eubank,

because I dropped him in the first round.

Was that the best punch you've ever thrown?

It must have been one of them, because nobody puts Chris Eubank

flat on his arse the way I did, so he goes flying across the ring.

I'm looking at my dad thinking, "This is going to be an easy night."

-I know, I know.

-And he gave me 12 torrid...

I mean, I was spent after six or seven rounds.

-Hardest fight ever, maybe?

-He was my hardest fight.

He's not my best opponent, it's just because that was my first time,

12 rounds with the pressure,

knowing I had to win and everything was on that night against, you know,

a tough, tough guy...

-Yeah.

-..like Chris Eubank, who's been there, done it,

been 12 rounds on so many occasions.

You know, it was proud for me, but it was hard.

And no other fight was as hard as that fight.

I really, really had to dig deep that night.

Why isn't this in a museum or...?

-It should be.

-Yeah.

-It should be. Yeah, memories of all of fighters.

-Brilliant.

-You know, with a history of, you know, Welsh boxers as well.

Of course it is. Of course, of course, of course.

Some great fights, some great names. You've got the boxing gloves.

Fantastic photographic memorabilia,

and corner of my eye I've seen the belts, Joe.

-Yeah.

-Just a few... Just a few of them, is there?

-Yeah.

-Go on, show me these.

-I brought a few belts over.

I know you've got so many of them. Why are these so special?

I think... Is that...? I can see the names on them. Hopkins.

Fight with Kessler.

Muhammad. Joe.

WBC. And then that one then is, that's Hall of Fame, that's...

-Yeah, well, basically...

-That's a special club, isn't it?

-Well, this is the Hall of Fame ring right there.

-Go on. Look at that.

-There he is. I never really wear this, to be honest.

-No.

-But I put it on for today.

-I know. I know, nice.

This was special, being inducted into

the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014

along with Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad, two greats.

-So amazing. Yeah, great boxers.

-So it was amazing for myself and my family.

-What's it like, you know? People...

-They're pretty heavy, you know, so...

People can't imagine the adrenaline in a fight pre-match in a corner,

but the euphoria of actually holding that up...

-It's incredible.

-And then going... It's amazing, yeah.

It's just, it's just great.

When you've got four of them to put on, they're pretty heavy.

So after 12 hard rounds against Kessler at the Millennium,

to put four or five belts on, you know, with the euphoria, like you said,

and the adrenaline still kicking in, you still, you don't feel anything.

-Is there anyone...?

-The next day you feel it, though.

-Oh, I can imagine.

-You feel the aches and pains.

-Yeah, I know.

-You can imagine yourself, mate, yeah.

But what, you know, is there any one of these more special than the other ones, or...?

-It's difficult to say. I'd say maybe Lacy.

-Yeah.

-I'll tell you why.

Because, you know, I felt that I was never getting

the respect I deserved. Americans wrote me off, I was the underdog.

Everybody says, "You're going to get knocked out."

The bookies said I was going to get knocked out,

and to go in that ring, and with my father as well.

I was injured, I nearly pulled out.

Thankfully Dad, you know, said, you know,

we could do it even with one hand.

So I went into that fight and fought the best I could ever fight.

-COMMENTATOR:

-But how will his hand stand up?

Is he fit enough to repel one of the meanest men in boxing?

-REFEREE:

-All right, gentlemen. The time you've been waiting for is here.

The opportunity of a lifetime, so remember, take advantage.

What's it like when you stand there for a big fight, one against one?

All I can see, when I walk out to the ring, I see the ring.

I see the lights, I look at the opponent.

I don't take my eyes off the opponent from the moment I walk into the ring,

to the moment I step in that ring, I look at the opponent.

-I never take my eyes off him. I'm just zoned in on the guy.

-Amazing.

What I need to do,

and what I've worked hard to do and put into action.

What are you looking for, you know, when you stare him out?

Weakness. I think you can say what you want to say,

but at the end of the day, eyes don't lie.

When you stand really close to somebody,

they can say what they want to say before they get into that ring,

but when you stand there, I'll look for weakness.

And sometimes you can see the weakness.

And I want them to see my strength.

I want them to know that you're going to have to

pin me down to beat me.

You ain't just going to walk in this ring and win, it's not going to happen.

-COMMENTATOR:

-This has been an absolute masterclass from Joe Calzaghe.

He has silenced the doubters.

Calzaghe is boxing his way to a magnificent points victory.

I don't really think that it gets very much better.

We believed in each other. In the corner, what I said, he did.

Let's hook the body. Jab, jab, wah, let's go.

Jab, jab, left! Hook the body.

He has so much respect in my method, right.

Not because I'm a father, forget the father.

There's no father. I divorced him at that time.

