Occasionally, we’ll offer content from some of the well informed readers that interact with TSS. Here’s a short piece from Mike Richards, a regular TSS reader who gives us an insight into how the British public view Joe Calzaghe.

The British public’s reaction to Joe Calzaghe’s victory over Peter Manfredo Jr was one of indifference. Outside of Wales, of course…

Joe had been riding a wave of respect among the public and boxing insiders after his demolition of Jeff Lacy last March; however his match with unknown Sakio Bika and then Peter Manfredo Jr had removed any respect Joe had gained. A large number of tv viewers were familiar with Peter Manfredo Jr from the Contender series and while his story tugged at viewers hearts, his inability to box left no doubt that he wasn’t a true contender.

I was often asked how could a guy that lost in the 1st round and the final of the show expect to beat Joe Calzaghe? What is Frank Warren thinking? They had been promised Hopkins, Wright, Kessler and Roy Jones Jr and now we get Peter Manfredo Jr.

To make matters worse the ending of the fight hardly earned Calzaghe any fan support. He was expected to crush Manfredo Jr but the referee did that. Frank Warren attempted to give his usual spin that Manfredo Jr was a name. Yes, he was but to British fans he was and is a reality tv fighter, one that couldn’t win a reality tv tournament, yet he was allowed to fight for a world title.

On numerous occasions since the Lacy fight Joe had been vocal in the media questioning why he had not won BBC sports personality of the year. The answer was simple enough– he hadn’t faced challenges that the public deemed insurmountable. Joe is treading a thin line with the British public (outside wales)… continue to fight nobodies and we will abandon you once again. As one of my mates said after the Calzaghe v Manfredo fight it was “PATHETIC CAR CRASH TV”.

I want to add to that Sugar Ray Leonard’s constant rant that Manfredo Jr would beat Joe seemed to puzzle British fight fans. Especially when Barry Mcguigan said on English network tv during the build up that he had a side bet with Sugar Ray that Manfredo Jr would not beat Calzaghe. Sugar Ray lost a lot of credibility with his steadfast declaration of a Manfredo Jr victory. If there is one thing we now truly know it’s this don’t bet on a Sugar Ray produced fighter. He may have been a great fighter but he has been founding wanting in terms of talent spotting. —Mike Richards