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Revision as of 13:26, 5 July 2017

Joe Calzaghe
Calzaghe in July 2007
Born
Joseph William Calzaghe

(1972-03-23) 23 March 1972 (age 52)
Hammersmith, London,
England
NationalityWelsh
Other names
  • The Pride of Wales
  • The Italian Dragon
  • Super Joe
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Reach73 in (185 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights46
Wins46
Wins by KO32
Losses0

Joseph William "Joe" Calzaghe, CBE (/kælˈzæɡi/ kal-ZAG-ee; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, Ring magazine, and lineal super-middleweight titles, as well as the Ring light-heavyweight title.[1] Calzaghe is the longest-reigning super-middleweight world champion in boxing history, having held the WBO title for over 10 years and making 21 successful defences before moving up to light-heavyweight. As his super-middleweight and light-heavyweight reigns overlapped, he retired with the longest continual time as world champion of any active fighter.

Between 2006 and 2008, Calzaghe was rated by The Ring as one of the world's top ten boxers, pound for pound,[2] reaching a peak ranking of third in January 2009.[3] He retired in February 2009 with an undefeated record, and as a reigning world champion.[4]

Calzaghe was often referred to as the "Pride of Wales" or the "Italian Dragon",[5] the latter being a play on the moniker "Italian Stallion" and a reference to his multiple heritages (the dragon being both a prominent Welsh emblem that appears on the Welsh flag and a figure in Sardinian myth).

In 2007, Calzaghe became BBC Sports Personality of the Year, by gaining 28.19% of the public vote.[6] This made Calzaghe the first Welsh winner of this award since show jumper David Broome in 1960. He was awarded the Young Boxer of the Year Award in 1995. Calzaghe was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014.[7]

Biography

Calzaghe was born in Hammersmith, London, to an Italian (Sardinian) father, Enzo, and a Welsh mother, Jackie.[8] The family moved to Wales when he was two years old; their home is at Newbridge in South Wales. He attended Roots School System and still lives in the area. Calzaghe was the first person to be awarded the Freedom of Caerphilly, his home county, in 2009. The award was presented to Calzaghe in front of his family — father and trainer Enzo, mother Jackie, sister Sonia, (then) girlfriend Jo-Emma Larvin, and his two sons.[9]

Already a MBE,[10] he was elevated to CBE in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.[11]

Amateur career

Calzaghe, a southpaw, began boxing at age nine.[12] In more than 120 amateur contests, he won four schoolboy ABA titles, followed by three consecutive senior British ABA titles (British Championships) between 1990 and 1993.[13] He reportedly had an amateur record of 112–10. Calzaghe received his last defeats at the hands of Michael Smyth in the 1990 Welsh ABA Final and Romanian amateur Adrian Opreda at the 1990 European Junior Championships in Prague.[14][15]

Professional career

In September 1993 Calzaghe was signed up and made his professional debut at Cardiff Arms Park on the Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno bill the following month, halting 23 fight veteran Paul Hanlon in one round. By September 1995, Calzaghe had won thirteen out of thirteen fights, including seven in the first round and two in the second, including quickfire victories over the highly experienced American duo of Frank Minton and Robert Curry, with only the fully fledged British Light Heavyweight Bobbie Joe Edwards lasting the distance.

In October 1995, Calzaghe won the vacant British super-middleweight title, stopping the previously unbeaten Stephen Wilson in the eighth round.

At the end of 1995, Calzaghe was voted Young Boxer of the Year by the Professional Boxing Association and the Boxing Writers' Club, with Barry McGuigan's top tipping Calzaghe for 1996: "He punches ferociously, moves superbly and has the best of the European technique and US aggression."[16]

After beginning 1996 with two more quick knockouts over Guy Stanford and Anthony Brooks, he successfully defended his British title with an easier-than-expected fifth round stoppage of the tough undefeated puncher Mark Delaney (21–0). Despite Delaney being a good fighter in his own right, Calzaghe's critics said that he had still not really been tested. Calzaghe said in reply that he could only beat whoever was out there and prepared to fight him. Calzaghe rounded off the year with victories over two experienced opponents in Warren Stowe and Pat Lawlor.

