Introducing, the
Fighting pride of Newbridge, Wales,
former undisputed Super Middleweight
World Champion and reigning,
defending Light Heavyweight
Champion of the World,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
Okay, gentlemen, we went
over the rules in the dressing room.
Obey my commands at all times
and protect yourself at all times.
Touch 'em up.
/t was as if my life
was flickering through all my careen
looking around and just taking it in.
Just looking round thinking,
Look where I am. "
There's no way I'm just going to
throw everything away on my last fight.
Box!
Break!
Four, five,
six, seven, eight...
Just another wet day.
I remember these steps.
I created them one by one.
They're 36 up there and 36 coming down.
So much...
Pretend it's going to
be hard to get in here.
So people don't rob me.
So, it's really hard.
This is it.
There you are.
Bingo. The lights are back
on. I must have paid the rent.
You can imagine what
it was like in Sardinia.
If you don't work, you don't eat.
We had have kids.
So, my dad worked his bollocks off
Day and night, day and night.
I got brought up to hope
about him, wish about him.
I wish he'd seen me playing
football, I wish he would turn up.
I knew my dream was to be a footballer.
And he told me,
"No, leave football
alone and try music. "
Because my uncle wanted
me to be a bass player.
So there you are, I couldn't
argue with that at all.
And then /became a musician.
My dream kept going.
I'm gonna leave Sardinia.
I'm going to follow the music.
I gotta leave.
And that's what happened.
I run away, and I put two
words on the wall when I left.
Ritorno, quandosaromillionario
"I'll come back when I'm a
millionaire. "
And that's on the wall.
They couldn't believe it.
I went hitchhiking all round Europe,
and I ended up in Cardifi Wales.
I met Jackie, and we were
married four weeks later
And it was love at first sight.
First time I actually hit
something, it was not a punch bag.
I think, uh, it was my dad's hands,
a rolled-up carpet and,
uh, and settee cushions,
watching the Rocky films.
My dad, / think he
worked as a bus conductor.
But mainly he was a musician,
you know, he'd do gigs,
and my mum was a housewife, obviously
myself and two younger sisters.
So, yeah, it was pretty hard.
Dad had like, uh, pad
or something, didn't he?
- He bought Joe one of those stand on pads...
- That's right.
...Uh, fOl' Christmas, and
IjLIStl'I'T1I'T1bI'
Joe just punching at it
and Dad was like "Ah",
he just noticed something different
about Joe, the way he was doing it.
I just picked
bits and pieces off A/i,
the way he'd throw his
jabs, Sugar Ray Leonard,
you know, I copied a bit, you know.
And I let him do things on the bag...
Not with an intention of
turning him into a boxer.
/always remember the
first day going to the gym,
like a little, tiny,
skinny, little 9-year-old.
Actually, it was quite frightening.
Because I remember walking in
and just the smell of the gym,
the sweat and, um,
the big guys, the noise on the bags,
and the bags were swinging round.
And I had this nervous, nervousness,
and, wow, you know, I'd
never seen anything like it.
It was made of wood and tin, it was
always freezing cold and dusty and dirty.
Basically, the council said it was so
unsafe, it was going to fall down anytime.
A guy called Pau/ Williams
was there, and Pau/ said to me,
"Has he trained before?" UNO-ll
"Has he been to another
gym?" "No, never has. "
llokaylll
"Put your hands up. I think
he tried to stand me as a right-hander.
Obviously, me being a
leftie, I'm a southpaw.
So I stood straight up, put my hands up.
You know, he said, like, double jab
left and I'd done exactly what he said-
"You've got an open class boy there. "
So, "Open class". I didn't
have a clue what that meant.
I asked everyone. "Hey, mate, you
know, open class, what that mean?"
That means very special.
Joe came back.
He Said, "Dad,liked it! I liked it!"
We were
taking a walk with my mother.
She kind of, uh, you know, thought
there was something wrong with him
'cause, you know, with all
his gestures all the time,
just punching the air, you know.
Like he was, uh, trying to catch
flies or mosquitoes.
He knocked flies out,
believe it or not, he did!
It's not a joke.
I realised I was never going to play for Italy
or Juventus or Wales or any team like that.
Uh, my hands were a lot
quicker than my feet.
...CalZaghe.
The winner is Calzaghe.
Paul was my main
trainer at the time.
I'd go Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays to the boxing gym.
Then every other day,
my father trained me.
And I trained myself
So I trained every day,
not three times a week.
Like a professional.
This was his choice to be
a boxen not me making him a boxen
He knew himself how good he was.
He knew.
In the red corner
from Wales, Joe Calzaghe.
Just being a champion, being
a winner; to become the best.
That's what motivated
me more than anything.
Was I a happy kid?
Um, yes and no, I suppose.
It was hard when I got a bit older.
I suffered a /ot of bullying.
Not physical, but verbal.
- And we were bullied as well.
- Because we were his sisters.
I never told Joe 'cause we were frightened
that Joe would do something about it,
and he'll get in trouble.
So, I never ever told Joe.
- It was horrible, Weren't it?
- Yeah, it was terrible.
I was like the skinny
boy from a different area
who was the British champion, obviously
getting picked on by older kids.
And because I was pretty quiet,
you know, /'d take it to heart.
There wasn't that many
foreigners as well in our days.
And I think a lot of it
came 'cause Dad was foreign
and we had a lot of
things like spaghetti...
It was like our name as well, Calzaghe.
- It was like...
- Yeah.
They always called us
"dirty, stinking, Itai"
"Look at what he is, look
at olive oil guy", you know.
Joe probably was isolated.
He had no brother with him.
Because if he had a brother with
him, they wouldn't bu//y him.
Joe unwittingly, as we/I,
he had a lot of girl attention,
which Joe never wanted
because Joe was so shy.
'Cause he was a good looking boy.
And there was a lot of jealousy,
I think, 'cause of that, as well.
One day, they came to the house
and there was about 40 of them on bikes.
Yeah they did, yeah.
So, Dad just said, come in
one by one and he'll beat 'em up.
You know, /et's have a go.
They didn't. They just drove
off on their bikes, didn't they?
I find it difficult
to talk about it, I do.
I find it hard to talk
about it, it upsets me.
Boxing was my way of
escaping and having self-worth.
You know, feeling good about myself
/ think that when he
was taking the physical pain,
it was taking his emotional pain out.
'Cause Joe was such an emotional person,
he's so sensitive, it's unbelievable.
I think that that was
his way of getting...
When he'd come from
school feeling so hurt,
that he would go and do that,
and it would get the anger out.
Everything is meant for a reason.
I look back at everything, and
/ don't regret nothing, you know.
Maybe toughened me up, maybe
it made fighters that tried
to, to bully me verbally.
Maybe that education in
school made me strong.
