Newbridge boxing club
Encyclopedia
The Newbridge Boxing Club is a boxing gym operated by Enzo Calzaghe
and based in Newbridge, South Wales
. The club has been one of the most successful of recent years, at one point in 2007 boasting three genuine world champions in Joe Calzaghe
(WBO super-middleweight), Enzo Maccarinelli
(WBO cruiserweight) and Gavin Rees
(WBA light welterweight) . Other fighters of note who have won belts at the club include former Commonwealth light middleweight champion Bradley Pryce
and former WBU
champion and world title challenger Gary Lockett
who retired in Sept 2008.
and set about transforming an old rugby club into a boxing gym..
The club is situated near an industrial park next to a rugby pitch and reached by a set of wooden steps on which the boxers use to train. The sign greeting people is hand painted and trash dots the weedy yard. This impression of the club does not meet expectations when people think about it being the training HQ for a World champion. According to a reporter from the LA Times who visited the clubhouse prior to Joe's clash with Bernard Hopkins
, "in places, it’s just a few notches north of squalid". One reporter during the same press trip is alleged to have spotted a dead mouse floating in a sink.
Despite appearances Joe Calzaghe
has described the place as feeling "like a palace" compared with the previous gym which had a ring made out of carpet and held up by broom handles. Prior to the move to the new clubhouse boxers had trained for years in what Joe describes as "the mangiest little building you could possibly imagine" with no heating, no showers, bad toilets and buckets to trap the rain.
whose victories over Jeff Lacy
, Mikkel Kessler
, Bernard Hopkins
and Roy Jones, Jr were all achieved by training in Newbridge. Joe's friend Enzo Maccarinelli
won his WBO cruiserweight title whilst training there, and defended against challenger Wayne Braithwaite
before being stopped by David Haye
. Light-welterweight Gavin Rees
shocked the world when he beat Frenchman Souleymane M'baye
to win the WBA title before losing it to Andreas Kotelnik. Middleweight Gary Lockett
held the lightly regarded WBU belt but achieved fame when he unsuccessfully challenged world number one Kelly Pavlik
in Atlantic City for the undisputed middleweight crown. The Newbridge Boxing Club, considering its location in such a small town, has had a disproportionate influence on the global boxing scene.
Enzo Calzaghe
Enzo Calzaghe MBE is an Anglo-Italian boxing trainer. He is the father of Joe Calzaghe and the head trainer for Team Calzaghe at the Newbridge boxing club...
and based in Newbridge, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The club has been one of the most successful of recent years, at one point in 2007 boasting three genuine world champions in Joe Calzaghe
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
(WBO super-middleweight), Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli is a Welsh professional boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is a former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit...
(WBO cruiserweight) and Gavin Rees
Gavin Rees
Gavin Rees is a Welsh professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Rock", Rees is the current EBU Lightweight Champion, and former WBA super-lightweight World Champion...
(WBA light welterweight) . Other fighters of note who have won belts at the club include former Commonwealth light middleweight champion Bradley Pryce
Bradley Pryce
Bradley Pryce is a Welsh professional boxer. He usually fights at light middleweight or the divisions either side, is a two time challenger for the British title and is a former Commonwealth champion....
and former WBU
World Boxing Union
The World Boxing Union is a boxing sanctioning body.Until recently it was fully recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control as a legitimate sanctioning body.WBU titles were particularly well recognised in Europe and Africa....
champion and world title challenger Gary Lockett
Gary Lockett
Gary Lockett is a retired professional boxer from Cwmbran, Wales, who fought in the middleweight division.-Professional career:...
who retired in Sept 2008.
The clubhouse
The club itself is in its second generation, as the original clubhouse, deemed unsafe by the local council, was demolished in 2002. Following the demolition, Joe and his father Enzo bought another clubhouse just a mile away in CwmcarnCwmcarn
Cwmcarn is a village situated in the Ebbw valley in south Wales, in the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It grew with 19th-century coal mining, but is now known for its extensive mature forestry and greenery, that attract thousands of visitors and mountain biking enthusiasts each year.-...
and set about transforming an old rugby club into a boxing gym..
The club is situated near an industrial park next to a rugby pitch and reached by a set of wooden steps on which the boxers use to train. The sign greeting people is hand painted and trash dots the weedy yard. This impression of the club does not meet expectations when people think about it being the training HQ for a World champion. According to a reporter from the LA Times who visited the clubhouse prior to Joe's clash with Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
, "in places, it’s just a few notches north of squalid". One reporter during the same press trip is alleged to have spotted a dead mouse floating in a sink.
Despite appearances Joe Calzaghe
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
has described the place as feeling "like a palace" compared with the previous gym which had a ring made out of carpet and held up by broom handles. Prior to the move to the new clubhouse boxers had trained for years in what Joe describes as "the mangiest little building you could possibly imagine" with no heating, no showers, bad toilets and buckets to trap the rain.
World champions
Notwithstanding its seemingly unglamorous reputation, the Newbridge Boxing Club has produced some of Britain's best boxers, most notably the former WBO super middleweight champion Joe CalzagheJoe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
whose victories over Jeff Lacy
Jeff Lacy
Jeffrey Scott Lacy is an American boxer. He is a former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.-Amateur career:...
, Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler is a Danish professional boxer and former two time WBA & WBC Super Middleweight champion. In his professional career he has a record of 44–2 with 33 knockouts...
, Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
and Roy Jones, Jr were all achieved by training in Newbridge. Joe's friend Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli is a Welsh professional boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is a former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit...
won his WBO cruiserweight title whilst training there, and defended against challenger Wayne Braithwaite
Wayne Braithwaite
Wayne Braithwaite is a professional boxer. Nicknamed "Big Truck", Braithwaite looked like an invincible force that would rebuild credibility in the cruiserweight ranks, but the invincibility was short lived....
before being stopped by David Haye
David Haye
David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
. Light-welterweight Gavin Rees
Gavin Rees
Gavin Rees is a Welsh professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Rock", Rees is the current EBU Lightweight Champion, and former WBA super-lightweight World Champion...
shocked the world when he beat Frenchman Souleymane M'baye
Souleymane M'baye
Souleymane M'baye is a professional boxer and is the former WBA super-lightweight champion. He won the vacated title by a fourth technical knockout on September 2, 2006 against Raul Horacio Balbi. His current record is 37 wins, three losses and a draw, with 21 wins coming by way of knockout...
to win the WBA title before losing it to Andreas Kotelnik. Middleweight Gary Lockett
Gary Lockett
Gary Lockett is a retired professional boxer from Cwmbran, Wales, who fought in the middleweight division.-Professional career:...
held the lightly regarded WBU belt but achieved fame when he unsuccessfully challenged world number one Kelly Pavlik
Kelly Pavlik
Kelly Pavlik is an American professional boxer. He was The Ring, WBC, & WBO middleweight champion from when he beat Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010....
in Atlantic City for the undisputed middleweight crown. The Newbridge Boxing Club, considering its location in such a small town, has had a disproportionate influence on the global boxing scene.