Joe Calzaghe's next fight is against the runner-up on a reality show.
Calzaghe, the WBO super middleweight champion, will make his 20th title defence against Peter Manfredo Jr., who lost in the final on the first season of ``The Contender.''
The fight will be held at the Millennium Stadium on March 3 in Cardiff, Wales, where Manfredo will face a different kind of reality before a large and boisterous Welsh contingent.
``He's a tough fighter. I watched him in `The Contender' series,'' Calzaghe said Tuesday at a news conference in Manhattan's meatpacking district. ``At the end of the day, he could put on a good fight. But when he fights me, I'll see the weaknesses pretty quick.''
Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) is boxing's longest-reigning world champion, winning the title in 1997. The left-handed Welshman takes on Manfredo (26-3, 12 KOs) of Providence, R.I., who lost to Sergio Mora in the final of the reality series in October 2005.
``The Contender,'' broadcast in 100 countries, was first shown on NBC and moved to ESPN in its second season. Before the show, Manfredo was a virtual unknown despite being ranked No. 3 by the WBO.
``No one knew who (I) was and no one cared,'' said Manfredo, often shown with his wife and young daughter during the series. ``Being on the show, people began to see me and know me. Even though I lost the fight, people got to see that I'm a good guy.
``They could see that boxers ain't just animals. A lot of people think we go in there and beat the hell out of each other just because we like it or we're crazy. We're real people _ we're the blue collar people just like everybody else.''
Since then, the 26-year-old Manfredo stopped Scott Pemberton in the third round in February and fellow Providence resident Joey Spina in the third round in October.
Manfredo, ranked No. 7 by the WBO, refers to himself as ``underdog,'' but has been training with Freddie Roach and working on defence. Manfredo started boxing at age 7, under the tutelage of his father, a former professional boxer and world kickboxing champion.
``(Roach) has got me more calm, more relaxed,'' Manfredo said. ``Much more of a professional, on the championship level. Sometimes I lose my head and want to brawl and bang.''
On Monday, Calzaghe vacated the IBF version of the title, choosing to fight Manfredo rather than IBF mandatory challenger Robert Stieglitz.
``He's had two good fights,'' Calzaghe said, referring to Manfredo. ``He's a hungry fighter and he's got an opportunity of a lifetime. So if I underestimate him, that would be a bad thing.''
That's unlikely, given the 34-year-old Calzaghe can tie Larry Holmes and Bernard Hopkins with 20 title defences. That ranks fourth all-time, behind 25 by heavyweight champion Joe Lewis.
``Getting to 20 is a magical number,'' Calzaghe said. ``That in itself, no matter who is in the opposite corner, is a massive thing for me. Nobody can take that away. That in itself is going to make me be in tremendous shape.''
Calzaghe outboxed Jeff Lacy for 12 rounds to capture the IBF crown in March but struggled in his last defence of both titles, surviving a cut before a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika on Oct. 14.
``The last time I lost was in 1990,'' Calzaghe said. ``I won my last 50 amateur fights and 42 professional fights. It's a long time _ I don't plan on starting to get beat now, you know?''
Calzaghe fought Kenyan Evans Ashira in September 2005 and won by a unanimous decision despite breaking his left hand in the third round and finishing one-handed.
``It's OK, I rested it and I'm feeling good,'' he said. ``I'm just back in light training.''
Manfredo knows he has to avoid that left hand.
``It's very important that I make him miss, make him pay,'' said Manfredo, who sports an obviously broken nose. ``I'll get hit with a couple of shots, but I've got a chin of steel.''
Former champion Sugar Ray Leonard and ``The Contender'' producer Mark Burnett also attended the news conference. Leonard likes Manfredo's intangibles.
``It's his heart, his soul, his fighting spirit,'' Leonard said. ``He became a favourite because most people could identify with him because of his sincerity. And his epic face _ that nose, you can't forget his nose.''
The bout will be televised live on HBO.