Joe Calzaghe,
18 years old,
from Newbridge way.
Joe Ca/zaghe, he really has got
something going for him out there.
And then my trainen Pau/ Williams,
wanted me to turn pro with him.
He came up, he tried to make
me sign something to manage me.
I was still a kid, and I
thought, "/ can't do this"
The experience now, of
Michael Smyth, catching up with Calzaghe.
He's good, but he's got to be careful.
And I just to/d him. And
Paul gave the keys to my dad.
And I never saw him again.
My dad took over.
I'll manage it, myself.
But what happened, any boxer
disappears, and it's just one man alone.
It's just me.
I spent everything I had
to carry on with his gym.
At the time, we were
playing in a band, me and Enzo.
Picked up the phone.
He said, "I'm gonna quit. "
I said, "What do you mean, you're
gonna quit? You can't quit. "
I mean, you know, we're near to
a record deal and stuff like that.
He said, "No, no. I'm,
I'm gonna train my son. "
Like, I was a bit shocked, you know.
'Cause he didn't have
that experience, you know?
I said "Joe, what shall we do?
"Paul's gone"
He said "Crack on, Dad!
Just get on with it. "
Fuck 'em, you know? Get on with it.
So, he gave me the power of
thinking we could still do it.
Round two of
the ABA Welterweight Final.
Wearing the red singlet, the Welsh
champion Joe Calzaghe, who's only 19,
trained by his father;
Enzo, Italian ancestry.
Let's see if/
can be a part of him.
Let's see if I can be a trainer.
Let's see if I can be a pusher.
Calzaghe. In the blue corner.
Joe needed a push.
And I can push.
Ca/zaghe, probably
the only boxer in the world
with a singer-songwriter as a trainer.
Stop! Stop!
And it's been stopped.
And Joe Calzaghe has won
another ABA Championship.
Everybody knew he was talented.
He's a one and only.
I, I don't believe
it's been done before.
No one's ever done it at
three different weights.
I'll be the first.
He is one of those boxers
who, uh, has no doubt at all in his mind
when he goes into the ring, that he's
going to be the dominant character.
Soaking up punch after punch.
So it's all over, and it looks pretty
clear that Joe Calzaghe has done it again.
To win three titles in a
row at different weights.
Joe had his own style.
He was a southpaw, obviously.
So... And very adept and very athletic.
But he had a father who was not
classically trained as an amateur boxer,
but he'd been in the musical
world playing in a band.
He's got that energy about him.
But what it did was, he transferred
a lot of musical movement
into Joe throwing five, six
and seven-punch combinations.
Doesn't every song
start off with a verse?
# Change your heart... #
\/Vhich is...
Jab, jab...
After the verse, it got a bit late.
Bring it forward, bring it forvvard
Then you've got the chorus.
One, two, three, four, five, Wham,
wham, wham, bam, bam, knockout punch.
Round one.
/remember I turned
professional in 1993.
I think I was 21.
First pro fight was, um, in
the stadium, Cardiff Arms Park.
I remember boxing a
guy called Pau/ Han/on.
Joe Calzaghe.
How good is he going to be here in
this Super Middleweight Division?
Yeah, /boxed on
the, on the undercard
of Frank Bruno and uh, Lennox Lewis.
And I won in the first round.
Obviously, I stayed on after to watch the
fight with Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno,
and, you know, to be there
when the crowd was full
and the sense of atmosphere was amazing.
And it was giving me tingles,
and I used to think to myself,
"This is what I want. One
day, this is going to be me. "
Get up in the morning, rain, sleet,
or snow, and just go for a run.
Go to the gym.
Go home, come back and train again.
That's it. Every day.
Every single day.
Iran, I ran, I ran.
I jab, I work. I worked
with him before he did it.
And that's what Joe loved.
I used to train 12
weeks before the fight.
The first few weeks would be hard,
and then you get into the groove.
Start sparring.
Go!
We had different
combinations like A's, B's and C's.
And we'd like throw 300
punches a round, possibly.
One, two, three, four, five.
What if I've got a
machine gun in my hands?
Seven shots, you're gonna hit him with
four, five you'll hit him with. Common sense.
Why not make boxing the same way?
Rock 'n' roll. Bam,
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Numbers, numbers. You gonna hit.
A lot of boxing writers
wouldn't have picked him
as their tip for the top.
And look at the clusters here.
Rosamond is taking a thorough pounding
and the referee has got to step in.
And he has.
Four Sffa/Qhf W/DS for. /O9 C8/Zaghe.
His wife Mandy is there.
He's something of a
family man, Joe Calzaghe,
who never leaves home
during his training.
That's the way he likes it,
and you have to respect that.
I was knocking everybody out.
The first 21 fights, I knocked 20 out.
Sixteen in the first two, three rounds.
I was named as Young
Fighter of the Year.
Tremendous left hook.
What a shot,
what a beautiful uppercut
I was mad boover.
I was pretty good, don't
worry about that. Pretty good.
So therefore, if I caught him once,
I used to go "Ah, ah, ah,
here we go, he's coming. "
Bang, and I would be
like, "Look at my nose.
"Who busted that? I didn't
bust it. Joe busted it"
Most of the time, / would
have an argument with my dad.
Because he was pretty fiery and he'd get
on my nerves and /'d get on his nerves.
That's Italians anyway.
We argue all the time.
But because Joe was his
son, Dad didn't give a shit.
So it didn't matter what he said,
Joe, so, Dad could just let it go.
So he just, "Phew!"
It was just...
An explosion.
I never saw a contract.
Still on my
300-a-week.
That was it. I mean, it
was difHcu/t from the start.
A /ot of people
have criticised Calzaghe
for not having really
fought anyone of note.
Well, we can't be far
from the finish now.
Surely, the referee,
Coy/e, looking very close.
Well, it's all over now.
Joe Ca/zaghe's father;
Enzo, lifts him high.
The new British Super Middleweight
Champion, Joe Calzaghe.
There he is, and who knows where
that championship could take him?
More of him to come. Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER2 Joe Calzaghel
Referee Denzil
Lewis is looking on here.
- There's nothing coming back...
One, two...
- ... and Torres takes refuge from the canvas.
- ... three, four.
It's horribly one-sided.
Calzaghe has won.
Are you getting
a bit fed up because they,
they keep putting you in
these high-profile fights.
And then everybody moans about the
quality of the opponents and says,
"Oh, what's Joe Calzaghe proved now?"
I mean, what's your
reaction to all that?
It's nothing to do with a classy
opponent, people are saying that.
But people don't realise
just how good I am.
And until I fight for a world title,
then they're going to see
what Joe Calzaghe's all about.
'Cause I'm going to destroy anybody
who's gonna get in the ring with me.
I'm only on 70% so far.
