Mr Calzaghe

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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,

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