They don't pick on Joe Calzaghe anymore.

But it wasn't always that way for the WBO super middleweight champion, who makes the 13th defense of his title Saturday against two-time former champion Byron Mitchell.

As a teenager in Wales, Calzaghe suffered the same horrible torment experienced by children around the globe, as schoolmates bullied and harassed him, despite his status as an amateur boxing champion.

"It wasn't physical for me, it was mental and verbal," remembers Calzaghe. "When you're a child you're obviously very sensitive to things. You look back now and it doesn't seem like anything, but in school it did affect me for a while."

Calzaghe escaped those years unscathed, but some children aren't as lucky. It was for them that the he went public with his story in Britain, and it's a cause the 30-year-old feels is worth fighting for.

"I think a lot of children have tough times," says Calzaghe. "I just basically made mine known because it's a big problem in Britain in schools where kids have even committed suicide and sunk into depression because they didn't know how to deal with that. I want people to know that I can relate to the bullying aspect. It's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. You should speak openly about it. When you're a child you get embarrassed and you don't say anything about it and you keep it bottled up. That's when it really gets to you and it starts affecting you. It can really hurt you."

Now it's Calzaghe doing the hurting ­ in a sporting sense. Unbeaten in 35 fights (with 28 knockouts), the Welshman has conquered Britain, but hasn't broken through to the casual fan in the States yet. And to be honest, he doesn't even have to, as he attracts thousands to each of his title defenses and has gained the respect of the boxing community across the pond. But to be ranked among the best in the world, Calzaghe knows he has to eventually travel abroad.

"I consider myself a top ten pound for pound fighter," says Calzaghe. "A lot of people over here do. I don't think in America they see me as that. I'm not sure why. I've beaten some good fighters, beaten some top American fighters. Omar Sheika was a good win (at that stage of his career he was quite dangerous), (Charles) Brewer, and now when I beat Mitchell in style, hopefully my profile will raise more in America. I hope to go over there and fight one of top fighters. That's why I want to fight Bernard Hopkins. He's so well recognized and highly rated in America. And I honestly believe I would beat him. I think my style would give him a nightmare."

He's right, and with Hopkins' advancing age, inactivity against top-flight opposition, and refusal to budge on terms for a superfight with James Toney, Calzaghe may be the only big fight left for Hopkins, and a winnable one at that for the Welshman, whose iron chin, speed, and accurate punching make him a veritable clone of ŒThe Executioner'.

Then again, Calzaghe is not getting any younger either. But at 30, he may be in his prime now, a small window where he needs to get in there with the big names before it's too late.

"Basically I just keep hoping that a big fight will come," said Calzaghe. "If you look at Marvin Hagler, he never had his big break until later in his career. Then he made all his money. Look at Bernard Hopkins. He was 35 when he boxed Trinidad. He was middleweight champion before but he went to the next level by beating Trinidad. Unfortunately for himself, he's waited around too long - and hasn't capitalized on it - by not wanting to fight anybody."

If anything, Calzaghe and promoter Frank Warren have wanted the big fights, calling out Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. at various times throughout the last couple of years. The latest target of the two has been IBF/WBA champion Sven Ottke, the unbeaten German who is Calzaghe's greatest threat to supremacy at 168.

"I've called him out since he won the title," said Calzaghe of Ottke. "I said I would go to Germany, even knowing the risks you take by going there, knowing that I would have to knock him out to win. But I'm so confident in my ability to knock him out that I wouldn't have a problem going there. I know that Frank has tried to make the fight. I'm not sure what Ottke's team is on about, saying that they tried to make the fight. We've tried to make the fight, but they've come up with some reason for the fight not to be made, financially. Let's hope that it could be made, because we're both out of opponents. Ottke's run out of genuine world-class opponents and so have I. So it makes sense for us both to get together. The big stumbling block, I would think, is venue. I said I would be willing to go to Germany, so let's make it happen."

Calzaghe-Ottke would be not only be a Euro Superfight, but a purist's dream ­ the two best fighters in the division putting it all on the line. Calzaghe, never one to mince words, is certain that Ottke is simply not in his league.

"I'm confident I would knock him out," says Calzaghe. "I've seen him fight and I watched him box David Starie, a guy I beat years ago. Starie only had three weeks notice and he could have won that fight. Ottke is 37 and he's looking worse and worse every time I watch him fight. Never saying he ever looked great, but he's starting to look tired and a bit jaded. He's small for the weight, he just runs, and I don't think he can take a great shot either. I honestly can't see him going 12 rounds with me, even with the referee and judges on his side. I can't see it happening."

But Calzaghe tempers his enthusiasm a bit, knowing that he has been down this road before of talking up a fight, only to see it crumble at the negotiating table. It's a source of frustration that he truly has no explanation for.

"It's very frustrating, but this is the boxing business and things like that are out of your hands," he says. "I wish I could control those things and put all the champions together and see who's best. But unfortunately, it doesn't work out like that. I've been five and a half years with my belt and I still haven't been able to lure one of the other champions into a unification fight. It's very frustrating but something I've had to deal with over the years and accept."

Calzaghe has also had to accept numerous delays in his bout with Alabama's hard punching Mitchell. So it was a welcome surprise when Calzaghe received a letter informing him that he had been awarded the prestigious MBE (Member of the British Empire) from the Queen.

"It's honor to be recognized for my achievements and what I've given to boxing, so for years and years of hard work it's nice to receive something like this," says Calzaghe of the MBE. "It's a boost for me going into this fight because I've been messed about regarding this fight. It was originally scheduled for May 5. You're talking about nearly two months delay and I've been in the gym for months and months. It's been very straining on my body and my mind. So now I'm nearly here, and to get this award has given me a bit of a boost."

Speaking of boosts, Calzaghe's inability to unify the title at 168 has led to speculation that the Welshman will put on seven pounds to compete at light heavyweight. He confirms that this is a possibility in the coming year.

"I've been seriously contemplating moving up to light heavyweight in the next 12 months because if I don't get a unification fight, I may have to move up and maybe fight (Antonio) Tarver or one of the top light heavies in America," says Calzaghe. "It's always been my ambition to be a two-weight world champion and it would be a natural progression for me to move up to light heavyweight. I've been fighting for ten years and recently it's been a big strain on me to make 168 pounds. I think I'll be a better and a stronger fighter at 175."

But first, he's got Mitchell, who ironically is coming off the loss of his title to Ottke in March (go figure, Calzaghe finally gets a fight against one of the champions after he loses the belt). The matchup of styles between the two makes it evident that this one has the potential to be a war, and with a US audience watching on Showtime, Calzaghe may be the second European fighter in the last week to make a home for himself in the hearts of stateside viewers (Vitali Klitschko being the first).

And that just might be the master plan.

"I'm not getting any unification fights for one reason or another, so I guess the best thing to do to get a unification fight is to fight fights that are recognized," says Calzaghe. "Mitchell is a top American fighter, and a two-time world champion. So I'm looking forward to putting on a good show and showing how good I am."