When I get that world title
fight, that's different,
then you're going to see the power.
Well, let's, um, let's
bring in Frank Warren here
who was saying off microphone that there
was nothing wrong with that opponent.
Um, explain?
Well, you're saying that,
you're saying that the opponent
that Joe had in front of
him tonight was no good?
I don't think that he was a
particularly great fighter.
I'm not criticising Joe's
performance, he's done the job.
I mean, what do you want to see, to see
him have a 12-round war or something,
and then you'll be satisfied?
It won't happen because
they can't take the power,
they can't take the hand speed.
He's done well at this level, he
will be stepped up another level.
He will fight for a world
title. It will happen this year.
I don't agree with what you're saying.
You're doing him a disservice...
He made them look bad because
his style of boxing was unique.
So, they always had something
against what Joe was achieving.
And I gotta say this now,
it pissed me off big time.
Joe's relationship
with his father is a very complex one.
Because this man,
when he was going out to a fight,
he's going to let his son be injured.
The son was going to trust his
father, who's sitting at his corner.
And I think it is an immense
accolade to both Enzo and Joe
that they managed to keep that relationship,
a very, very unusual relationship,
but it seemed to work.
He's gonna be worried,
he's gonna have fear.
He's thinks we're gonna win, but
it's stressful for him, as well.
It's not like he's just
training any other fighter.
He's training his son
that's about to get in
the ring where somebody
who is going to try
and knock your head off
My son is going into a sport
that can be very dangerous, right?
And Joe knew that and
accepted the consequences.
My mum, she's, uh,
totally the opposite of my dad.
Uh, she never wanted me to box.
She's like "Joe, you
know, do something else.
"What are you boxing for,
getting punched in the head?"
I've never been to any
of Joe's fights, no.
I couldn't bear it, no.
It's horrible. It's a horrible feeling.
And I, and I did see
Johnny Owens going down.
And Owens down for the
second time in his boxing career.
The only times he's ever been
down, and he's in trouble now...
And I can remember he went
down and he didn't get back up.
A father has to teach
his son how to live.
A trainer has to teach
his son how to fight.
Those are not always compatible.
Years before, if you wanted to ruin a
fighter, you had him trained by his father.
I mean, there were almost
virtually no success stories.
I'm not a masochist, I'm a father.
But in that ring, it's war.
He chose to go to war.
I chose to be with him in the war.
Now, course I got sentiments,
but I got no sentiment whatsoever
for that 36 minutes of fight.
I got no sentiments.
I can't have sentiments.
I can't! I wish I had!
But I haven't got 'em.
Because simply as that, that's
my kid that I'm putting to war.
I put him to war. Right?
He's gotta get out of that war.
Oh, and that went
through straight as a lance,
and he is not going to like that.
That really was bang on the money.
At the press conference,
he looked at me and laughed.
He went "Hey, kid, I'm gonna take you
somewhere you've never been before,
"I'm going to take you
into the trenches. "
I'm thinking, "Yeah, right, okay. "
And now,
ladies and gentlemen,
for 12 rounds of boxing,
for the vacant WBO Super Middleweight
Championship of the World.
/was complete, I
was total. I was pure as a fighter.
I was always in shape.
And I'd been training
from the day I'd started.
I never had breaks.
When I was going to fight Joe
Calzaghe, I knew that he was unbeaten.
I knew he was a southpaw.
I had watched him fight.
I thought that perhaps, he has
never fought anyone like me.
Chris Eubank
/ am pure.
I'm a very difficult man to beat
because it's not about money,
it's about honour.
All right, gentlemen.
We went over the ru/es
in the dressing room.
I expect a good clean fight. Give
me good Sportsmanlike conduct.
Obey my commands at all
times. Shake hands. Good luck.
I didn't know whether
his punching ability was real.
Fast hands, yes, but
you have to have lead.
You have to have heavy hands.
Oh, left hand
puts Eubank on the floor.
What a start from Calzaghe!
I remember landing on my back.
I messed the seat of my pants,
is how hard the shot
came out of nowhere.
I caught him with a left hook.
First 15 seconds, he went flying
across the ring, landed on his arse.
Man, I thought, "This
is going to be easy. "
"What are you talking about?
"What'S Chris Eubank all about?"
Bingo!
Fucking dropped him down. I said, fucking
this, "Joe, that's brilliant. Excellent.
"That not going to last another round.
"Fucking brilliant, get on with it. "
All his so-called slaps,
they were hard punches.
He was a hurtful puncher.
Fast and hard.
And at that point in the first round,
I knew I would have to be resourceful.
Motherfucken
He did. He got up and,
uh, he was a good fighter.
He was a good fighter.
Good
body shot from Eubank
Two or three.
Ca/zaghe there
asking a /ot of questions
about his heart, his
chin, his determination...
And his right to be here.
I mean, I threw every punch
I could possibly throw.
Two rounds, three rounds,
I remember thinking...
Come back to the stool
and like, breathe heavily,
and he's still doing this
little strut that he does,
looking around and I'm like, "Oh,
Dad, it's going to be a hard night. "
I knew in the 11th round,
12th round, /'d stil/ be there,
and if he isn't the real deal,
I will break him in those rounds.
No one stops me.
It's just, uh, it's just a thing.
Eubank again,
always with a fast start.
Can he break Calzaghe's resistance?
Trust me, after seven or eight rounds,
/ had, I felt I had nothing left in me,
and wanted to win and wanted to win
and just, you know, coming
through the pain barrier
and gave me a second wind.
And he was right, you know, he
did put me through the trenches.
That's how we do.
We're real.
Oh, big left and a right,
and Eubank, how did he stay up from those?
Ca/zaghe
landed a good left hand there.
It's a good exchange from him.
COMMENTATOR 1; Eubank let
him go with his right hand.
He just cannot put out
Calzaghe's Hre though.
I mean, he stood
strong. He had it all.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we go to the Scorecards.
Dave Pepper scores the bout 118 to 109.
Paul Thomas scores it 116 to 111.
And Roy Francis scores it 118 to 111.
For the winner who is now WBO Super
Middleweight Champion of the World,
Joe Ca/zaghe!
Joe Calzaghe, World
Champion, how does that sound?
Sounds brilliant, you know,
after all the hard work I've done.
I just thank God.
Obviously, I thank my dad.
I thank all the fans who've
come to support me tonight.
They gave me a lot of incentive
and there's only better to come.
I was not that familiar with Joe Calzaghe
prior to him winning his first world title.
But when he beat Chris Eubank,
uh, that was very exciting.
And I realised this might,
this guy might be something.
Unfortunately then, he made a string
of defences that were mediocre at best.
Uh, it was difficult to get excited by him
in terms of rating him among the very best.
Ca/zaghe wants that
finish here, and he might get it, too.
