Ordinary Joe the perfect champion

It is a strange paradox that some sporting champions act like champions while others are the champions they are because they act just like anybody else.

The likes of Muhammed Ali, Maradona and George Best had an amazing charisma off the field that fuelled their sense of greatness and they carried it with them onto the pitch.

Now and again you get a sporting hero who is so amazingly unassuming and normal that you cannot believe they are champions of their field.

Then when you see them in action you realise this ‘man of the people’ approach is central to their whole outlook as they fight every battle as if they are doing it for all the ordinary people out there.

Recently retired Joe Calzaghe will go down in British boxing history as one of the very greatest this nation has ever produced, if not these best.

But you could not get a more contrasting figure to the showmanship of Ali – universally accepted as ‘the greatest’ of all time in global terms.

‘Ordinary Joe’ always comes across as such a laid back, considered human being that you almost felt he didn’t belong in the world of boxing.

But as soon as the bell went Calzaghe came into his own, the Welshman was a fierce competitor with a huge amount of talent but almost as crucial was his grounded nature that kept him rooted in the heat of battle.

He hardly ever seemed to lose his cool and many of his fights were victories of mind and technique as much as strength.

You don’t need to watch Rocky to know boxers often have a hard time giving up the sport and many greats before Calzaghe have been tempted to return to the ring.

I hope Calzaghe rejects the financial temptation and competitive urges to fight again because, with 46 fights and 46 wins, ‘Ordinary Joe’ has something that elevates him out of normality and into the realm of the greats, the best record of all – perfection.