In November 1996, Calzaghe moved to Frank Warren's stable. Warren, who had managed Nigel Benn for his first twenty fights, declared: "Joe Calzaghe is a far better prospect, in fact he is my fighter for the new millennium."[17] Calzaghe continued his winning ways in 1997, defeating Carlos Christie, the unbeaten Tyler Hughes and the 45–2 Luciano Torres. Meanwhile, Warren spent the summer of 1997 chasing a fight for Calzaghe with either WBC Champion Robin Reid or Irish WBO Champion Steve Collins. The fight with Collins was arranged, but at a late stage Collins withdrew because of injury, was stripped of his title, and then retired.

WBO super-middleweight champion

After Collins retired, a fight against British boxing legend Chris Eubank was quickly set up for the vacant WBO title on 11 October 1997, in Sheffield. Calzaghe emerged victorious over the two-time WBO champion, knocking the granite chinned Eubank down in the opening seconds and claiming a unanimous points win. The judges scored the contest 118–110, 118–109, and 116–111 in favour of Calzaghe. Eubank said of Calzaghe in a 2006 interview that: "Joe is the proper article, a true warrior."[18] Calzaghe conceded that Eubank, even in his comeback, gave him the toughest fight of his life.[18]

In 1998 he defended his title against Branko Sobot (winning by technical knockout in 3 rounds). Sobot was a late replacement for Syrian-American Tarick Salmaci,[19] who pulled out after a row with his management.[19] Sobot was knocked down in the third round, he beat the count but immediately came under renewed punishment from Calzaghe,[19] forcing the referee to step in at 1:35 of the third round.

Calzaghe then went on to defeat perennial contender Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra (TKO in 10 rounds), a former opponent of both Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank.

In 1999, Calzaghe started out by fighting his domestic rival, Robin Reid. Calzaghe was bitter that Reid refused to face him whilst holding the WBC Championship in a unification bout and vowed to beat him. After twelve rounds, the judges scored the fight for Calzaghe via a split decision.[20] Reid was never given the opportunity of a rematch. Calzaghe damaged his hand early on in the fight and according to Calzaghe, he suffered a dose of food poisoning.[21] Calzaghe finished the year with another points win against Australian Rick Thornberry, where he again injured his hand after looking like overwhelming his opponent early.

2000 started with another points decision against fellow Briton David Starie. This was followed by wins against Omar Sheika (who was coming off a win over Glenn Johnson) by fifth-round stoppage, and former WBC world champion and close friend Richie Woodhall in ten rounds.[22]

2001 started with an impressive first-round-stoppage win over the unbeaten German No 1 contender Mario Veit (30–0), followed by a win against American contender Will McIntyre on the Mike Tyson–Brian Nielsen undercard in Copenhagen Denmark, marking his first defence outside Britain. Calzaghe dropped him in the third round with a ferocious left uppercut, although McIntyre managed to survive the count.[23] But the end was near, Calzaghe dropped McIntyre again at the start of the fourth and this time the referee stopped proceedings.[23]

2002 started with unanimous points wins against former IBF world champion Charles Brewer of the United States in Cardiff, followed by a quick TKO of American Tocker Pudwill,[24] who took the fight at very short notice as a replacement for the injured Thomas Tate, in Newcastle in December.[25] With the win, Calzaghe successfully defended his WBO super-middleweight title for the 12th time. After the fight, Calzaghe said: "I'm one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I want to be remembered as one of the best British boxers ever."[26]

Calzaghe's only fight of 2003 was in June against another former world champion, in the shape of American Byron Mitchell at the Cardiff International Arena.[27] Calzaghe won by TKO in the second. Calzaghe suffered his first career knockdown in the second round, before rising to halt Mitchell in the very same round.[28]