They won't know each other. He had a good method.

You're doing well, but not better. You can do better, Joe, OK?

Bam-bam-bam-bam!

You said that you had to be a trainer, then there's a line, and a dad. And vice versa.

How could you separate it?

You can. It's got to separate. It's got to. It can't...

-I know you've got to...

-Got to.

Because otherwise, don't be a trainer.

-Yeah, I know.

-Does that make sense?

-Yeah, it does.

If you can't train somebody, don't do it.

It must be difficult to cut the emotion out, Enzo.

-For me it wasn't, it wasn't.

-It's both ways though, isn't it?

-Yeah. Of course it was.

Because a lot of father-son relationships in sport,

especially boxing, don't work.

-And the thing is...

-Rare.

-..when you go to the gym, we were...

-Separate.

-Separate. It wasn't father-son.

It was boxer-trainer.

I had to look at Dad, respect him as a trainer.

It's very difficult, isn't it?

-And we argue in the gym.

-So difficult.

I mean, we'd fight, we'd argue.

-I know, yeah, yeah.

-Not physically, we sparred a little bit.

We'd fight and argue, but outside, we could stop talking about boxing

-and just talk about other stuff.

-Exactly. So basically, to be a trainer.

I didn't want to be a trainer if I wasn't a proper trainer.

He needed to have someone else.

I believe in myself.

I believed in Joe, I believed he wanted me to be a trainer.

You know? It works that way. Otherwise...don't do it.

He's a great trainer. We had three world...

-three world champions in the gym at one time, so...

-That's right, so...

And you had no background at all in boxing, did you?

-No, no...

-Music and football. That's a good background for boxing(!)

-Yeah, that's it.

-He could box, though. He could box.

Because as a kid, he used to... I mean, never had fights.

-You could box.

-I know, I can box.

-So we used to spar. From the age that...

I actually sparred with Dad until I was about 24, 25.

He had the big headguard on, the body protector,

and he used to spar with the boys.

Seriously, he was probably my toughest sparring partner,

because he knew my style!

Yeah, but...but, if I caught him once, watch out.

-Yeah, could be the longest minute...

-Got to watch out, ow!

Longest minute of your life!

So where did you...? Where did you then, right...

You said you watched the boxing and knew it's one, two, one, two.

I read somewhere, you thought of the music

and the combination of combinations.

Exactly. Yeah, that's right.

I mean, first of all, I always think Machine-Gun Kelly.

-Right?

-Machine-Gun Kelly.

-You remember the film?

-The war film, yes.

-Yes, that's right.

And there's machine guns in play, banging. I mean...

He wasn't going to take one of them in the ring, was he?

But you can see, out of the ten shots,

-he might lose... Catch them four times.

-All right, OK.

You know, I'm going to make a complete fool of myself.

You're going to try and show me how you change it, right?

-Yeah!

-We'll see now.

-It's the best part of it.

-Come on, come on, then. Come on, then.

-Come on, then. Come on. Right.

It's ready, man. So, first of all, you try a jab.

Good. Make sure... Watch my hand here.

Boo!

I know I've got to keep my left hand up!

-Right, go ahead.

-Now uppercut. Uppercut. Now double it up, fast.

-One, two!

-Nice.

-Turn. Bang! Uppercut! Punch, uppercut! Uppercut,

uppercut, uppercut!

That's it. Keep going.

Keep going. Three minutes, three minutes.

-Let's go, let's go.

-Three minutes, keep going, keep going!

Keep going. Faster, faster!

-Keep going.

-That's an uppercut!

Hey, that's good, man.

You've got some good hand speed there, Jon.

-That's good.

-And you've got to keep that up

for three minutes for 12 rounds. I don't think so, I don't think so.

But I understand, though...

-Correct.

-..the speed and the numbers.

But then that surely...

-The... The... The...

-The fitness.

-The fitness, amazing, isn't it?

-Yes. Unbelievable.

And to keep it up was ridiculous.

-Five of ten rounds.

-I remember things said, Chris Eubank said,

people were saying, "Oh, he slaps."

I tell you what, it's the hardest slap I've ever seen in my life!

-That says it all.

-But that's... Does it make sense?

-It makes sense.

-Are you having a heart attack, mate?

-I think I'm having one.

I haven't had one before, I think I'm having one now!

-COMMENTATOR:

-It was here in the old Cardiff Arms Park

that Joe Calzaghe's career began back in 1993.

Now, he has what may be one of the toughest nights of his career.

Maybe the biggest pressure fight you had was, you know,

taking Kessler to Cardiff in front of, you know,

50-odd thousand people.

What was that like? What was that feeling like?

You know, because Wales is special to you.

Everyone kind of came to support you.

