Product Description

It was past three o'clock in the morning when Joe Calzaghe experienced the sweetest validation of his professional life. Victory over Jeff Lacy, a 28-year-old American compared to a young Mike Tyson because of his power and "take-no-prisoners attitude", left no one in doubt about the world super middleweight champion's talent. Hugh McIlvanney, the doyen of British sportswriters and a veteran chronicler of fights, described what he had witnessed as "one of the greatest displays of superb technique, confidence and fighting intelligence a British boxer has delivered in a major contest." For years, Calzaghe's virtuosity remained a legend of the Welsh valleys. His defeat in 1997 of Chris Eubank brought him to prominence, winning for him the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) super middleweight title. But despite a record number of defences of the belt, his career lacked a defining contest. A long line of challengers and ex-titleholders were disposed of but the biggest names in American boxing avoided the ultimate showdown he craved. Hand injuries further obscured the true level of his aptitude for an art he began to learn from his father, Enzo, at the age of eight when - inspired by Sugar Ray Leonard - a rolled-up carpet in the family home in Newbridge became a makeshift heavy bag. This is the story of Calzaghe's extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings in his hometown of Newbridge, to his ascent to personal greatness, becoming the first super middleweight boxer to win the prized belt awarded by The Ring, the bible of boxing, in the division's near 20-year history. As reticent outside the ring as he is remarkable once he steps inside, for the first time Calzaghe reveals his fears and motivations and the real extent of the hand injuries that have dogged his career. One of Britain's foremost sporting champions, a warrior and working-class hero, this is the story of the triumphs and trials that made Calzaghe a legend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76564 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From the Publisher
The autobiography of the greatest British boxer of all time

From the Inside Flap
IT WAS past three o’clock in the morning when Joe Calzaghe experienced the sweetest validation of his professional life. Victory over Jeff Lacy, a 28-year-old American compared to a young Mike Tyson because of his power and "take-no-prisoners attitude", left no one in doubt about the world super middleweight champion’s talent. Hugh McIlvanney, the doyen of British sportswriters and a veteran chronicler of fights, described what he had witnessed as "one of the greatest displays of superb technique, confidence and fighting intelligence a British boxer has delivered in a major contest."

For years, Calzaghe’s virtuosity remained a legend of the Welsh valleys. His defeat in 1997 of Chris Eubank brought him to prominence, winning for him the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) super middleweight title. But despite a record number of defences of the belt, his career lacked a defining contest. A long line of challengers and ex-titleholders were disposed of but the biggest names in American boxing avoided the ultimate showdown he craved. Hand injuries further obscured the true level of his aptitude for an art he began to learn from his father, Enzo, at the age of eight when – inspired by Sugar Ray Leonard - a rolled-up carpet in the family home in Newbridge became a makeshift heavy bag.

No Ordinary Joe is the story of Calzaghe’s extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings in a ramshackle old gym in his hometown of Newbridge, to his ascent to personal greatness, becoming the first super middleweight boxer to win the prized belt awarded by The Ring, the bible of boxing, in the division’s near 20-year history. As reticent outside the ring as he is remarkable once he steps inside, for the first time Calzaghe reveals his fears and motivations and the real extent of the hand injuries that have dogged his career.

One of Britain’s foremost sporting champions, a warrior and working-class hero, this is the story of the triumphs and trials that made Calzaghe a legend.

About the Author
JOE CALZAGHE, winner of three consecutive ABA titles as an amateur (a post-war record) and the dominant super middleweight in the world for the past decade, was born in 1972 in Hammersmith, London, growing up from the age of two in Newbridge, Wales. After 22 fights unbeaten he successfully challenged Chris Eubank for the WBO title, before defending successfully against a host of other ex title holders before beating Jeff Lacy to cement his pre-eminent status. He has two sons, Joe and Connor, and lives in Blackwood. BRIAN DOOGAN writes about boxing and football for the Sunday Times and is the long-time British and European correspondent for The Ring. For his coverage of boxing, he was named Specialist Correspondent of the Year in the 2004 British Sports Journalism Awards. A native of Lisnaskea in Northern Ireland, he resides in Luton.

Customer Reviews

A highly readable book from a great champion
No Ordinary Joe is the autobiography of Joe Calzaghe and takes his story up to April 2007 when he beat Peter Manfredo Jnr at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. At the time the book was written, Joe had been the WBO super-middleweight champion for 10 years making 20 successful defences, as well as gaining the IBF super-middleweight title in 2006 in a fight against Jeff Lacy described by the respected commentator Hugh Mcllvanney as "one of the greatest displays of superb technique, confidence and fighting intelligence a British boxer has delivered in a major contest." Despite his record, recognition had been slow coming to Joe before the Lacy fight. This is surprising, as he has a broad appeal capable of crossing over to a female fan base with the looks that led to the offer of an M & S modelling contract (which he declined) as well as being a devoted father and family man. The book is remarkably objective for an autobiography and Joe is able to come up with a number of reasons for his comparatively low profile: He came after the barnstorming Benn-Eubank-Collins years and boxing's move away from terrestrial television to Sky; he has been dogged by hand injuries; the fact that his talent scared off the biggest names; possibly it's the British inability to fully embrace winners but perhaps most of all in a celebrity driven age, Joe has never been interested in the fame game. You get a clear idea from the book as to how Joe has developed as an athlete. He very courageously discusses how he was very badly bullied at school despite being a schoolboy boxing champion. This ended a reasonably promising academic performance and it could be that this intelligence was diverted away from academia to the ring. He acknowledges tensions in the relationship with his father and trainer, Enzo who clearly recognised his son's prodigious talent at an early age. There could have been more analysis of Enzo as his story is, in many ways, just as remarkable as he had no previous experience of boxing training. Although Enzo could see the talent, Joe's career was set back by a number of people who did not know how to handle it. So astonishingly the Wales ABA did not put him forward for the Barcelona Olympics qualifiers and whilst managed by Mickey Duff he was not being brought on sufficiently quickly. There are also some great anecdotes such as Joe's mounting discomfiture when Enzo decides verbally to have a go at Tyson. The forward by Sugar Ray Leonard is a little odd as it seems far more about Sugar Ray Leonard than about Joe but that's a minor quibble. Overall it's a highly readable book from a great and modest champion.

A true Champ
Great book, well written giving valuable insight and taking you on the journey through Calzaghe's career. Any boxing fan should make this a must read. To overcome the problems with his hands and apparent bad management decisions at the start of his career yet end up as an undefeated champion (and the first super middleweight boxer to win the prized belt awarded by The Ring in the division's near 20-year history) tells you something about the man.

No Ordinary Sports autobiography
This is without doubt one of the most entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable sports bio's i have read. Numerous stories during the book make you laugh, in particular the various spats between Joe and Enzo. Most notably when his dad parked 2 miles away from the weigh-in to avoid paying to park!!! Also, this book gives a great insight into Joe himself and honestly appraises his career and feelings prior to the big fights.
My favourite sports book of all time is Donald McCreas Dark Trade and i found 'No Ordinary Joe' is not far behind. Very well written and easy to read, so much so that i finished it in 2 days on holiday earlier this year.