By Don Caputo

Britain’s longest reigning world champion, Joe Calzaghe, made yet another successful defense of his prized WBO super-middleweight title this past Saturday. It was a dreary points win over  Denmark-based Kenyan Evans Ashira in front of an adoring home crowd at the Cardiff International Arena in Wales. With the victory, the undefeated Welshman claimed win number forty in a career that has spanned twelve turns of the globe and seen him string together an ostensibly wondrous 17 consecutive defenses of his crown.

And nobody cares, outside of his most devoted supporters that is.

Digging deeply into the monolithic well of adages and platitudes, I happened to stumble across a relatively new saying that I believe should be uttered to Joe Calzaghe without delay before the single shred of credibility he still has left as a legitimate champion of his weight class becomes irrevocably tarnished.

‘Joe,’ someone should say, ‘the champion makes the belt, not the other way around.’ Those familiar with the talented southpaw's story will know all too well what I am talking about, and surely recognize how strikingly pertinent those words are to the gloomy situation he presently finds himself in.

As I mentioned, since surmounting the super-middleweight division eight years ago by out punching a slightly faded Chris Eubank, Calzaghe has turned back the challenges of 17 ‘top ranked’ contenders – stopping ten inside the scheduled distance and often in spectacular fashion. He’s handsome, articulate and at his pugnacious, high-octane best, incredibly exciting to watch. That’s all the fundamental boxes ticked. So why, as opposed to being a source of national pride, is he, along with his promoter Frank Warren, being labelled as responsible for giving British boxing a bad name?

Well, let me answer that by running a few names by you – Branko Sobot, Will McIntyre, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Tocker Pudwill, and oh, I almost forgot, the formidable Kabary Salem. Just some of the obscure, hand picked, unworthy pugs who have inexplicably been placed atop of the erroneous WBO rankings during Calzaghe’s tenure as champion and then been trumpeted as legitimate threats to his reign.

The fans – either naive, gullible or stupid – seem only too happy to pay top dollar for the privilege of watching one embarrassing mismatch after another. Even more worrying though is that Calzaghe doesn’t seem too bothered either. After all, he’s only fulfilling his mandatory obligations like any good champion would, right? Anyway, they are just warm ups for the big fight that always seems to be just around the corner. He has faced and beaten some fairly solid opposition, don’t get me wrong, but to find more than a couple of truly top quality names on his aesthetically impressive record would require a fine toothed comb and exceptionally good eyesight.

In fact, I’d argue that Chris Eubank is the only A-level fighter he has beaten – and that was almost a decade ago! His propagators like to point out that he also holds wins over Robin Reid, Omar Shieka, Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell. But honestly, who are they kidding? I’ll concede that each was a good, respectable win, but as a greatest hits list it pales miserably in comparison to those of his more ambitious contemporaries.

Since 97’ Bernard Hopkins, for example, fought every top name in the Middleweight division and destroyed two living legends in Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. Floyd Mayweather Jr, who won his first world title a full year after Calzaghe claimed his, knocked out Diego Corrales and owns a pair of victories over Jose Luis Castillo. I could go on. And on, and on. The point I’m trying to make is, although talented enough to be mentioned in the same breath as any fighter in the world, Calzaghe does not deserve a place on pound for pound lists because he does not compete at the highest level.

A unification showdown with IBF title-holder Jeff ‘Left Hook’ Lacy in November would have been the perfect opportunity for him to finally silence critics on both sides of the pond, but alas a hand injury suffered in last weekend’s nonsensical defense means that the fight will no longer take place.

Will it be rescheduled? So we’re told, but I strongly advise against raising your hopes. Joe Calzaghe and Frank Warren make a lot of promises, but when all is said and done they usually ring hollow. I’m just thinking out loud here, but does anyone else think it a tad bit odd that his injury jinx only seems to rear its ugly head whenever a marquee fight is about to materialize? Just unfortunate I guess.

To be the best, you need to fight the best. Calzaghe is doing his fans, himself and his talent a great disservice by not doing that. Deep down, I think he knows it too.