2004 started out with a defence against Armenian contender Mger Mkrtchian in Cardiff where he won easily by a seventh-round knockout, followed by a points win over Egyptian-American Kabary Salem in Edinburgh in October, during which Calzaghe was briefly knocked down in the fourth round by a right hand.[29] However, Calzaghe was not hurt, and he dominated the fight and knocked Salem down in the 12th round, winning comfortably on all three scorecards, 116–109, 117–109 and 118–107.[30]

Mario Veit worked his way to a rematch against Calzaghe in Braunschweig, Germany, in July 2005, marking Calzaghe's second defence on foreign soil.[31] Calzaghe beat Veit by technical knockout in the sixth round. On 10 September 2005, Calzaghe fought the Kenya boxer Evans Ashira and won by a comfortable unanimous decision over the former Middleweight title challenger, despite breaking his left hand in the third round.[32] Calzaghe fought on one-handed winning 120–108, 120–108, 120–107.

Calzaghe vs. Lacy

Main article: Joe Calzaghe vs. Jeff Lacy

His scheduled unification bout with IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff Lacy for 5 November 2005 was initially canceled due to the break sustained to the metacarpal in his left hand. Warren successfully rescheduled it for 5 March 2006, and the match was won by easy unanimous points decision over Lacy, who was a pre-fight favourite with the bookmakers[33] and American pundits alike. Calzaghe dominated throughout the fight, with British fight fans chanting "easy" at the American during the last three rounds. Calzaghe gained the IBF title and won every round despite a point being deducted in the 11th for an illegal behind the body punch. He also won the vacant The Ring and lineal titles,[34] becoming the first super-middleweight to be recognized as world champion by The Ring magazine.

On 14 October 2006, the tough Cameroonian-Australian Sakio Bika challenged Calzaghe.[35] Two points were deducted from Bika for head butts, one of which led to a severe cut over Calzaghe's left eye[36] which would cause him problems for the duration of the bout. However, Calzaghe won the fight by clear decision to continue his undefeated run.

On 27 November 2006, it was announced that Calzaghe had signed a contract to defend his WBO super-middleweight title against former star of The Contender Peter Manfredo Jr. of the United States on 7 April 2007, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales to be shown on HBO. Because HBO did not want to cover a fight with the non-American mandatory IBF challenger Robert Stieglitz of Germany, and with the opportunity to fight World Middleweight champion Jermaine Taylor in the summer if he won against Manfredo, Calzaghe chose to fight Manfredo and as a result had to relinquish the IBF super-middleweight championship. Both Calzaghe and Warren claimed that, "Stieglitz doesn't mean anything outside Germany."[37] Stieglitz went on to fight Alejandro Berrio for the vacant IBF title, losing in 3 rounds. Berrio in turn lost the title to Lucian Bute in his first defense.[38]

On 7 April 2007, Calzaghe met Peter Manfredo Jr. in front of 35,000 fans in Cardiff, Wales.[39] Calzaghe was victorious on a third-round stoppage, unleashing a flurry of punches on the outclassed Manfredo, who threw nothing in return, thus drawing a stoppage from the referee. Manfredo and some American commentators called the stoppage premature because Manfredo did not appear hurt.[40] HBO's ringside announcers declared that the stoppage was "way too quick." Trainer Emanuel Steward did contend that Calzaghe was clearly on his way to victory, but the stoppage was no fault of his own.

Calzaghe vs. Kessler

Calzaghe at the Birmingham NEC in 2007.
Main article: Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler

In May 2007, Frank Warren released details to BBC 5 Live and on his website that Calzaghe had accepted Mogens Palle's offer of $5 million to fight undefeated WBA world champion Mikkel Kessler. The bout took place at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 4 November.[41] The fight was a unification bout for the WBO, The Ring, WBA (Super) and WBC super-middleweight titles. Calzaghe won by unanimous decision, surpassing the 20 defenses made by Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes at middleweight and heavyweight respectively.[42][43][44] Only former Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis (25 defenses), former Light Heavyweight Champion Dariusz Michalczewski (23 defenses) and former Minimumweight Champion Ricardo López (23 defenses) have made more title defenses.