And it's stopped.
It is oven and Ca/zaghe has
retained his title in emphatic style.
I hear in the
build-up to this fight, too,
you had a bit of a handicap
with the sore hands,
you weren't able to
do very much sparring?
Well, in fact, Ididn't do no
sparring at all for this fight.
I haven't sparred for maybe two months.
Coming from beating
Eubank and being there,
to suddenly underperforming
and struggling.
Oh, terrific
shot, huge shot of the fight.
Right hand, and Calzaghe
getting hit too often.
He must have /ost that round.
Um, very disappointing, it seems very
much like he's, he's losing his power.
He used to have destructive punching
power; maybe that's beginning to evaporate.
VVe'I/ try
and find reasons in a moment.
These little bones in your hands,
they're called the metacarpals.
And these were broken very early because
when you keep on stressing
that bone, it breaks,
and unfortunately, even though it
mends, it's actually a weakness.
I couldn't span I was
seeing all these specialists.
I was having all this
treatment, I just couldn't punch.
Simple as that.
And to be honest, it
was like a minor miracle,
I managed to be able to win
fights not training properly.
Sometimes,
Joe wouldn't lift a glove
to punch another human being,
between ending one professional fight
and starting another world title defence,
because his hands were so bad.
You don't want
to mention the hand trouble,
but we were wondering in the fight,
because you seemed to revert to
your boxing skills quite early on.
Has the hand gone again?
Round one.
I think last
year; he was thinking,
he was gonna become a millionaire overnight
and his path would be paved with gold.
- It doesn't work like that.
It doesn't.
It's, it's a very tough sport and it's
a very tough business and, you know,
Calzaghe's beginning to
/earn how tough it is.
Frank Warren there,
not happy with Joe Calzaghe's
performance there, really.
Good shots
going in from Brewer now.
This is a bad patch for Calzaghe.
I remember boos in the crowd.
I had a meeting with Frank Warren, he said,
"Listen, Joe, are you going to retire or what?
It was never an option to stop.
I had a family, kids.
I had to fight for money.
Ca/Zaghe'S down.
That's the first time he's
been down in his career.
First time back
in the ring in eight months.
He's had a back injury and there's been
some domestic problems in the background.
There was a battle
there that Joe had to do.
He had to have a battle,
because believe me, he was hurt.
Thinking of doing it,
you can cope with it,
but when it had and has been
done, the divorce, then you think.
Truthfully, / didn't
think he'd box any more.
I had to find a format
to make him interested,
that he had to train for this fight.
Now, how do you block that out?
I couldn't block it out.
It happened, it's reality.
He had some Hght He
had that in his mind.
So, imagine a guy who gotta fight.
Can he concentrate on it?
Twelve rounds for a world title. His
career could be gone straightaway.
COMMENTATOR; What a
right hand from Salem!
Calzaghe is down for only
the second time in his career.
Seven, eight...
God says to everybody...
"It's what's inside of you
that counts most of all. "
it's what's inside of you.
It was a hard, hard road.
He was tested, and he got through it.
And still, the
undefeated Joe Calzaghe!
Think I was 34.
I was eight years World Champion.
Not really given the respect in
the States for doing what I did.
There's no doubt that there is an
American bias when it comes to boxing.
We have dominated this sport for
the better part of a hundred years.
So as a result, he never got the credit
he deserved from American fight fans
for the simple reason
that he was British.
Even though he was undefeated,
and even though he had a
very lengthy, uh, title reign.
Jeff Lacy came with a big noise.
A really, really dangerous hooker, a
very powerful guy, incredible self-belief.
Undefeated in
the professional ranks,
with a record of 21 wins,
no losses, one no decision,
with 17 wins coming by way of knockout.
He was hyped as a smaller
version of Mike Tyson.
He had the body and the story
of his pro-debut not happening
because his opponent saw him take his
shirt off at the weigh-in and left town.
Got into a bus and left,
"I'm not fighting that guy!"
Here is the
undefeated /BF and IBO
Super Middleweight
Champion of the World.
Introducing, Jeff "Left Hook Lacy.
Jeff Lacy had been a US Olympian.
Um, and was knocking everybody
out with his big left hook,
so, hence the nickname Left Hook Lacy.
His physical makeup was
different from Joe, you know?
He looked like a condom
stuffed with walnuts, you know?
He was properly built, Jeff Lacy.
From what we had seen, at
least in this country, with Joe,
we saw a fighter who was
often technically inferior,
slapped with his punches, was
not the hardest guy to hit.
So, as a result, it was an
easy pick, and virtually,
I would say, 95% of the US media
picked Jeff Lacy to win and expected him,
fully expected him to knock out Joe Calzaghe
Ten days to two weeks before
the fight, I remember injuring myself
Under no circumstances did Joe want
to fight Jeff Lacy with a damaged hand.
Joe started to believe this
guy really is that good.
Enzo had studied him
extensively and didn't agree.
And it was his job to try
and cajole Joe into realising
yes, this is a fight
you can win injured.
Have you seen him?
Lacy does five moves to throw one punch.
Do five punches in one move, you do.
I wanted to pull out the fight
because I actually doubted myself
scared of failure against
this bad guy from America.
Do you know what happens if
you don't fucking fight the Hght?
They call you a bastard, coward, they'll
cal/ you every name under the sun.
You can forget your
boxing careen you're oven
And my dad said You
have to fight this fight.
Joe, if you got to fight
with one arm, it doesn't matter;
I'm proud of you no matter what. "
The day before the weigh-ins,
I wake up and there's like,
a couple of feet of snow.
And I can't explain, it's magical.
From that moment of walking in
to the garden, I had no nerves.
I was completely calm.
Everything was lifted off me.
He is making the
18th defence of his title.
Ladies and gentlemen, the
undefeated Joe Calzaghe!
Al/ right, gentlemen, the time
you have been waiting for is here.
The opportunity of a lifetime,
so remember; take advantage...
I looked in his eyes,
man, and I just knew I had him.
He looked away, he didn't
want to look at me in the eyes.
He looked stiff he looked nervous.
There was no way this guy was ever
going to come over and beat me.
Round one.
Finally,
the unification fight
C8/Zaghe /TBS CI'8V9d /788 arrived.
The Lacy camp think
Calzaghe is over the hill,
and that he's a man ready to be taken.
As Calzaghe gets hit, he
starts going into a tear up.
Rememben the left hand
is the fragile one.
He can't afford to
have that one damaged.
Lovely right uppercut.
Joe
Ca/zaghe at the moment,
but there's a long way to go.
And a little contemptuous
smile from Ca/zaghe.
He's saying to him. "Don't
worry, man. Don't worry.
"He's gonna cool down now.
Don't worry about that. "
Look at that
superb flurry of punches.
