05.02.09 – by James Slater – Unbeaten Welshman Joe Calzaghe promised his fans he would make up his mind over the Christmas period and let them know whether or not he would fight again. The decision has taken a while longer than “The Pride of Wales” may have originally thought, but the 36-year-old has finally made an official announcement; the long reigning super-middleweight and light-heavyweight ruler will fight no more. At 46-0, and after over 15 years as a pro, the undeniably great career of Calzaghe has come to an end.
Joe made the announcement earlier today, in an exclusive with BBC Sport.
Calzaghe spoke to the BBC’s Mihir Bose, and he began by admitting his final decision was in no way an easy one to reach.
“It was a difficult decision but I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve in boxing,” Joe said. “I’ve been world champion for 11 years. I’ve got no other goals to go for. That’s why I’m calling it a day..”
Calzaghe, who finishes with a flawless 46-0(32) record, was WBO 168-pound champion from October of 1997 until well into 2008, and he also briefly held the IBF, WBA and WBC super-middleweight titles. Calzaghe was also Ring magazine 175-pound king from April of 2008 until today. The all-action fighter who was always in superb physical condition bows out after a points win over modern day legend Roy Jones Junior (albeit a faded version of R.J).
Joe told BBC that he sees his decision as final, although he did add that “You can never say never” in boxing.
“My decision is to retire,” Calzaghe confirmed. “I’ve been boxing for 25-years and, like I said, I’ve achieved everything I want to achieve. You can never say never in this game, but I can’t see myself boxing again. There’s loads of things I want to do. I’m proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated.”
Calzaghe, who only recently won the respect of most, if not all, US fans, could have continued, and he admitted recently that the idea of a “farewell” bout in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium appealed to him. But now all that is over with. Bernard Hopkins, Carl Froch and Chad Dawson, to name just three fighters, are sure to be disappointed now that Joe has hung ’em up, but the soon-to-be 37-year-old’s decision must be respected. Knocked down in his final two bouts – by B-Hop and then Jones – it’s possible Calzaghe felt his best, most durable days were gone.
One of the best fighters in British boxing history, Joe recalled his proudest moment.
“Unifying the super-middleweight division [Vs. Mikkel Kessler] in front of 50,000 fans was a dream come true for me,” Calzaghe said. “I was fighting a younger fighter than me, I was the underdog. A lot of people thought I was going to lose that fight. It was a great night.”
For all the other great nights Joe Calzaghe, CBE and MBE, gave us – we say thank you and happy retirement!