Calzaghe was frequently described as undisputed champion,[42][43][45][46] Since he had relinquished the IBF title, others argued that this was not strictly accurate,[47][48] Reuters called him "Undisputed King" of the division,[44] while David A Avila said he was "the true undisputed world champion. Forget about the IBF titleholder Alejandro Berrio. That's really Calzaghe's belt too."[49] The WBA describes Undisputed Champion as those who hold any two of the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles;[50] which Calzaghe did after beating Kessler and had earlier done after beating Lacy.

Calzaghe split with promoter Frank Warren in June 2008 and announced that he would promote his fights personally for the remainder of his career. The split caused Warren to launch a court case against Calzaghe, claiming that a verbal promise to promote the Roy Jones Jr. fight was broken and that Calzaghe owed him $1.4 million;[51] Calzaghe in turn claimed that Warren owed him past fees. In March 2009 the High Court ruled that Warren had persuaded Calzaghe to sign contracts under duress when Calzaghe was hungry and dehydrated preparing for matches and that Warren's company Sports Network Limited owed Calzaghe $2.8 million in unpaid fees.[52]

Light-heavyweight

Calzaghe vs. Hopkins

Main article: Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe

On 19 April 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas,[53] Calzaghe defeated Bernard Hopkins to win The Ring Light Heavyweight Championship by a split decision in his first ever fight in the United States.

Calzaghe did not get off to a good start. In the first round, Hopkins struck him with a right hand, knocking him down.[54][55]

As the rounds went on, Calzaghe continued to push the pace and began to get his rhythm going by landing combinations at close range. Hopkins’ key weapon was his right hand, but after a few rounds Calzaghe could see the right hands coming and easily blocked the shots whilst Hopkins gradually tired.[56] According to CompuBox, Calzaghe landed more punches on Hopkins than any of his previous opponents.[57] American Judges Chuck Giampa (116–111) and Ted Gimza (115–112) scored the fight clearly for Calzaghe, while judge Adalaide Byrd (114–113) scored the fight narrowly for Hopkins. HBO's unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman scored the bout 116–111 for Calzaghe.

Hopkins was upset with the official decision and said that he was robbed of a clear points win. Hopkins said, "I just really feel like I took the guy to school. I feel like I made him fight my fight, not his. I wanted him to run into my shots. I think I made him do that, and I think I made it look pretty easy. I think I controlled the pace, and I controlled the fight." He has also openly stated that he wanted a rematch with Calzaghe.[58]

Calzaghe said: "It was one of the toughest fights of my career. ... He is very clever. He was so awkward. It wasn't pretty, but I won the fight. ... It wasn't my best night, but I know I won."[59]

"The first four rounds, and after that Calzaghe got in his groove, much like he did when he fought Mikkel Kessler, and from that point on it was Calzaghe. And Calzaghe didn't fight as good a fight as he could've fought, and he still won decisively," Emanuel Steward said at ringside.

Calzaghe vs. Jones Jr.

Main article: Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr.

On 8 July 2008, after Calzaghe's split from Frank Warren, it was officially announced that the 39-year-old, Roy Jones Jr., and 36-year-old Joe Calzaghe had reached an agreement to fight for The Ring Light Heavyweight Championship in New York City at Madison Square Garden on 20 September 2008 on HBO PPV. Jones was on the comeback trail, and coming off a win over Félix Trinidad. After Calzaghe injured his right hand in training,[60] the fight was postponed,[61] with 8 November being set as the new date. Calzaghe was put down in the first round. Two close rounds followed before Calzaghe took control of the fight. In the eighth round, Jones sustained a cut over an eye, nearly forcing a stoppage. All three judges' decisions were 118–109 for Calzaghe.[62][63]

