The type of fight that defined the year in boxing, 2007. The type of fight that helped spark renewed interest in the sport in its great comeback year.

Two undefeated champions that can fight, going toe-to-toe to decide who the man really is at 168 pounds. Welshman Joe Calzaghe brought his 43-0 record, along with his distinction as the RING champion as well as the WBO titleholder, and Denmark's Mikkel Kessler showed up 39-0, an emerging star in his athletic prime, the WBC and WBA champion.

50,150 fans filed into Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to watch their hero, reigning as super middleweight king for a decade, go up againts what many thought to be his stiffest test ever. So long had Calzaghe heard the catcalls, particularly from across the pond, accusing him of ducking the best competition. After giving Jeff Lacy one of the most thorough beatings any of us will ever see, the jabbering died down some. He'd made our guy -- the American upstart -- look like one of us had tried to step into the ring with Joe Calzaghe. Simply put, Calzaghe made Jeff Lacy look like a bum.

Then he fought a mandatory with Sakio Bika, and that impressed few. Then there was the joke defense against Peter Manfredo in April, drawing 35,000 fans to a pathetic mismatch that had no business even happening. It was a fight made hoping to capitalize on Manfredo's "Contender" fame, an easy defense for Calzaghe, and nothing more.

Suddenly, the taunts were back. Here was Calzaghe, having intensely dominated Lacy in 2006, with two straight fights that nobody cared about, and that were almost certainly going to be easy victories for him. The criticisms were back. Calzaghe and promoter Frank Warren were in love with the perfect record, not with the fight game, and no matter how much we demanded it, Joe would never, ever fight Mikkel Kessler.

Whether or not the outcry, the near demand for Calzaghe-Kessler from fight fans, had anything to do with the fact that the fight actually got signed is not for me to say. I wouldn't know one way or the other. I do know that both parties had to realize that it was the perfect way to make a lot of money, at the very least. Maybe secondary in their thoughts was the fact that Calzaghe-Kessler would be a landmark fight for the super middleweight division.

When it was signed, I was ecstatic. We all were. It was one of the few potential fights out there that had to happen if we were going to truly find out who the best was in a division. There aren't many.

It was also a truly defining moment for European boxing. These are two guys with no traditional American appeal, though I think both would be stars no matter where they go, as they're both charismatic personalities as well as excellent fighters. 50,000-plus showed up live in Cardiff, but the fight was an American event, as well. Everyone was looking forward to it, and HBO put it on the air, live, in prime time. When was the last time there was this sort of anticipation all around the world for a purely European fight?

The stadium was on pins and needles as the opening bell approached, and the first round showed that the fighters themselves may have been a bit overwhelmed by the moment too, if only briefly. Calzaghe and Kessler both came out a bit tentative, no one wanting to make the first mistake. It was clear that Calzaghe respected Kessler's knockout power, and knew that he had the speed and technique that Lacy lacked. It was also clear that Kessler didn't want to find himself in Lacy's predicament, being battered left and right because he let the momentum shift too far. It was a tense opening round, to say the least.

In the second round, Kessler found his distance and managed to bull Calzaghe around the ring a bit, and he started to land a vicious uppercut in the fourth round. After five, I had Kessler ahead, three rounds to two, 48-47. He was boxing patiently and effectively, holding off Calzaghe's trademark flurries where punches fire in from all angles, not allowing himself to become a victim of Joe's awkwardness, defensive mastery, and pure hand speed.

In the sixth round, Joe Calzaghe took the fight over for good. He got it as his pace, in his style, and he never looked back. Though Mikkel Kessler fought very well and landed good stuff, he was clearly the more tired of the two, and was obviously frustrated by Calzaghe. As early as the seventh, in a back-and-forth, tight fight, Kessler seemed to have urgency. He knew he was just a hair away from falling into Calzaghe's puzzle.

