RETIREMENT is a word boxers use liberally. But it seems that Joe Calzaghe is serious when he says he is unlikely to step into the ring again.
The 36-year-old Welshman is being hailed as one Britain’s greatest post-war fighters after his convincing points win over Roy Jones Jr. at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
In retaining his Ring magazine light-heavyweight world title, Calzaghe extended his unbeaten record to 46 bouts.
He is not going to make any rush decisions, but the lack of future big-name opponents could convince him to hang up his gloves.
“Am I tempted to carry on? Not really,” he says. “I am going to go away with my family, chill out and make a decision in a few weeks.
“I love boxing; my dad [Enzo] has got a great gym. I want to help out with that. I’ve got a promoter’s license, so I’ll stay involved in a different way.”
“There’s no one left to fight”
Having beaten two American legends – Jones and Bernard Hopkins – in his last two fights, Calzaghe believes he has nothing left to prove.
“To beat Mikkel Kessler to be undisputed [WBO super-middleweight] champion in front or more than 50,000 fans in Cardiff was great, so I stepped up to light-heavyweight just to do something different,” he explained.
Calzaghe is neither interested in a rematch with Jones nor a fight against another American, Chad Dawson, the IBF light-heavyweight champion.
“Chad is a good young boxer who has won a couple of fights, but what’s the point? There’s no one left for me to fight,” he added.
“I always had this drive to be world champion. I trained like a pro every day since I was 13 or 14. Talent doesn’t make a great fighter; you need dedication, too.”
There has been no one more dedicated to his art than Calzaghe.
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