Peter Manfredo, looking fit and relaxed in his hotel suite, offers a fanciful
vision of his supporting role in Joe Calzaghe’s 20th World Boxing
Organisation (WBO) super-middleweight title defence. “I have no pressure on
me. I’m coming over here and I’m going to get whistled at or booed by 35,000
people who will all be chanting and singing for Calzaghe — in the
beginning,” suggests the 26-year-old from Providence, Rhode Island. “By the
end of the night, however, I’m going to turn the crowd over, kind of like
Rocky when he went to Russia.”
He smiles at the analogy, although given the background of the protagonists,
some cynics see it more like Gareth Gates against Tom Jones. Calzaghe is a
legend of the Welsh valleys whose near-10-year title reign is currently the
longest in boxing.
His dominating display against another American, Jeff Lacy, last year — when
he added the International Boxing Federation title and The Ring magazine
belt to the trophy cabinet of his unassuming home on the outskirts of
Newbridge, in Caerphilly, while cementing his position as one of the best
pound-for-pound fighters today — was described by Sugar Ray Leonard as
“clinical, masterful”.
Manfredo, in almost jarring contrast, is a product of the reality TV show The
Contender, which Leonard and Sylvester Stallone produced and co-presented, a
kind of American Idol with gloves, grit and a hint of Rocky thrown in.
This characterisation does the challenger a degree of disservice, for he was a
world-ranked light-middleweight before he appeared on the show in 2005 with
15 fellow contenders after a nationwide search that attracted even a
10-year-old boy, accompanied by his mum, to a gym in Boston to audition.
In the most widely accepted independent rankings provided by The Ring,
Manfredo is placed in the top 10 super-middleweights in the world, but it is
his association with The Contender, for better or for worse, that has done
most to secure his dream shot at the world title.
“People all over the world know me just because I was on a TV show and they
fell in love with me, because they got to see who I am as a person. Because
of the publicity I got, it was the greatest experience ever,” says the New
Englander, who has a pleasing personality and a patter similar to Joe
Pesci’s character in Goodfellas.
“But from a boxing perspective, it was the worst experience, because I was the
North American Boxing Organisation champion, ranked third in the world and
getting ready to fight for the WBO [light-middleweight] title in another
fight or two. The only thing was, I wasn’t making any money. ESPN [the
American TV network] put me on the Main Event and I made $15,000 gross,
which was my biggest purse before The Contender. So when I saw there was a
$1m prize on offer for the winner, I said, ‘Of course, where do I sign?’
“Anyone would have signed that piece of paper. You don’t care about the
50-page contract and you don’t look at the clauses, you just sign, because
it’s like winning the lottery. It’s a chance in a lifetime and you have to
take it. The runner-up prize was $250,000, which is still crazy, and that’s
what I made out of the show [after losing to Sergio Mora in the final].
“But it was different from what we thought it would be. We thought it was
going to be something like a tough-man competition. We were all living
together for weeks and it was crazy. You didn’t know if you were going to
fight these guys, though eventually we would have to fight some of them.
Mentally I wasn’t there and physically I couldn’t make the weight. I was
walking around at 174lb and I had to make 157lb on the day of each fight,
weighing in just hours before, so my body didn’t have enough time to
recuperate. Since then I’ve moved up to super-middleweight and my past two
performances [a couple of third-round knockouts against Scott Pemberton and
Joe Spina] have been my best.
“I’m still with The Contender; it’s like American Idol, you go on there and
you sing, they get you famous and they keep you. I made $150,000 for
Pemberton and $100,000 for Spina and what I’m getting for Calzaghe is better
than what I got for doing The Contender show — but it wouldn’t be if I had
won.” Two of Manfredo’s three defeats in 29 bouts came in The Contender
series, the third in a rematch with Mora when a majority of observers at
ringside thought he had won.
