Bet365.co.uk – Boxing Champion Joe Calzaghe
www.bet365.co.uk – The undefeated world super-middleweight and light-heavyweight boxing champion Joe Calzaghe has announced his retirement after a magnificent 16-year professional career.
The 36-year-old Welshman has held the world title for more than 11 years and won all of his 46 fights, which included 32 knockouts. As an amateur his record was equally as impressive winning 110 of his 120 contests after picking up the gloves at the age of nine. He began his professional career with a first-round stoppage against Paul Hanlon in October 1993, and then went on to win seven of his first nine bouts in the frist round.
He was trained by his father, Enzo, throughout his career, and soon became British super-middleweight champion in 1995 in his 14th fight before capturing his first world title in 1997, beating Chris Eubank on a points decision to claim the WBO crown.
Calzaghe managed to defend his WBO title a total of 21 times, adding the IBF version along the way with an impressive victory over American Jeff Lacy in March 2006. Despite suffering from numerous hand injuries he then went on to add the WBA and WBC belts with a unanimous points win over Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in November 2007.
He then made the step up to light-heavyweight to face Bernard Hopkins in his first fight on American shores, he won by a split decision to become ‘The Ring’ magazine’s light-heavyweight champion. In what was the final fight of his career, he then beat the legendary Roy Jones Jr with a comprehensive points victory at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 8 November.
Joe Calzaghe retires as Britain’s only undefeated world champion and finishes just short of Rocky Marciano’s record of 49 straight wins. www.bet365.co.uk
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