Retirement

On 5 February 2009, Joe Calzaghe announced his retirement from professional boxing, finishing with a record of 46 wins and no losses, and becoming one of only eleven world champions (Floyd Mayweather Jr., Rocky Marciano, Ji-won Kim, Terry Marsh, Pichit Sitbangprachan, Harry Simon, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Loewe, Sven Ottke, and Dmitry Pirog) to retire as an undefeated world champion.[64] After his retirement, fellow boxer and friend, Ricky Hatton described him as "the best British fighter we've ever had."[65]

BoxRec rates Calzaghe as the best super-middleweight of all time.[66]

Professional boxing record

46 fights 46 wins 0 losses
By knockout 32 0
By decision 14 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
46 Win 46–0 Roy Jones Jr. UD 12 8 Nov 2008 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US Retained The Ring light-heavyweight title
45 Win 45–0 Bernard Hopkins SD 12 19 Apr 2008 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, US Won The Ring light-heavyweight title
44 Win 44–0 Mikkel Kessler UD 12 3 Nov 2007 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO, The Ring, and lineal super-middleweight titles;
Won WBA (Super) and WBC super-middleweight titles
43 Win 43–0 Peter Manfredo Jr. TKO 3 (12), 1:30 7 Apr 2007 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO, The Ring, and lineal super-middleweight titles
42 Win 42–0 Sakio Bika UD 12 14 Oct 2006 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBO, IBF, The Ring, and lineal super-middleweight titles
41 Win 41–0 Jeff Lacy UD 12 4 Mar 2006 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title;
Won IBF, vacant The Ring and lineal super-middleweight titles
40 Win 40–0 Evans Ashira UD 12 10 Sep 2005 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
39 Win 39–0 Mario Veit TKO 6 (12), 2:18 7 May 2005 Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany Retained WBO super-middleweight title
38 Win 38–0 Kabary Salem UD 12 22 Oct 2004 Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, Scotland Retained WBO super-middleweight title
37 Win 37–0 Mger Mkrtchyan TKO 7 (12), 1:05 21 Feb 2004 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
36 Win 36–0 Byron Mitchell TKO 2 (12), 2:36 28 Jun 2003 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
35 Win 35–0 Tocker Pudwill TKO 2 (12), 0:39 14 Dec 2002 Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title
34 Win 34–0 Miguel Ángel Jiménez UD 12 17 Aug 2002 Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
33 Win 33–0 Charles Brewer UD 12 20 Apr 2002 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
32 Win 32–0 Will McIntyre TKO 4 (12), 0:45 13 Oct 2001 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained WBO super-middleweight title
31 Win 31–0 Mario Veit TKO 1 (12), 1:52 28 Apr 2001 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
30 Win 30–0 Richie Woodhall TKO 10 (12), 0:28 16 Dec 2000 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title
29 Win 29–0 Omar Sheika TKO 5 (12), 2:08 12 Aug 2000 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title
28 Win 28–0 David Starie UD 12 29 Jan 2000 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title
27 Win 27–0 Rick Thornberry UD 12 5 Jun 1999 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
26 Win 26–0 Robin Reid SD 12 13 Feb 1999 Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England Retained WBO super-middleweight title
25 Win 25–0 Juan Carlos Giménez Ferreyra RTD 9 (12), 3:00 25 Apr 1998 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
24 Win 24–0 Branko Sobot TKO 3 (12), 1:35 24 Jan 1998 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Retained WBO super-middleweight title
23 Win 23–0 Chris Eubank UD 12 11 Oct 1997 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Won vacant WBO super-middleweight title
22 Win 22–0 Luciano Torres TKO 3 (10), 0:52 5 Jun 1997 Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Bristol, England
21 Win 21–0 Tyler Hughes KO 1 (10), 2:04 22 Mar 1997 Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England
20 Win 20–0 Carlos Christie TKO 2 (10), 1:39 21 Jan 1997 Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Bristol, England
19 Win 19–0 Pat Lawlor TKO 2 (10), 1:55 15 May 1996 STAR Centre, Cardiff, Wales
18 Win 18–0 Warren Stowe TKO 2 (8), 3:00 4 May 1996 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
17 Win 17–0 Mark Delaney TKO 5 (12) 20 Apr 1996 International Centre, Brentwood, England Retained British super-middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Anthony Brooks TKO 2 (10) 13 Mar 1996 Brent Town Hall, London, England
15 Win 15–0 Guy Stanford TKO 1 (10), 1:24 13 Feb 1996 Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff, Wales
14 Win 14–0 Stephen Wilson TKO 8 (12), 2:18 28 Oct 1995 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Won vacant British super-middleweight title
13 Win 13–0 Nick Manners TKO 4 (8), 2:20 30 Sep 1995 Festival Hall, Basildon, England
12 Win 12–0 Tyrone Jackson TKO 4 (8), 1:08 8 Jul 1995 Barbican Centre, York, England
11 Win 11–0 Robert Curry TKO 1 (8), 1:29 19 May 1995 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
10 Win 10–0 Bobbie Joe Edwards PTS 8 22 Feb 1995 Ice Rink, Telford, England
9 Win 9–0 Frank Minton KO 1 (8), 1:25 14 Feb 1995 York Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Trevor Ambrose TKO 2 (8) 30 Nov 1994 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
7 Win 7–0 Mark Lee Dawson TKO 1 (8) 1 Oct 1994 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
6 Win 6–0 Karl Barwise TKO 1 (6) 4 Jun 1994 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
5 Win 5–0 Darren Littlewood TKO 1 (6) 1 Mar 1994 Town Hall, Dudley, England
4 Win 4–0 Martin Rosamond TKO 1 (6) 22 Jan 1994 Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff, Wales
3 Win 3–0 Spencer Alton TKO 2 (4) 16 Dec 1993 Newport Centre, Newport, Wales
2 Win 2–0 Paul Mason TKO 1 (4) 10 Nov 1993 Town Hall, Watford, England
1 Win 1–0 Paul Hanlon TKO 1 (4) 1 Oct 1993 Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales Professional debut