I say, there might have been nine or 10.
Round eight, the guy's looking at
us saying, "Where's the cool down?"
Dear me,
that face is just a mess.
Look at the eyes of Jeff Lacy.
He didn't beat him,
schooled him!
Fantastic!
Winding up the right
hand, striking the jab.
Hitting him with the left hook.
If it was a ballet, it
would have been Nureyev.
It, it was just magical.
I can remember not sleeping
for two days after that fight.
A man danced with another man,
like he was blessed, like
something was shining on him.
Landing punches and avoiding punches
like you've never seen before.
Joe's right foot was sort
of nailed to the canvas,
'cause he would pivot
on it, on a 90 degree
and just... And he was gone.
And Lacy was punching mid-air.
Finally, he'd painted a masterpiece
that you could see was there.
Twelve rounds of brilliance.
The Lacy fight is where he took off,
and where America went, "What
the fuck? Who's this guy?"
Joe was one hand.
Forced into the fight, didn't
want the fight, truly delivers.
That was one of the greatest
performances I've ever seen live.
It ignited something in
the public and in the media.
Thanks to my dad, without
him I wouldn't be here today.
He's a great trainer, great
dad. I love him to bits.
Um, and thanks to, you know, my little
kids, Joe and Connor. I love you both.
He's just come up
to me, whispered in my ear,
"Dad, you're right!"
I was right.
With an "f-ing", of course.
"Dad, you were right. "
"I told you Joe. I told you Joe. "
And we kissed each other on the lips.
I was having injections in...
Oh, remember, that's right.
Went to Harley Street, had an operation,
and you, you parked the car, and
you forgot where you parked the car.
That's right. I walked
all over the place.
That's it, you were saying "My
fucking hand, but my hand... "
No, it was wrapped up.
- You parked the car on the road somewhere.
- Yeah.
You couldn't find it, and I was
fucking running around, for an hour.
- That's right.
- Fucking hour.
Saying, "My hand, my fucking hand. "
Right, 'cause I was
coming off an anaesthetic,
I didn't know where the fuck I was.
And I just remember, "I think it's on
this street, I think it's on this street. "
That's it, looked
everywhere, do you remember?
If I had two good hands I reckon
I would, I really could have...
That's it.
Two completely
different characters.
And maybe that's why they work.
I mean physically, as well.
They are Abbott and Costello.
They are chalk and cheese.
You would not pick them out
in a room as father and son.
And they act differently as we//
That's great.
PiaceMolto, PiaceMolto.
The energy that Enzo
speaks with, and enunciates with,
and flies around a room with,
is the same energy that Joe then
explodes with when he fights.
Calzaghe's
throwing punches by the dozen.
The referee might
stop it. The ref's having a look.
He's stopped
it. He's stopped the fight.
Joe Calzaghe, that
one came from nowhere.
Father and a son.
If the son is fighting
professionally, they are a unit.
This makes a formidable team.
You see, your father
will never mislead you.
And your father is always going to tell
you every single thing that is a liability
I always knew in the corner.
He always knew if I had a bad
round, I could have six good rounds.
And one bad round, and he'd,
he'd be mouthing off and swearing.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
But he knew how to get to me.
There are lots of times
when you, you have seen his father
literally whipping him into
action, whipping him into shape.
On fight nights, I was not his dad.
Forget that.
We were divorced.
He's on the floor and
it's stopped in the very first round.
Joe Ca/zaghe in sizzling style
retains his WBO Super
Middleweight Championship.
Every time we went in the corners
for a minute, he was confident.
His eyes were with me.
Not looking round, looking
round, where, where?
He's looked to me in the eyes
and he knew that when I said,
"Throw three B's, trust me,
do things", I said. "Do it!"
And he's stopped.
Everything in two rounds.
His father; Enzo Calzaghe, has
been with him from the word go.
He's the man who shaped this magnificent
champion and Ca/zaghe remains just that.
At times, you need
a trainer who's a psychiatrist.
At times, you need a mother.
At times, you need a cheerleader.
At times, you need a conditioner.
At times, you need a boxing strategist.
And the fact that Enzo, with
really no boxing experience,
was able to create a fighter,
help create a fighter as good as
Joe, is absolutely mind-boggling
Forget the fact that he's his father,
just that he was able to do
that as a trainer was remarkable.
After beating Jeff
Lacy, after beating Sakio Bika,
Joe needed a fight of magnitude
which'd justify him as the
rightful owner of the Ring belt,
the rightful owner of
the Liheal Championship.
Mikkel Kessler by far was the
biggest, biggest name in my weight.
I was the Ring Magazine Champion,
WBO Champion, IBF Champion.
Mikkel Kessler was
obviously WBC, WBA Champion.
And he was undefeated in like, 39
fights, so everything on the line.
For both of them,
the main motivating factor was,
we want to be recognised as the best
Super Middleweight fighter in the world.
I know I can beat him,
don't hit that hard and, I can beat this guy.
Him and
my dad had got really close,
and they were like, you
know, shouting at each other.
My granddad was shouting
at his manager, you know?
All that Kind of stuff happening.
Block him out, Joe. Come
on, Joe, come on, Joe.
And that's when you
know how real it really is.
'Cause when the fight gets first announced,
it's weird, it's like two months away.
You don't really think about
it, going to school every day.
Then suddenly, the day before,
going to bed, you can't sleep
because you know tomorrow is
going to be that fight night
when your dad is, you know,
is gonna be in that ring
fighting somebody like Mikkei Kessler.
it was here in
the old Cardiff Arms Park
that Joe Ca/zaghe's
career began back in 1993.
Now he has what may be one of
the toughest nights of his career.
A very, very late night fight
to catch the premium market
in the United States as well.
Fifty-five thousand people
at the Millennium Stadium.
One of the biggest stadium
fights we've ever seen.
Knowing
that you're in Cardiff
and everybody has turned out to see you,
and it's a defining fight for you.
And not only might you lose the fight,
you'/I lose your undefeated record.
To actually take that pressure on board,
it just takes unbelievable strength.
Trying to
wing the shot around,
that straight left hand lead
of Kesslen who's started well.
That's a decent right hand from
Kesslen and a good left jab.
And now, Kess/er's starting to come in.
And he's looking for Calzaghe.
Good right hand. Good work from Kessler.
Mikke/ Kessler was fantastic.
Strong, lovely movement,
crisp timing, heavy shots.
Mikkel Kessler was schooling him.
Great
uppercut from Kessler.
Calzaghe takes it though.
Terrific shot from the Dane.
And these are dangerous
moments for Calzaghe.
The crowd had been silenced.
The dragon wasn't breathing any fire.
Bam, bam, bam, bam. Bam, bam, bam, bam.