Calzaghe controlled the action with his jab, not allowing Kessler in. Mikkel had Calzaghe in some trouble in the eighth, but he just didn't have enough to really mount a big attack, which it became increasingly clearer by the round, he would need to beat Calzaghe in Cardiff. The uppercut that had been so effective was gone. He couldn't get his jab working, which is a big part of his arsenal. And though he was fighting pretty well, Calzaghe was just the better man.

I gave Calzaghe rounds six through eleven, and then he stayed back in the 12th, giving the round to Kessler, secure that he had done enough to win, and so respectful of Kessler's power and skill that he didn't want to risk mixing it up. He punched when he had to to keep Mikkel honest -- this wasn't Oscar literally scurrying away from Tito Trinidiad -- but he didn't engage.

And it turned out he was right. 116-112 on my card, and 116-112, 116-112, 117-111 on the official cards. Joe Calzaghe had turned in one of his greatest performances yet, and he solidified, once and for all, his tremendous rule over the super middleweight division. As his 2007 campaign closed out, so closed the books: Joe Calzaghe is the greatest super middleweight of all-time. And, to his credit, Mikkel Kessler proved that he was the definite No. 2 in the 168-pound division. In a fight so hyped, two class act, top shelf fighters didn't fail to deliver.

Yes, that Joe is a total badass. I think any sane boxing fan knows that now, and it more or less goes without saying: Joe's the peerless champ at super-middleweight, a division-defining fighter for the ages, who has cleaned the division up utterly and left nothing to prove at 168. Only the most narrow-minded of American nationalists could think otherwise.

But what about the more subtle things? What did we learn about Joe as a boxer? As brilliant of a performance as it was, Joe himself admitted that it was not flawless. What weaknesses may have been exposed? What strengths reinforced? How has this career defining fight altered the legend of Joe Calzaghe as a boxer as opposed to as a champion?

I've already detailed my opinions about some of Joe's strengths, and they were on display throughout the bout: his punch output (over 1,000 punches thrown!), his awkwardness, and the amazing variety of punches of which he is capable. True, a number of those punches are his rather pawing jabs, but even these add up when thrown in such number, and if nothing else, they confuse opponents--as Kessler admitted after the fight.

What I learned, though, was more about Joe's defense than his offense. I don't think we have emphasized enough on this site that Calzaghe is an absolute master of the clinch. Indeed, I don't know if I've ever seen a boxer use the clinch as effectively as Joe did last Saturday. For Joe, the clinch is both an offensive and a defensive tool. It allows him to always keep moving forward, as those quick clutches that so often concluded his flurries put Joe too close for comfort and thoroughly disrupted any boxing flow that Kessler tried to mount. The announcers talked about how Kessler couldn't seem to put together any combinations. The clinches are the reason why. As soon as one of Kessler's strong uppercuts landed, Joe was on him.

But not long enough to get annoying, not, say, in the manner of a John Ruiz, whose endless clinching  appears cowardly, spoiling not only his opponents' boxing game, but our own. Joe has absolutely mastered the ability to clinch just long enough to achieve his immediate goal. Then, just before his opponent can figure out what's going on, Joe releases and almost always lands a few backing away. Sometimes Joe threw too fast and rabbit punches a little bit, but even here, Joe was too smart to get caught for it (being merely warned and not penalized).

Joe's clinches are defensive not in the sense that they allow him to take a needed break, but in the sense that they become a rhythm-defining defense against his opponent's sense of direction and flow. His clinches are offensive in that they are integrated with a constantly forward-moving assault--they are not so much a break in Joe's offense, but a punctuation of it.

Second, we learned for certain that Joe has one hell of a chin. Lacy never got the chance to test it, but Kessler did, and it got him nowhere. No matter what Kessler did, Joe just kept moving forward. What will B-Hop do when Joe eats his best shot and doesn't so much as pause?

