On this day in 2007: Calzaghe beats Kessler to unify titles in Cardiff
Joe Calzaghe threw 1,010 punches and won all three scorecards against Mikkel Kessler in the 21st defence of his WBO title, in front of 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium.
Joe Calzaghe took Mikkel Kessler's WBA and WBC super-middleweight belts by unanimous decision at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, 19 years ago today. The win on 3 November 2007 established the Welshman as the division's leading fighter and extended his unbeaten record.
Calzaghe also retained the WBO and The Ring titles. It was the 21st defence of the WBO belt he had won by beating Chris Eubank in 1997. At that point, only Joe Louis with 25 defences, and Dariusz Michalczewski and Ricardo López with 23 each, had made more in men's boxing.
Calzaghe entered the fight undefeated in 43 contests, while Kessler was also unbeaten as WBA and WBC champion. Kessler had complained that Calzaghe spoke more about facing Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones than his nearest rival in the division. Calzaghe said this was the fight that would mean the most to his career so far, more even than the victories over Eubank and Jeff Lacy.
One judge scored it 117-111 and the other two 116-112, all for Calzaghe. He threw 1,010 punches to Kessler's 585, although Kessler had the edge on accuracy and landed more power punches. Kessler said afterwards that "his punches weren't particularly hard but it was confusing when he hit you 20 times." He also admitted that one body shot had hurt him.
Calzaghe was frequently described as undisputed champion, although others argued this was not strictly accurate because he had relinquished the IBF title. He went on to win the 2007 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, while Kessler regained the vacant WBA title against Dimitri Sartison.
On the undercard, Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight title, stopping Mohamed Azzaoui in the fourth round. Tony Bellew, Jamie Cox, Ricky Burns and Nathan Cleverly also won.
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