Calzaghe trying to work
to the body and making Kessler miss.
This is a better round for Calzaghe.
Oh, this is better.
Right hand from Calzaghe.
Rocks back the head of Kessler.
What I was
saying about Calzaghe, John,
he can adapt and he
can change his style.
That's what the
great sports people do.
Muhammad Ali could change
the pattern of a fight,
Lionel Messi can change
the pattern of a match.
And that's what we saw in this fight.
Good round
though, this for Joe Ca/zaghe.
Good uppercut. Left hand from Calzaghe.
This is a big round for the Welshman,
he's bossed this last minute.
Beautiful work.
We saw the athletic
genius of Joe Calzaghe.
His movement became different.
He tied Kessler up.
He, he began to sneak round.
I had timing, I had the shape.
I was there, but he could
adapt his boxing style.
And that was something I was
too young to, to understand then.
Ca/zaghe showing
superb boxing skills there.
That desire in him, the heart.
You have to give him 100 out
of 100 for heart, Joe Calzaghe
The two hug. May
even be a word from Calzaghe.
I think Kessler knows
that he's /ost that one.
C3/Zaghe raises hfS
3l'mS BDU C6/9bl'8l'6S.
At the age of 35...
...maybe his biggest
test has been this one.
After the Hght I said
to him, let's have this rematch.
He said, "No, mate.
"Tonight was my night. "
I think you were a
little nervous right there.
I could see that in your eyes.
- Oh, yeah, little bit.
- Is that true?
Oh, yeah, well obviously, when you're
fighting in front of 50,000 people, come on.
I was fighting you.
You had knocked everybody
out, nearly, you know?
'Course I'm gonna be a bit
nervous, you know what it's like.
I thought to myself, "If I lose man,
I don't want to think about losing,
"but I can never show my
face in Cardiff again. "
They'd carry me out, mate, carry me out.
My trainer, Jim Montoya, you Know Jim.
Yeah, yeah, he did my bandages.
Yeah, he's, um, he said,
"When you hit Calzaghe with a right, you
should have come back with a left hook. "
I only threw the right hand, you Know.
Yeah, thanks.
Hey, your father is happy.
That bastard.
Hey, come on, man.
As I said, I hate watching
my fights when I lose,
but this is good, this is good.
- Oh, thank you, man.
- This is okay, man.
I lost that fight.
But I tried everything.
Good fight, my man.
Good fight, Joe.
I think, even if there had
been those of us who hoped Joe might say,
"I'm the undisputed Super
Middleweight Champion.
"There's nowhere else for me
to go. I'll hang them up. "
It just, it became obvious from
what we were hearing from America
that, that wasn't going to be
an option for him, you know.
All of a sudden, all the calls
had come in to Frank Warren
and they're coming to Joe Ca/zaghe,
"When can you get over here?"
And I think that was... That
was irresistible for him.
You need to go to the States to
be recognised by the American press,
by the American writers.
You have to go there.
SO what I did, the Week
after the Kessler Hghf,
bought my own ticket,
went out to America,
and, um, the whole point of me
going over was to bump in to Hopkins.
Bernard Hopkins was, pound-for-pound,
one of the best in the world.
I knew I wanted to fight that guy.
Hopkins was in the press room,
and I could see him come in.
'Cause / was doing interviews and
Hopkins was on the other side of the room.
I remember him making
his way towards me.
Twenty five years a boxer with
this face, man. It's for a reason.
You fought in every... Because
you fought over in Europe...
- Because you fought in Europe.
- You think you could beat Kessler?
You fought in Europe. Kessler
ain't not in my league, man.
It was like the school playground.
Fight... There's a fight
going on over there.
And, of course, that's where
Bernard famously said...
I would never let a white boy beat me.
If we fight you will lose.
I you fight me, you will lose.
- I'll never let a white boy beat me.
- You will lose.
"I ain't never been beaten by a white man.
I ain't never been beaten by a white man. "
And we were just like...
And you can call in
any statement you want.
Anybody can put it down, I will
never lose to a white person.
I can't wait, man.
I thought, "Yes!" I loved it.
I thought, "Yes", this fight's
gonna get made right now.
And all the cameras
before he realises are on.
Rung up Frank Warren, I said,
"Listen, the Hght's been made.
Always scares me
when a fighter goes up a weight
because you never know how their
body is gonna react to it you know.
Will he keep his work rate up, you Know.
You're thinking the punches are perhaps
gonna have a bit more heft to them,
but kind of like, will he be
able to keep his work rate up?
And Joe's work rate was always great.
So, I was... Again, I
was scared for that fight.
He said, when
they came face-to-face,
You're a small guy.
"You are this Super Middleweight
they been talking about?"
You know, here's
a man known as the Executioner,
who spent time in a penitentiary, and...
At the age of what he was,
was a very intimidating
and terrifying man.
Every red-blooded American's
gonna be happy with the outcome.
I'm gonna kick his British
ass come April 19th.
The nine year old Joe Calzaghe, the
kid that had been bullied by the bullies
was fighting probably the
biggest bully in boxing.
He was somebody who you thought, this
is gonna maybe be a step too fan for Joe.
I remember the weigh-ins,
and having thousands of people
queue up for a weigh-in.
And all the Welsh flags, Welsh banners,
and Hopkins came out
and they were booing him.
And he must have looked
in the crowd thinking,
"I'm fighting in my country and
there's like all Brits and that. "
It was brilliant and, you know, it's like,
you know, the British fans are the best.
Welsh fans, British fans are amazing.
They don't do it anywhere
else in the world,
and British fans will travel
and come watch you fight.
I remember when getting
off the plane in Nevada, thinking,
\/Vho turned off the lights
in VVa/es when they left?"
Because everyone was in Las Vegas.
You couldn't move for dragons
and... And that's all you could hear,
was that slow...
# Super; super Joe! Supen super Joe #
# Super;
super Joe! Super; super Joe!
# Super; super Joe!
# Super Joe Ca/zaghe! #
- Ah! I know that one.
Yeah.
We peaked at the anthem.
It felt like Cardiff out there.
The amount of supporters
who went out there,
and everyone saw, it was like
that mini community going around.
- "Oh, you're from Wales?
Da-da-da-da-da. " - Yeah.
And it's.. It was a great buzz.
# Super; super Joe!
Super Joe Ca/zaghe! #
Seven thousand people
travelled oven which was extraordinary.
The fans, everywhere,
just having a great time.
Just
so many Welshmen there.
Catherine Zeta-Jones,
and Tom Jones and...
Howard Stringer, the head
of Sony, and all these...
All these crazy Welshman
A/ Pacino as we/I.
I literally just remember
shaking his hand as well...
And I was like, "This made
it absolutely, even better. "
Even though you can feel
the atmosphere, you know,
but you don't really see anything.