But as I said, it wasn't a flawless performance. Joe scared me repeatedly with his hands-down showboating and his lunging head movement. I guess he must have been supremely confident at that point, but still, the hands-at-the-waist taunting strikes me as a bad gameplan. What, besides a few cheers, does it get him? What if some ring general, someone like Hopkins, plays Joe into doing that again--only this time, what if, unlike Kessler, Joe's opponent is just waiting for that moment to pounce?

The heads-first lunging is problematic too. Against Kessler, Calzaghe was able to weather the storm. He never stopped the lunge, but he learned to protect himself better with his hands as he did it. But not before Kessler landed some solid punches. But what happens with an even bigger puncher? If those uppercuts had been delivered by Pavlik instead of Kessler, would the bout have been so one-sided?

None of this is really criticize Calzaghe's performance. It was masterful, no doubt. The good things we learned were definite and the bad things are mostly hypothetical. And it is this awkward and in some ways "unsound" style that makes him so much fun to watch, that makes Joe not only a champion and master craftsman, but also a supremely original and entertaining fighter for our time.

With his win over Mikkel Kessler, Joe Calzaghe has put himself into position to grab a fight with one of several dangerous opponents. Knock Calzaghe all you want for fighting sometimes inferior opposition in the past (though at this point, again, I don't think many fighters line up as more than inferior competition for the Welshman), but he and even Frank Warren are now showing that they want to finish Joe's career with marquee bouts.

There is a small army of fighters that could be on the list to face Calzaghe in 2008. Here are some of the mentioned names.

Mikkel Kessler
Calzaghe already said at the post-fight press conference, seated right next to Kessler, that this is not likely. "I don't really like rematches, especially against a guy like this. He's young and he's going to get better." Immediately following the bout, a classy Kessler humbly said that were he to get a rematch, he'd just train harder and do the best he could, acknowledging that he lost the fight fair and square. He also noted that he didn't think Joe had much power, but that it's "confusing" when a guy throws so many punches. For the record, Calzaghe threw a mind-boggling 1,010 shots in the fight, a staggering figure for super middleweights.

I'd watch it, though. If Joe can't land one of the big-name Americans, revisiting Calzaghe-Kessler would hardly offend me, because outside of Lucian Bute, I can't think of a single other super middleweight I really think there's any need to see Joe fight.

Bernard Hopkins
B-Hop is the guy Calzaghe and Warren want. Frank Warren wasn't shy post-fight about it, either, offering Team Hopkins every advantage to sign the contract. Warren said Hopkins can pick the date, pick the venue, pick the weight, and pick anything else he wants. We all know Hopkins is second-to-none in belaboring negotiations, and that it's no small feat to actually get him into the ring. I'm not saying I think Bernard ducks anybody, as Warren made a show of hinting. I'm just saying what we all know to be true. Bernard Hopkins can be a world class pain in the ass.

HBO has already also gone on record: They'd rather have Calzaghe square off with the winner of the Pavlik-Taylor rematch. Personally, I wouldn't. I love the idea of Calzaghe-Pavlik or Calzaghe-Taylor, and I think the chance of dramatic knockout is higher in those fights. But Hopkins was able to out-think Winky Wright in his last fight. To me, there are four true chess masters among boxing's elite: Mayweather, Hopkins, Wright, and Calzaghe. Watching Hopkins and Calzaghe do physical and mental battle with one another might not be up everyone's alley, but personally, I'd jump at the chance.

Kelly Pavlik or Jermain Taylor
As stated, the winner of Pavlik-Taylor II is what HBO seems to want, but HBO only has so much control over anything. Of course, they could offer a much better deal for Calzaghe against one of these two than they do a fight with Hopkins, but do you think HBO is going to turn down Hopkins-Calzaghe?

