BOXING Wake-up call: Calzaghe recovers from knockdown to defend title

Byron Mitchell threw a scare into the Welshman.
CARDIFF, Wales (AP) -- Joe Calzaghe successfully defended his WBO super middleweight title for the 13th time Saturday, coming back from his first ever knockdown to stop former two-time WBA champion Byron Mitchell in the second round.
In a short but explosive fight, Mitchell sent the unbeaten Welshman spinning to the floor with a short right hand with 1:35 left in the second round.
Calzaghe (36-0) looked in trouble for the first time in his 35-fight career before a sellout crowd of 5,000 at the Cardiff International Arena. But he responded in the best way possible, dropping the American 20 seconds later with a chopping left to the side of the chin.
Piling on
From that point, the Welshman rained lefts and rights onto the head of the challenger and referee Dave Parris stepped in to stop the contest with 24 seconds left of the round.
It was the first time that Mitchell (25-3-1), who lost his WBA title to Germany's Sven Ottke in a split decision in Berlin in March, had been stopped.
Calzaghe, unbeaten since he was an 18-year-old amateur, took the title from Chris Eubank in October 1997. The 30-year-champion also has beaten three more former world champions, Robin Reid, Richie Woodhall and Charles Brewer.
"I'm shocked. It's the first time in my entire life," he said of his knockdown. "There nearly always comes a time when the champion gets put down. Then you see a champion's heart to see him come back to win by knockout.
"I took him out. Bashed him up first round, got caught with a sucker punch in the second."
Mitchell acknowledged Calzaghe won the fight but thought it was stopped too early.
"I thought it was a little prematurely," he said. "But the best way I can look at it was that the referee was looking after my best interests in that I wouldn't get hurt. So great job done [by Calzaghe] but I still thought it was stopped prematurely.
"I made a mistake of going in for the kill. We didn't want a decision in this fight I was going for the knockout. I got careless and wide and I got caught."