Boxing is a sport that is full of surprises and there were no shortages last night as Joe Calzaghe tamed and punished previously undefeated American Jeff Lacy over twelve one sided rounds in Manchester, England. It was a win that defines Calzaghe as a fighter and shows that he was a champion for a reason. Many people were either unsold on him coming into tonight's fight or unaware of his true talents, but Calzaghe made his mark and we should expect to see much more of him.
From the opening rounds it was evident that Calzaghe was unfazed by the sheer physical presence and vaunted punching power that Lacy brings with him. Calzaghe controlled things from the outside with combinations that jarred the Tampa, Florida native's chin. Surprisingly, Calzaghe held his own on the inside as well while also showing great defense as he slipped nearly all of Lacy's huge power shots.
As the fight wore on Calzaghe become more and more dominant, bullying Lacy around the ring and busting his face up down the stretch. Lacy was exhausted and worn out from his smothering attack and pinpoint combinations. It was simply too much for a young fighter like Lacy to handle and he was beaten in every aspect of the game. Calzaghe rocked and hurt Lacy along the ropes in the eleventh and dropped him to the canvas a round later, putting a dramatic exclamation point on what has to be looked at as his finest win as a professional.
Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw said himself, this was a bitter pill for Team Lacy to swallow but there still is hope and possibly a future for the young, ex-champion. Lacy was battered all night long but never once did he show the signs of wanting to quit and his chin held up under the storm of his best shots. Lacy showed great heart and the will to win, he just lost to the better man tonight and there is no shame in that. We will now get to truly see what Jeff is made of, as he will either become a frontrunner in the sport or show us the resiliency that it takes to get back to the top. Only time will tell with him.
For Calzaghe the future looks to be bright. Match ups with the best Super Middleweights and top Light Heavyweights are within his grasp and the ultimate prize, a showdown with brash Antonio Tarver, would be a treat for all fans to see. Regardless of where his career goes from here, Joe Calzaghe has arrived and his mark has been made.
Ancient times. Boxing is one of the oldest known sports. Stone carvings indicate that the Sumerians, who lived in what is now Iraq, boxed at least 5,000 years ago. The sport probably spread from the Sumerians to peoples throughout the ancient world.
Boxing was a brutal spectacle in ancient Greece. Two young men would sit on flat stones, face to face, with their fists wrapped in
thongs (strips of leather). At a signal, they began to hit each other until one of them fell to the ground unconscious. The other man then continued to beat his opponent until he died. According to legend, the thongs were later fitted with metal spikes so that the fights ended more quickly.
The Romans also staged brutal boxing matches. On their hands and forearms, the fighters wore
cestuses, which consisted of leather straps plated with metal. In time, the sport became so savage that the Romans forbade the use of cestuses. In the last hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Romans prohibited boxing.
The beginning of modern boxing. Boxing almost disappeared as a sport until the late 1600's, when it reappeared in England. However, it remained a cruel sport, and many fighters were crippled, blinded, or even killed while fighting.
In the early 1700's, James Figg, one of England's most famous athletes, introduced modern boxing. In Figg's day, boxing involved much wrestling. Figg became successful by punching instead of wrestling. In 1719, he opened a boxing school in London and began to teach his style of
bare-knuckle (gloveless) fighting.
Figg's boxing rules were still brutal, however. For example, one rule required that boxers continue to fight without rest periods until one man could not go on. In 1743, Jack Broughton, a well-known British boxer, introduced new rules. Under Broughton's rules, a fight ended when one man was knocked down and could not get up within 30 seconds. However, bouts were still continuous. Broughton's rules, with some additions, became standard for all bouts. They were known as the London Prize Ring Rules, and they helped make boxing less savage.
From bare knuckles to gloves. In the mid-1860's, the Marquess of Queensberry, a British sportsman, sponsored a new boxing code of 12 rules. In 1872, the Queensberry Rules were first used in a professional tournament in London. They have been used throughout the world ever since with only slight changes. The rules require boxers to wear gloves. They also call for three-minute rounds with a one-minute rest period between rounds. The rules further state that a man down on one knee may not be struck and that a fallen man must be given 10 seconds to get back on his feet.
During the 1850's and 1860's, British boxers visited the United States, where they tried to create greater interest in boxing. But many Americans opposed the sport. It was also illegal in many areas. The matches themselves drew only small crowds that watched boxers battle with bare knuckles. In 1882, John L. Sullivan, an American, claimed the world bare-knuckle championship. But he realized that there was no future in bare-knuckle fighting and that the police allowed matches held under the Queensberry Rules. Sullivan therefore joined a traveling theatrical group and staged gloved boxing matches throughout the country. Huge crowds turned out to watch these exhibitions.
During the 1880's, Sullivan occasionally took time off from theatrical appearances to defend his bare-knuckle championship. He defended the title the last time in 1889, when he defeated Jake Kilrain in the 75th round. The fight was the last world heavyweight bare-knuckle championship ever fought. In 1892, Sullivan fought James J. Corbett to decide the heavyweight championship under the Queensberry Rules. Corbett knocked out Sullivan in the 21st round.