They went to support you, you know, all over the world,

but that must've been the fight.

Yeah, do you know what? Kessler, obviously, my last fight in Britain.

And what a way to finish off, you know,

to fight the other best super weight and unify all the belts, like,

in front of 50,000 of your home fans,

in a beautiful stadium like Millennium.

After all the hard work and the years of struggles and injuries,

it was just beautiful, so... I tried not to think about if I lose,

I'll never be able to show my face in Cardiff again,

which did cross my mind, so just get that one out your mind!

-COMMENTATOR:

-He has what may be

one of the toughest nights of his career.

Trying to wing the shot around

that straight left hand lead of Kessler, who's started well.

And that's a decent right hand from Kessler.

And a good left jab! And now Kessler's starting to come in!

And he's looking for Calzaghe.

Good right hand, good work from Kessler.

I knew I was in for a tough fight.

I would say Mikkel Kessler

was probably the best fighter I've boxed.

He was at his peak, undefeated 39 fights and he could hit hard.

Because you changed tactics in that fight.

I needed to change tactics in that fight,

because I'm a very aggressive southpaw,

so I come forward and he was counter-punching me as a southpaw.

I'm normally the box counterpuncher

and he caught me some good uppercuts in the fourth.

And they stung, so I come out for the fifth round,

I started to use my boxing skills,

adapted and that's when I pulled away with the fight.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Epic fight tonight.

Good left hand from Calzaghe, who's visibly growing in confidence.

Another solid left hand and another.

This is what I was saying about Calzaghe, Jon,

he can adapt and he can change his style.

Calzaghe showing superb boxing skills there.

Winning the Sports Personality of the Year, you know,

that must have been a real proud moment.

Yeah. That's right, it was massive.

I think it was two weeks after the Kessler fight.

You know, to be recognised as Sports Personality of the Year,

which is great,

I think I'm the first Welshman in about 30 years to win that.

And that's just the ultimate, really.

Joe Calzaghe.

Also, my dad got Trainer of the Year the same year, which was amazing.

I knew he was going to get the Trainer of the Year,

but I was shocked when they said I won,

so yes, very, very proud moment I think.

It just goes to show all the belief I had in myself

finally got recognised at the end.

I'm shocked. Yeah, I'm shocked.

A tremendous honour. It has been a great year for me.

This year, ten years as the world champion, you know,

becoming undisputed champion and to lift this, you know...

I said I didn't care last year, but I lied, you know.

I can finally say I'm proud of it.

A tremendous achievement, also my dad tonight,

and it is just a massive honour.

It hasn't sunk in yet. It's just amazing.

It caps off a beautiful year for me.

Thank you very much for everybody who has voted for me

and hopefully next year I can do a great year again. Thank you.

When you were in Vegas,

you picked a fight with Hopkins as well, didn't you?

Yeah. That's right.

I'm not going to go from Kessler, fighting another champion,

I want to fight the best, which was Hopkins.

And I wanted the fight in America. I think it's important for me

to show the Americans that, listen, I'm not just stay at home,

a guy that fights in Wales and England,

I'll come out to America and fight, so...

I got a cheap seat for the fight with Hatton and Mayweather

with a few mates and went into the press room

and that's where Hopkins zoned into me and made that statement.

I would never let a white boy beat me!

Well, you're going to lose, if you fight, you will lose.

And as soon as he said it, I was, like, "Brilliant!"

The best thing ever. I rang the promoter straightaway.

It was total carnage in the press hall.

And the fight was made, you know,

and he was trying to intimidate me and so on.

And they remember the weigh-ins.

He's looking at me head-to-head.

"I'm going to bust them up,"

looking at my ribs. I went, "You're older than me."

"I'm going to bust the hell out of them." And I laughed.

And as soon as I laughed, he took a step back.

As if he was, like, couldn't believe I answered him back

and actually was really confident.

And he walked away.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Joe Calzaghe, now 36 years old

and here on his American debut.

Look at him. He just looks so relaxed.

Taking it all in his stride.

Calzaghe against Hopkins now then.

12 three-minute rounds.

-BELL RINGS

-The talking ends, the action begins.

Oh, a good right-hand!

And Hopkins has put Calzaghe down in the very first round!

The thing is, nobody can look good against Bernard Hopkins.

-Yeah, I know.

-He knows how to nullify what you have and he did.

He did a good job.

And me getting put on the floor, knocked down in the first round...

I was chasing the fight, and I think it was after six rounds,

because I was throwing a lot more punches,

he was holding, fading, low blows.

I think that swayed the decision in my favour.

But, yes, it was nerve-racking at the end of the fight.

They said split decision and, you know,

"From Newbridge, Joe..." Michael Buffer.