The moment the
world has been waiting for.
Twelve rounds of boxing
for the Linea/ Light Heavyweight
Championship of the World.
Joe...
Calzaghe!
Bernard, the Executionen..
Hopkins!
The talking
ends, the action begins.
Calzaghe against Hopkins.
Twelve three-minute rounds.
A good right hand.
Hopkins has put Calzaghe down
with the very first right.
Calzaghe down with a clashing
right hand from Hopkins.
Six, seven, eight. You okay?
He goes down in the first
to a straight right hard,
and we're sort of metres away.
You sort of hear the "thup", you go
"thup". Down he went, and we just went...
This is it. This is gonna end
how we hoped it never would.
Yeah.
The
chant is "Wa/es, Wa/es. "
Break! Break out, break out. Break out.
Bernard
Hopkins is a very clever boxer.
It was a really frustrating
fight to watch 'cause
Calzaghe couldn't get into his flow.
- Couldn't get into his flow.
- He was just smothering him.
Every chance, he was
just closing him down.
Hopkins here,
he's constantly holding.
He should be
getting warned now from the referee.
All right. Stop, stop, stop!
He's holding again.
All right, break. Break! Step back.
Joe knew already,
it's gonna be a nasty fight.
And as it was, it turned
out to be that way.
He went out to spoil
Joe's style of boxing.
The movements...
Calzaghe needs a big round.
Calzaghe is
starting to make his left hand
produce music upstairs.
I think the second and the
fifth rounds could have gone either way.
It's difficult to come to a
conclusion as to who won the fight.
COMMENTATOR 12 Better
left hand, Calzaghe.
Joe Ca/zaghe
can finish the fight,
having landed more punches than
anyone's ever landed against Hopkins
in a Com,ouBox counted fight.
Down goes Hopkins on a low b/ow.
FOX; Hopkins is
particularly annoying to me.
As a fight fan, I just
the hate defensive stuff,
and the slow down and the
grab and the clutch, and the...
I just can't stand that stuff.
And... And Joe was very anti-that.
I wonder if
Hopkins is choosing to stop
Calzaghe's flowing momentum here.
Is it an Oscar-winning performance
or did Ca/zaghe land a foul?
Hopkins stil/ grimacing.
Ca/zaghe waving to the fans suggesting
this one is now going his way.
Stop, stop. Come on, let's
go. Come on, let's go.
Hopkins is
claiming another low blow,
but Cortez didn't see it.
And the final round...
This could be a
very difficult fight to score.
American judges
tend to favour aggression fighters-
Fighters who come forward.
Break! Break, break.
There was no real consensus
of who was winning the fight.
And I can honestly say that when the
bell rang and it went to the cards
no one around me with any conviction
had an idea one way or the other who,
who was gonna get the decision.
Hopkins continues after the be/I.
And both men celebrate.
I'm okay, man.
We go to the Scorecards.
Adalaide Byrd scores it 114
to 113 for Bernard Hopkins.
Ted Gimza scores it 115
to 112 for Joe Ca/zaghe.
Chuck Giampa scores it 116-111.
To the winner by split decision,
from Newbridge, Wa/es,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
The celebrations,
the aggression has paid,
the judges have gone for
the man who forced the fight.
And Joe Calzaghe has got off the floor
in the first round to win this one.
There were a few tears down there
when the verdict was delivered.
From South Wales... Oh,
from Newbridge, South Wales!
Me and Joe, honestly, boy!
It was gone mad, mate.
It took only five seconds,
but it felt like ages, man,
like, just waiting,
like, silence and then...
"The New Ring Magazine.
- . " Oh, man, it was amazing!
That was the best, weren't
it, man? That was good.
- Still gives me goose bumps, man.
- It was good.
Me and Giuseppe.
We Kept asking him if he was gonna
retire, but he kept, you know,
"Oh, one last fight. One last fight. "
I just... I just wanted
him to retire, you know?
Yeah, after he got knocked
down as well in the first round.
Seeing him from knocking all them
people out and then, you Know,
him fighting in America and getting
knocked down in the first round again.
Just don't want to go
through that ever again, man.
It broke their heart when
they saw their father box.
- Connor, weren't he...
- It absolutely broke their heart.
And they said to him,
"Please, Dad, please not again,
"I don't want to do it. Please, Dad. "
I said, myself. I said, "Don't retire. "
I said, "Well, you can beat Rocky
Marciano's record by all means"
He said, looked at me
straight in my eyes,
"Dad, I lost the hunger. "
When I heard the words
"I lost the hunger",
that to me was...
That's it.
So...
You know, 25 years in a sport
as hard as boxing is a longtime.
And when your body's starting
to break up, which it was...
Pain, I couldn't spar. Big
massive pillows for gloves and...
You know, everything aches more and more,
and then, I think I was 36 at the time.
It was terribly important to
Joe that he was undefeated.
And I think eventually,
when you get the accumulative
problems with pain,
difficulty in training for fights.
That inevitably leads
you to the point at which,
"Am I going to be able
to get one more fight?"
One more fight too far may not
just be pain, it may be defeat.
You got the sense that he
couldn't go on much longer.
Because there was so much
pressure on him not losing.
The idea of having
one in the loss column
was actually destroying him in...
In really deep psychological ways.
It made me feel that
I got to be a father.
I knew that enough is enough.
I changed from trainer; become a father.
I didn't want to keep fighting
until I couldn't fight no more-
I wanted to Hght with
something left in the tank.
I to/d my dad the next
fight's gonna be my last one.
Who better to face than another
American ring legend, Roy Jones Junior.
A man the same size as Joe,
but when he steps into a ring,
he looks 6'6" because of his
extraordinary Wingspan and reach and speed.
Roy is ready.
He's more ready now than he's ever been
in the fights that I've trained
him for the last, the last 18 years.
There was no one else,
really. No one of that stature.
SO fall who's QOf U7645 and 0, mate?
Who's got the 45 and 0?
Stand up and praise Joe
Calzaghe. He's got 45 and 0.
And then on the fight night,
it's gonna be 46 and 0.
Put your hands together
for Joe Calzaghe, thank you.
To Hnish off my career fighting one the
greatest Hghters there's been, that's it!
And Fighting in Madison Square Garden, you
know, that's all the motivation I need.
On Saturday night, you're
not gonna see a good fight,
you're gonna see a great fight.
No one wants to miss the end
of what has been an extraordinary,
and, remember, unbeaten career.
But there's a fear that
the great Welsh champion,
the Italian Dragon might
lose his last fight.
Ladies and gentlemen,
from the Mecca of boxing,
Madison Square Garden,
New York City, USA.
Introducing first,
from Pensacola, Florida,
a future hal/ of famen
Roy Jones...
Junior!
