:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/188557/calzaghe-wife_20copy.jpg)
I don't know how many people really pay attention to the BWAA awards, but they're a big deal within boxing, obviously. I don't pay much attention because some of the awards tend to strike me as strange picks, but I don't think any award has ever struck me quite as oddly as the one Joe Calzaghe received recently.
Manager of the Year, for his fight with Roy Jones Jr.
...What?
That fight was a massive commercial flop, was dumped on before and after the fact, and the only memories it leaves are bad ones. Calzaghe and Jones teamed with HBO to promote the fight, and they all failed miserably. The PPV buyrates were horrendous (less than half of their pipe dream 500K expectancy) and Madison Square Garden struggled to fill the seats.
Who gives these awards out? This might be even worse than the time Rafael Palmeiro won a Gold Glove for playing first base all of 28 times in 1999.
Anyway, if your brain hasn't exploded, Calzaghe says he's got "the boxing buzz" back, which is actually a nice little article. He's not interested in returning to the ring (yet), but he recounts the good time he had at the awards, including meeting Manny Pacquiao for the first time. Pacquiao beat Calzaghe for the 2008 Fighter of the Year award, which is easily the right call, but Calzaghe being Fighter of the Year is closer to reality than Manager of the Year. Mostly Joe just talks about really getting Calzaghe Promotions off the ground.