I tell you know what,

it was one of the most proudest moments of my life.

-ANNOUNCER:

-Cal-zaghe!

And of course, the last fight.

That's a dream come true, isn't it?

Madison Square Garden against, you know, another Hall of Famer,

Roy Jones Jnr. What was that whole experience like, you know, for you?

Well, to be honest with you, after the fight with Kessler,

I knew I was going to retire.

I was injured all the time,

my hands, my back, everything was hurting.

And I made good money. So I thought to myself, "You know what?

"I want to be one of the very,

"very few fighters that retires at the top with a zero."

That's important and it has a huge motivating factor.

Massive. If you give me 100 million and take that zero away,

it doesn't mean anything to me.

The legacy, to be up there with Rocky Marciano,

to be up here with the best and not lose, you can't put a price on that.

For me, the legacy was always the most important thing to me,

so when I beat Kessler, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve.

In my own national stadium in front of my home fans was always my dream.

And to beat the best, so I had nothing left to prove.

So there was one thing I wanted to do

and it was always a dream of mine to fight in Madison Square Garden,

the Mecca of boxing, you know,

fight another ring legend in Roy Jones Jnr

and I knew way before that fight that was the end.

So I'm thinking to myself,

as a guy from where I come from, Newbridge, you know,

always being written off, always being injured,

saying I'm never going to go nowhere in school,

and I'm in Madison Square Garden.

I'm going to enjoy the last fight in Madison Square Garden against one of

the best fighters, Roy Jones Jnr.

I'm going to drop my arse, I'm going to shake my arse,

I'm going to drop my hands, I'm going to do what I want to do.

And I was saying, "Joe, this is the last round of your whole life,"

so after that bell rang, I knew that was it for me.

I knew, no matter what lure or money would come, that was it,

because I'd lost the spark.

I had achieved everything I wanted to achieve in boxing

and to have fought again would go against

everything that I ever stood for.

-ANNOUNCER:

-Jo-o-oe Calzaghe!

People don't really realise,

being a professional sportsman is a privileged existence,

but when you finish, it is back to the real world,

so how have you coped with, you know, after boxing?

It's difficult, of course.

You retire at 37 and somebody will say,

"Do something else you love," but all you've ever done since you were

eight is fight, you know, so yeah, you miss the regime of it,

getting up in the morning, what you have to do every day.

A lot of boredom sets in.

You miss the euphoria, the buzz, the adrenaline of the crowd, you know?

It's hard, but then it goes away.

I'm still training boxing, I'll hit the bag sometimes.

My boys do a little bit of boxing.

I'm a dad to two great sons, you know, and yeah,

it's hard sometimes, but at the moment, I'm happy.

I'm back home in Wales. I've got a few businesses I run.

I'm still interested in the boxing, charity work and life is good.

That's the main thing, it's keeping yourself occupied.

That is the main thing, because you're out of the routine,

the regime and the discipline, so it's tougher than what people think.

There's two things I don't miss about boxing,

is losing all that weight and getting punched in the head,

but except for that, I'm all right!

You mentioned, I think it was, Kessler, which fight

-you had to lose...

-The Kessler fight was the most.

..3st in 12 weeks?

Just under 15, I had to come to 12st in 12 weeks.

And I had no dietician like you have today.

It was old school, you know, sweat suits,

starving myself and eating hardly anything the week of the fight

and being so dehydrated and emaciated.

Honestly, it's the worst and hardest, to be a stone heavier.

How much would you put on then from the weigh-in to the actual fight?

From the weigh-in to the fight, just under a stone, about a stone.

-That's a day?

-Yeah, I'd put on about 8lbs in an hour.

That's just fluid loss. I would weigh-in at 12st.

Within two or three hours, I'd be 12st 8lb.

That's just because of water loss and dehydration, which was painful.

-Yeah, I can imagine.

-So the fighting was the easy bit.

You said, you know, it was all about keeping that zero

and leaving a legacy.

How would you like Joe Calzaghe to be remembered?

How would I like to be remembered?

You know, just by being a great champion,

always wanting to give 100% for my fans, always wanting to entertain.

When I fought, you know, some fights with the best,

but I always tried to force fights,

always tried to entertain and just give my best.

That's all you need. 46-0.

-That's all you have to remember, mate.

-Thank you.

-Legacy is there.

-Thank you, my man.

-Pleasure.

-Thank you very much.

You're a legend. Thanks, mate.

Having spent the day with Joe, this place just sums him up.

Private, quiet, humble, hard-working, proud.

I think Joe's the best British boxer I've ever seen and met,

and deserves to be celebrated on a wider scale.

Who knows?

Sir Joe Calzaghe.

MUSIC: Breaks Today by The Slow Show