Calzaghe has been very complimentary toward Pavlik since his win over Taylor, inviting him to Cardiff for the Kessler fight and saying he'd love to fight him afterward. But now that Pavlik-Taylor II is on the calendar, it's more of a wait. Taylor could very well defeat Pavlik at 166 pounds, which would give Taylor all the momentum to move to 168 officially and challenge King Joe. I like both fights on paper. Taylor is a phenomenal athlete and a good puncher, and I don't think stamina would play any role for him against Calzaghe. Joe's constant motion wouldn't wear Taylor out, as he'd more likely be content to just throw punches in bunches alongside Calzaghe.

Pavlik is what I like to call a "smart plodder," a guy without great footwork or speed, but who uses what he does have -- power and good fundamentals -- to the maximum, the same as Miguel Cotto uses his granite chin and body attack or Juan Diaz uses his astounding punch rate and hand speed. Plus, I think Pavlik's an even stronger puncher than Kessler, and that his power would easily translate to 168, as I think Kelly may be ultimately destined for even 175.

Roy Jones, Jr.
Calzaghe has mentioned Roy a few times of late. Any possibility here hinges on a few factors, all in Roy's court. First of all, he has to beat Felix Trinidad in January. Convincingly. Roy has to put on a star re-making performance, because he has fallen down the ladder pretty substantially. But, if he does wipe up the undersized Trinidad (and I think he will, the weight is just too damn high for Tito), and the fight does good PPV numbers (which I think it will), then there's nothing stopping Jones-Calzaghe from happening other than Jones, like Hopkins, being a pain in the ass. To his credit, he has been uncharacteristically pleasant and accommodating in the build-up for his fight with Tito.

If Hopkins proves too big of a hassle to deal with, Jones could step into the void.

Antonio Tarver
Another name Calzaghe dropped recently. Forget it. Tarver isn't any sort of real draw anymore, as Hopkins erased the memories of Tarver stomping on Jones. Antonio Tarver no longer carries any real weight. He's an overhyped fighter whose pro career is notable for being the perfect matchup to puzzle Jones and being one of the many Hopkins victims who had no answer for "The Executioner." Calzaghe-Tarver does not interest me at all -- Joe would slaughter him.

If I had to place a wager right now, it's that we will see Calzaghe-Hopkins on the east coast of the States, either in B-Hop's hometown of Philadelphia or somewhere in New York City, most likely Madison Square Garden. The pipe dream of Yankee Stadium isn't happening. They'd have to put three major fights on the same card to have that headline a Yankee Stadium card that could do the live gate you'd want out of something that ballsy.

For now, we wait to see what comes of the Hopkins challenge. And knowing Bernard, bring a snack. It'll be a while.

Let there be no more doubts, period, about whether or not Joe Calzaghe is "legit," "proven," or anything else that may suggest his record isn't quite what it seems. Joe Calzaghe proved beyond any shadow of a doubt with his win over Mikkel Kessler that he is among boxing's elite.

I'd also like to make something else clear, too: Mikkel Kessler proved he was the clear No. 2 in the 168-pound division. Should Calzaghe leave super middleweight behind, Kessler is No. 1, and the only guy I think could give him any real trouble right now is Lucian Bute. Denmark's chief boxing export made a great showing on Saturday night -- he didn't do anything particularly wrong, and the only knock I could have is that he seemed to abandon a very effective uppercut, though that may simply have been Calzaghe adjusting and not giving him the looks that led to him eating Kessler's best punch of the night.

But Joe Calzaghe, again, put on a clinic. Kessler is a much more complete, more mature, more fundamentally sound fighter than Jeff Lacy. Calzaghe didn't make an example out of Kessler as he did with Lacy. I gave Mikkel four rounds, scoring it 116-112 for Calzaghe (official cards were 117-111, 116-112, 116-112). But there was a point in the middle of the fight where I knew that Joe Calzaghe wasn't going to lose without a home run shot from Kessler that caught him by surprise. For the 44th straight time, it was Joe Calzaghe's night.