Like Calzaghe, he is trained by his father, Peter Sr, a former boxer turned
kickboxing champion who introduced his son to both disciplines at an early
age. “Right when I came out of my mother he put boxing gloves on me,”
Manfredo says, almost sweetly. “I started kickboxing and karate when I was
five and boxing when I was ready to turn seven. We used to have fights every
Friday night in Coventry, a city in Rhode Island, and every Friday night I
went there to fight. I fought everybody and win, lose or draw I always gave
100%. It’s in my blood. My father was a fighter, my uncle was a fighter and
my grandfather was a fighter. I think you’re born a fighter. That’s why it
didn’t make me any more fearful about facing Calzaghe when I saw what he did
to Lacy. If I’m going to get my ass kicked, I want to get my ass kicked by
the best guy out there and Calzaghe is definitely one of the best guys.”
The 35-year-old champion is a prohibitive 50-1 on to make Manfredo, the 10-1
underdog, his 43rd straight victim. Although approaching the final stages of
a distinguished career, there is no evidence that Calzaghe’s powers are
waning.
His work in his Newbridge gym retains a freshness and an edge that is the envy
of far younger stablemates. For this fight he has even been able to spar
with impunity, a rare occurrence for a man whose hands often seem to be too
brittle to be in this business. His nerve and dedication and the terrific
hand speed that underpins his unique style have sustained him through 17
years of unbeaten combat as an amateur and pro, a sequence that Manfredo is
too limited to end under the roof at the Millennium stadium. Yet Calzaghe
has put his body through the same spartan regime that he did almost a decade
ago when he beat Chris Eubank to win the title, and, although many sceptics
are dismissive of this challenge, the Welshman is focused.
“Sugar Ray Leonard has been offering advice to Manfredo, which I really don’t
mind, but one of the things they’ve been talking about is the possibility of
an upset, like when Sugar Ray beat Marvin Hagler and Buster Douglas beat
Mike Tyson. But I never take any fighter lightly and that’s one of my
strengths. The way I prepare is always the same,” says Calzaghe, who lives
within several miles of the home in which he grew up and runs along the same
hills he did as a boy.
“There’s no secret to this level of longevity. I work bloody hard and I don’t
allow myself to be complacent. It could be Tyson coming out of the other
corner, that’s where my mind is. Right now I feel fit enough to keep
fighting until I’m 40, but I know three or four more fights will probably do
it. I want to get out undefeated and that can be my legacy.
“HBO [the American TV network] are showing this fight live in the US and
before I retire I’d like to have fought at least once over there. Bernard
Hopkins and Jermain Taylor [world champions at light-heavyweight and
middleweight respectively] are two fighters I would love to get in the ring
with, so I know what I have to do against Manfredo.”
Ironically, Manfredo’s new-found celebrity could help secure for Calzaghe the
career climax he craves. More than 6m people watched The Contender finale in
the US. Manfredo will attract a huge audience for HBO’s coverage of the
bout, so by beating him, Calzaghe could win more widespread acclaim than he
might have done for overcoming a more deserving and testing opponent.
“If I had the choice, I’d rather have two big fights than five meaningless
fights at this stage in my career,” Calzaghe says. “Hopkins and Taylor are
two fighters I would love to face in the ring, so I know what I have to do
against Manfredo to try to make it happen.”
For the contender, this can only mean the most brutal reality.
Joe Calzaghe v Peter Manfredo, Saturday, ITV1, 10pm
Peter Manfredo has the talent and the attitude to pull off a big upset in Wales. Manfredo has no pressure on him and he has yearned for the big stage for too long a time to blow it with a sub-par performance. Also, Peter's promotional team has been diligent in making sure the playing field is as even as possible and THEY sincerely believe that Peter will be returing to Providence with the world championship belts. Tune in to this next week and see the real Rocky story.
Gary Gittelsohn, Los Angeles, California/USA
I'm a little shocked by how many discount Manfredo. Lacy is one thing...especially since he is such a "one-sided" fighter. He was showing all fighters the way to beat him long before The "Welshman" beat him. MAnfredo on the other hand is a different fighter. He's faster than Lacy and has MUCH better movement. Manfredo is going to hit Joe a lot! A LOT! This fight will be no walk in the park for either. I'm predicting a knockout for Manferdo around the 9th round. This kid can fight! Remember my post!
Brian Fire, Los Angeles, Calif