Introducing the Fighting
pride of Newbridge, Wales,
former undisputed Super
Middleweight World Champion,
and reigning, defending,
undefeated Light Heavyweight
Champion of the World,
Joe...
Calzaghe!
Twelve rounds of boxing
for the Light Heavyweight
Championship of the World.
Okay, gentlemen, we went
over the ru/es in the dressing room.
Obey my commands at all times and
protect yourselves at all times.
Touch 'em up, when the bel/
rings, come out fighting.
Okay, gentlemen.
Box!
Joe Ca/zaghe, Roy
Jones Junion herein New York,
for the Ring Magazine Light
Heavyweight Championship of the World.
I don't Know that Roy
Jones ever fought anybody
that was faster than he was
until he got in the ring with Joe.
And I'm not sure that Joe ever fought
anybody who was faster than he was
until he got into the ring with Roy.
Okay, break.
Foul; five, six, seven, eight...
I, like, literally thought
my dad was Superman.
I thought he was like, invincible.
We were in a frenzied state of terror.
That it could all come undone, you know,
on the biggest stage of the boxing world.
There's blood on
the bridge of Ca/zaghe's nose.
Calzaghe has to dig out of a hole.
I can't put the
winning method in his life,
in his heart while he's boxing.
That comes from himself, personally.
It's something that creeps in his mind.
"I shall not lose. "
COMIVIENTATORZ Calzaghe unfazed.
Goes out with his hands out low.
Throws one punch at a time
and Calzaghe throws six.
Calzaghe showboating in
the centre of the ring.
Never before have you seen that
with an opponent against Roy Jones.
Roy Jones Junior was
the ultimate showboater
He could do everything.
He could knock a man out five feet away
across a ring with a punch they never saw.
So, Joe begins to showboat.
He rolls his shoulders, he
shuffles, he does everything.
And Ca/zaghe is
standing in front of Roy Jones
with his hands down, showboating.
it's abundantly
clean at least with body language,
Ca/zaghe is trying to portray
to the audience and to the judges
that he has weathered the storm.
He has dominated round three.
Another
left hand by Calzaghe,
follows it up with a
couple of body shots.
Another flurry by Ca/zaghe.
Roy maybe momentarily hurt.
He's hurt, he's hurt...
Blood above
the left eye of Roy Jones.
Joe was sticking his face out.
He was sticking his face
out and just, just...
Screwing with Roy's brain, and Roy
had done this for years to people.
Roy has
never; never experienced this,
and I think that the fact
that Joe can do this all night.
And then I was watching that,
I thought that's jazz. That's
It's smooth, it's silky, it's sneaky,
it's syncopated, it's just, it's just jazz.
Calzaghe dropping
his hands and staring at Jones
and watching the blood
flow, and going back to work.
He did everything but
knock Roy Jones Junior out.
And he probably was
there for the taking.
Why didn't Joe knock him out?
Maybe because he wanted to
savour those last 36 minutes.
It was as if he was
saying, "/ 've loved this,
I want you all to see me be doing everything
I can do here today and it's goodbye. "
And it was as if my life was
flickering through, like, all my career;
like where I started.
I was counting down
the rounds in my head.
Just looking round thinking,
Look where I am.
To finish on my own
terms, money can't buy that.
Money can't buy that.
Very few fighters go
out on their terms in that way.
I can literally name on five fingers
the fighters in my era that have
gotten out with their faculties,
with their money, and with their pride.
I give him a lot of credit.
And it says a lot
about his sense of self
and the understanding he had,
that he had more than half his
life still to live, after boxing.
People still talk about him,
and people kind of still
want him to be around,
you know, and there are not many
people that once they go away,
you know, the only thing people
will start talking about is,
just like, you know, "I wish
he was still here", you Know.
That's a big achievement.
If I had flags, I would put
the flags out. It was really...
Well, you see now I've just...
It was unreal seeing my dad after
all he's done, really be appreciated.
I just fe/t like that
was the best moment ever.
So proud of him, like, that's
probably my proudest moment ever.
I respect him as a father
for what he's done for us.
Nobody knows what my
dad went through to get,
to get there, from a little kid.
That's, that's what I feel, you Know.
You wanna come in, Joe?
Never happened, it wasn't
us, it couldn't be us, no way.
Look at the memories,
that's there, it's us.
Oh, he's my best friend and a
great dad, and he's an awesome trainer.
I couldn't pay him back
for the way he brought me up
and also for instilling
that animal in me
that I become in the ring,
who refused to be beat,
refused to be knocked down.
If you get knocked down,
you get back twice as bad.
That Was me.
Refuse to lose.
That was instilled
in me, so thanks, Dad.
Oh, it's been a brilliant ride,
and I'm a happy man now and I'm
thankful for everything I've got.
Nothing's come close to the
family, children and health.
Nothing matters unless you got that.
You'/I never be forgotten.
What you are is eternal.
Hey, listen, Joe put in a lot of work.
He fought a lot of tough guys. He um...
He beat the odds, you know, he has um...
He's beat the who's-who of
his division of his time.
He chose to retire early, that's
on him. He's still, you know...
I believe he still has
a lot of good fight left.
You know, Flock would have
been a great fight for him.
Um, in England, Wales,
one of those arenas.
That would have been a
financial moneybreaker
It would have broke some records.
But, you know, he chose to retire
early. I have much respect for him.
Matter of fact, um, he got his bones of
becoming a confident fighter under my cards
when I fought in Europe.
He fought in all the undercards
and looked sensational then as well.
I think he's the greatest British fighter
we've ever had, to be honest with you.
And he's a great fighter, a
great mechanic in the ring.
And he understands what it is to win.
He totally eradicated the word
"losing" out of his vocabulary.
He comes from a division where in England
we had a wonderful name back in the day
with Ben, Eubank, and, you know.
I mean, to have your dad in your corner,
you know you're not going to get ripped off.
You've got your old
man there who loves you.
Your father don't let you side
down. Father knows who you are.
There's always a strong bond.
One of the most important things in
boxing is the bond between trainer and...
And when your father, you Know, when
you look in his eyes, he's obviously.
YOU C3l'1 tl'LISt him.
Well, it's always going to be
different strokes for different folks.
For Tito Trinidad and his dad,
same thing as Enzo and Joe.
You've got something
there that's family or tie.
They both respect each other.
They respect the boundaries of
each other's ideologies, of course.
And so, that makes it just.
It just looks good, you know.
Very rarely, at the end of the game,
it looks good. It still looks good.
I think he could have gone on.
I think he could have gone
out there and smashed...
I think he could still do it now.
I can only beat the old man.
Where's your son? Where's your son?
Congratulations, Joe. God bless.
Just keep on keeping on. I love you.
He's got the life now. He doesn't
have to... He's living the life.