It was a very enjoyable fight to watch, not a Fight of the Year contender, really, but a bout that lived up to the promise. It was competitive and very clearly, we were seeing two master craftsmen, who had almost nothing in common as boxers. Calzaghe's unpredictable style again was the difference. If Joe fought like Kessler does, he'd be a journeyman. But he fights unlike anyone else in the sport, and he's a champion. I can't imagine the hell that must be trying to prepare for Calzaghe. No one can really spar like the guy. You can't duplicate what he does.

Calzaghe has stated that he wants Bernard Hopkins next. I know this is going to be a big changing of my mind, if you've followed BLH for any amount of time, but I'm going to say it: If Bernard Hopkins refuses to fight Calzaghe in the UK, well, screw 'im. Yes, B-Hop is a Hall of Famer. And, yes, I still think it's a shame Calzaghe has never fought in the States. But does he NEED to? Now, I say absolutely not.

Hopkins has argued that he'll be selling the PPV. I guess? He's a bigger name in the States, but it's not like American boxing fans don't know Joe Calzaghe, and his name is bigger now than it was 24 hours ago. Plus, honestly, Calzaghe-Hopkins in Cardiff would do twice the live attendance than it would anywhere in the States. 50,000 people are not going to go to Yankee Stadium to watch Bernard Hopkins. They will not. I don't think Hopkins-Calzaghe in the States could do the 30,000 that Calzaghe-Manfredo did, honestly.

To all those that defended Calzaghe to me so fiercely in the past, I make no bones about it. You were 100% correct. I still think very little of Frank Warren, his promoter, but I'm through questioning Joe Calzaghe. Anyone that does it after last night is barking just to bark. What more could he do?

I also caught the Showtime card, though I didn't bother to score it. Well enough, since it was uneventful, and looking at the few thousand in attendance in Arizona for championship fights right after Calzaghe-Kessler made it all the more clear just how big of a national hero Joe Calzaghe really is.

Robert Guerrero retained his featherweight title in less than a minute, knocking out Martin Honorio with a straight left at 0:56. Honorio was clearly dazed even after standing up, and stayed that way as long as we saw him in the ring. Robert Guerrero is really a great guy, and I'm glad he won, with nothing against Honorio. If you haven't heard, Guerrero's wife is battling leukemia, and it must've been difficult for him to think about his job. Bad Left Hook sends our best wishes to Guerrero, his wife, and their family.

In the main event, WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez dominated Rocky Juarez to retain via unanimous decision. Juarez, now 0-3 in title fights (the other two losses were to Marco Antonio Barrera), fought valiantly but was hampered by a constant and heavy flow of blood into his left eye, caused by an accidental headbutt in the first round.

Now, I can't say for sure whether or not Juarez would've fared better against Marquez without the headbutt causing such damage so early, but my inclination is to highly doubt the idea. Marquez is, simply, a better fighter. I like Rocky Juarez, and I hope he just returns to featherweight as he had planned (he was supposed to be facing Guerrero, but took Jorge Barrios' place against Marquez), because I think his power could be a serious difference maker at 126 pounds.

But at 130, he winds up outgunned against the best in the division. He did great in his first fight against Barrera, but let's not forget that he was a late substitute opponent that Barrera had not prepared for. In the rematch, he was dominated by the smarter Barrera. Marquez did much the same, and beat Juarez up, to boot.

Marquez-Pacquiao II looks like it's absolutely going to happen, ignoring the Larry Merchant-planted rumor that Manny Pacquiao may fight Oscar de la Hoya at a catchweight in the mid-140s. The Golden Boy himself said after the fight that Marquez-Pacquiao has to happen -- that Marquez is the last Mexican standing for Pacquiao.

I pray it doesn't happen head-to-head with Vazquez-Marquez III, but that's probably too much to ask of the sport. I did have one idea, and it might be next-to-impossible to get done: Give Showtime a settlement for rights to the Vazquez-Marquez bout. Put both Marquez brothers on the same pay-per-view. Can you imagine Pacquiao-Marquez II and Vazquez-Marquez III on the same bill? Could you open your wallet fast enough for that one?

