During the eight months or so from March to November 2008, the country, and Calzaghe gym in particular, saw its three world champions’ reigns come to an end.
As the dust settled on Joe Calzaghe’s retirement - his last fight against Roy Jones followed title defeats for Enzo Maccarinelli and Gavin Rees – there were fears boxing in Wales would never reach the same heights again.
In truth, for a country the size of Wales to have as many fighters at the top of their respective weights at the same time was a once-in-a-generation occurrence.
The success of Messrs Calzaghe, Maccarinelli and Rees had spoilt Welsh boxing fans for so long that when the time came for them to be knocked off their perch or call it a day it was inevitable a void would be left.
It was more than two years between Calzaghe bowing out with a unanimous verdict over Jones and Wales crowning a new world number one.
And, while at one point Nathan Cleverly looked like he would be the country’s sole flag bearer on the international stage, it now seems the next generation of fighters from the principality are ready to stand up and be counted.
As 2012 shapes up to be a year to remember for Cleverly and co, don’t forget Wales’s top two amateurs – Fred Evans and Andrew Selby – are also bidding for glory on home soil at the Olympics.
So, what are the prospects for the nation’s prize fighters this year?
NATHAN CLEVERLY - current WBO light-heavyweight world champion, former European, British and Commonwealth champion, won all 23 of his fights
Cleverly is one of only two reigning British world champions after claiming his title last May when Jurgen Braehmer was stripped of the belt. The 25-year-old has made two successful defences since then, the second against bitter rival Tony Bellew in October providing him with his toughest test to date.
He makes his third defence in Cardiff on February 25, a long-awaited homecoming following more than four years fighting outside Wales. His opponent, Tommy Karpency, will be a big outsider against the man who has expressed his desire to take on the best from America.
Could that happen before the year is out? Possibly, though it wouldn’t be sensible to take a fight with one of the big guns – Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson or Jean Pascal – on US soil and maybe a unification duel with Kazakhstan’s Beibut Shumenov is more likely to happen.
However the year pans out, Cleverly has to be patient. He is still young and although the temptation to fight Hopkins et al is foremost in his mind, 2012 could be a building year for the Welshman with a few mandatory defences developing his experience as champion a la Calzaghe.
GAVIN REES - current European lightweight champion, former WBA light-welterweight world champion, Prizefighter winner, lost one of 37 fights
Rees recently turned down a shot at Ricky Burns’ world crown to defend his European strap in Paris in March, a decision trainer Gary Lockett attributed to the bigger payday on offer against Frenchman Anthony Mazaache.
Only time will tell if that was the right thing to do. It could be a gamble on Rees’s part because, at 31, if he loses, he may regret not taking the Burns fight.
He shouldn’t lose to Mazaache though and with Lockett in his corner it would be a brave person to bet against Rees going on to become a two-weight world champion later this year.
LEE SELBY – reigning British and Commonwealth featherweight champion, one defeat in 13 outings, former Welsh champion
One of the breakthrough boxers of last year, Selby won all three of his title fights in 2011, a run which started with him beating James Ancliff to claim the vacant Celtic crown.
An impressive eighth-round TKO of Stephen Smith saw Selby take the Liverpudlian’s British and Commonwealth titles in his own back yard before the boy from Barry held on to them with victory over John Simpson in December.
Selby is currently ranked as the top featherweight in Europe by boxing website Boxrec and he will no doubt be eyeing EBU king Alexander Miskirtchian’s crown in 2012.
GARY BUCKLAND – current British super-featherweight champion and former Prizefighter winner
With Selby, Buckland move up a level in 2011, and proved he was no one-hit wonder by beating Gary Sykes, the man he knocked out on the way to winning Prizefighter, to lift the British strap.
He is scheduled to meet Paul Truscott in March in a scrap between puncher and fighter.
Win and the natural step will be to European level where, like Selby, he is rated as the best by Boxrec.
THE ‘VETERANS’ – Enzo Maccarinelli, Jamie Arthur, Bradley Pryce
Back at light-heavyweight, Enzo Mac has insisted the fires are still burning inside him to taste world glory again.
His defeat to David Haye in 2008 seemed to be the beginning of the end for Swansea’s finest and although he bounced back to become European champion, that was brutally taken away from him in 2010 by Alexander Frenkel.
He’s talked of a showdown with former sparring partner Cleverly but for now the younger man has bigger fish to fry.
One thing boxing fans have learnt about Jamie Arthur since he turned pro is when the 32-year-old says he is retiring you should never fully expect him to go through with it.
On February 4 he gets his third shot at a Lonsdale Belt against Scott Quigg in Bolton, the fight that tempted him out of retirement this time.
You’d think a defeat would force him to call time on his career for good, allowing him to focus on bringing through talent at his gym in Pontypridd.
Meanwhile, Pryce, another of Lockett’s charges, is in action on February 10 against Steve O’Meara, looking to build on a solid display in beating Danny Butler last October.
You feel Pryce is in the last-chance saloon and can’t afford any more setbacks.
THE PROSPECTS – Craig Evans, Lewis Rees, Luke Robinson, Liam Williams
If you’re wondering who to look out for when it comes to the next generation of Welsh boxers, look no further than the four men above.
Evans is unbeaten in all five pro contests so far and, if he can become more active in 2012, the rewards are there for him.
Robinson, son of Welsh great Steve, seems to have all the basic boxing skills and more. Three victories from three to date may have come against journeymen but the Cardiff fighter has dealt with the lot comfortably.
Rees enjoyed a successful start to his pro career last year and, in time, could develop into one to watch, as might Williams, a product of the Cleverly gym in Bargoed who makes his debut next month.
Upcoming confirmed fights involving Welsh boxers;
February 4 – Scott Quigg v JAMIE ARTHUR for the British super-bantamweight title, Reebok Stadium, Bolton
February 25 – NATHAN CLEVERLY v Tommy Karpency for the WBO world light-heavyweight title, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
March 2 – GARY COOPER v KERRY HOPE for the Welsh middleweight title, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
March 2 – ROBERT TURLEY v Gavin Reid for the vacant Celtic super-bantamweight title, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
March 24 – GARY BUCKLAND v Paul Truscott for the British super-featherweight title, Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield
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