The story of Saturday, though, was Joe Calzaghe. In one of the biggest fights of this decade, Joe Calzaghe was the shining star. He's made a career of it. And it's time for all of Calzaghe's long-standing doubters to be man enough to simply tip your cap and appreciate that he's in boxing. He deserves that much.

MAIN EVENT
For the RING, WBO, WBC and WBA Super Middleweight Titles
JOE CALZAGHE
(43-0, 32 KO, Newbridge, Wales)
versus
MIKKEL KESSLER
(39-0, 29 KO, Copenhagen, Denmark)

Round-by-round scoring, analysis and coverage starts with the HBO telecast at 9pm eastern -- join us!

I haven't been so jacked up for a fight since Floyd/Oscar. This is a happening. Roughly 60,000 fanatics in Cardiff will watch their hero, Joe Calzaghe, put his RING and WBO super middleweight titles up against Mikkel Kessler's WBC and WBA belts. This is for supremacy at 168 pounds -- these are, unquestionably, the division's two best.

Not only that, but we're talking about two undefeated fighters. Calzaghe has been defending titles for a decade, and seems intent to only fight a few more times. He's one of the UK's best -- ever. Kessler's been a world champion since he blasted past Manny Siaca three years ago. Since then, he's bombed Anthony Mundine, Eric Lucas, Markus Beyer and Librado Andrade.

This is the biggest fight of either man's career. Someday, when both are retired, this may go down as the biggest one either ever had.

Just a roundup of articles and previews and picks that have been made. To me, it's a pick 'em fight.

Dan Rafael of ESPN has repeatedly said he's picking Kessler.

An ic Wales article is another nice look at Welsh hero Calzaghe, and has him name-dropping Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, and Antonio Tarver as future opponents.

Bert Sugar stops by on FOXsports.com to analyze the fight. Notable: "(Kessler is) very predictable using his jab to set up his right hand almost in a Lawrence Welk a-one-and-a-two manner."

Mikkel Kessler thinks his youth and conditioning will give him the edge -- good to see he's alive!

CompuBox Analysis at Boxing Scene

BBC Sport looks at Calzaghe's wins over Mark Delany, Chris Eubank, Omar Sheika, Charles Brewer, Byron Mitchell and Jeff Lacy.

Kessler-centered article at Telegraph

Kessler article at Times Online: "People in America say `why no bad guy?' You don't have to be a bad guy. I respect him, he respects me and we are going to put on this great fight. On November 3, we're going to hate each other."

There will be a Joe Calzaghe chat at ESPN this morning.

We'll have more, including a final big preview either tonight or tomorrow, and then we'll be here live on Saturday night with scoring and analysis of the Calzaghe-Kessler bout as it happens. Be sure to join us and throw your two cents in as one of the biggest fights of the year plays out.

Byron Mitchell was known as "The Slama from 'Bama," a tough, heavy-handed puncher who had twice won the WBA super middleweight belt. In his previous fight, he'd lost his strap to IBF champion Sven Ottke in a controversial split decision, so he took to the ring three and a half months later to face WBO champion Joe Calzaghe in Cardiff.

Mitchell lost three fights in his career, all in Europe. He went 23-0-1 in the States, and 2-3 abroad. The fight with Calzaghe would be his last.

He took the fight to Calzaghe, and tried to rough up the flashy, quick-handed Pride of Wales. Here's what happened.

All fighters start somewhere, whether they were Olympic gold medalists or kids from the barrio gyms in Mexico.

After a successful amateur career, Mikkel Kessler made his professional boxing debut on March 20, 1998, against Kelly Mays, in Aarhus, Denmark. Kessler was 19 years old. Mays was 34, from Louisville, 6-0 as a pro with five knockouts and two no-contests. It was his first, and last, trip overseas.

This was the first of six consecutive losses for Mays, who last fought in 2000. It was the first of Kessler's 39 straight wins, and the first of 29 knockouts.

Here is the young Mikkel Kessler, weighing in at 152 pounds, in his pro debut.

This is a monumental fight, and a landmark, in my view, for European boxing and for the super middleweight division. Joe Calzaghe of Wales and Mikkel Kessler of Denmark unifying the WBA, WBO and WBC 168-pound titles in front of about 60,000 strong in Cardiff. There is not a more important, more necessary fight on the schedule, and I count Cotto-Mosley and Mayweather-Hatton in that statement. This one will prove, definitively, who the best is in this weight class. It's been Calzaghe for a long time. Mikkel Kessler could go one of two ways against Joe: He could be the dragon slayer, or he could just be another Jeff Lacy.

I'm going to post something leading up to this fight every day until fight night on Saturday, when we'll be here for live, round-by-round coverage and scoring of this huge event. So stick around, because I think we all expect this to be a dandy.

Joe Calzaghe's never been a huge trash-talker, really. He's made some cracks here and there, but rarely does he really let loose.

Mikkel Kessler, his opponent on November 3 in Cardiff, has gotten under his skin.

Kessler hasn't said a lot in the lead-up to the fight, but he recently vowed to knock Calzaghe out, and said that he doesn't think Calzaghe will stand toe-to-toe with him.

Calzaghe responded:

Geez, Joe, whaddaya really think?

And, actually, I'm with Calzaghe on this one. I've never noted him as someone prone to shying away from an exchange in the ring. He's tough, and he'll mix it up.

I think sometimes there's a tendency to doubt a fighter's toughness because of how good he often looks against inferior opposition -- and by that I don't mean a selection of purposely inferior opponents, just a guy that more or less manhandles the majority of his opposition. People questioned Jones' chin, and yeah, Tarver knocked him out, but it was a beautiful left hand that Jones never saw coming.

It also reminds me of Lennox Lewis' quote, which was something like, "People always said the Vitali Klitschko fight was my best, and I'd say, 'Why, because I got hit a lot?' And it turns out that that really was the reason."

Calzaghe won't stand still in front of Kessler, but he won't back down from him. Mikkel Kessler is a good fighter, and no one is saying he's not. But this is uncharted water for him. Calzaghe has been here before. Mikkel has not. I have to wonder if Kessler will be able to adapt to Calzaghe's style should it trouble him early on, as I expect it very well may. I also have to wonder if he will have the all-around tools to handle Calzaghe's pressure -- I do not wonder if Calzaghe can handle Kessler's, because I know he can.

I'm getting really excited for this fight, maybe more than I am Cotto-Mosley, and definitely more than I am Mayweather-Hatton. It should be a real treat. My only hope is that it will end in time for me to catch Marquez-Juarez live on Showtime, which I think it should.

In other news pertaining to the Cardiff card, WBO cruiserweight champion Ezra Maccarinelli is now searching for a new opponent on short notice, after the British Boxing Board of Control blocked Ezra Sellers from fighting Macca on the undercard. How very, very odd, really, as the Board cited Sellers' inactivity and "substantial defeats" as a reason for putting a stop to the fight. The WBO apparently agreed, which leaves one to wonder why the hell they sanctioned the fight in the first place.

The BBC article does mention Darnell "Ding-a-Ling Man" Wilson as a possible sub, which would make me very happy outside of the fact that I wouldn't get to see it until after the show. I love Wilson, but I don't get crazy about him -- I figure whenever he DOES get a title shot, he's going to lose rather convincingly. He's a cruiserweight David Tua, all haymakers and guts. But, whatever, that's FUN.

It's a relatively slow weekend, but after that, it all kicks off heavy again: Calzaghe-Kessler, Marquez-Juarez and Guerrero-Honorio on the third, and Cotto-Mosley, Margarito and Casamayor on the 10th.