Life after boxing

Following his retirement from boxing, Calzaghe started his own boxing promotion company called "Calzaghe Promotions" with his father, Enzo Calzaghe.[67]

In an interview with GMTV, Calzaghe stated he is promoting The Beat Bullying campaign. He said to have found the inspiration from being a victim of bullying himself when he was young, saying he got bullied because of his small stature.

Joe won the 2010 Soccer Aid, a British charity football match with the Rest of the World team beating England, Joe scored the Rest of the World team's first goal, the game was tied after full-time but the Rest of the World won on penalties.

In 2012, Calzaghe made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK TV comedy drama Stella.

Personal life

Calzaghe has two sons, Joe (born 1994) and Connor (born 1997), from an 11-year marriage to Mandy Davies from 1994 to 2005.[68] Calzaghe split up with his girlfriend of 5 years, Jo-Emma Larvin, in 2009, after participating in the seventh series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing series, partnering Russian professional Kristina Rihanoff.[69][70] Calzaghe and Rihanoff began a relationship soon thereafter.[71] However, the couple announced the amicable breakup of their relationship in August 2013.[72]

Following an undercover investigation by the News of the World newspaper, Calzaghe admitted he had used cocaine since his boxing career had ended. In a statement on his website, he added that he regretted his "occasional use of cocaine in what have sometimes been the long days since my retirement from the ring".[73]

References

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  45. ^ Staniforth, Mark (4 November 2007). "Battler Calzaghe triumphs against Kessler". The Independent on Sunday. London: PA Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Joe Calzaghe was crowned undisputed world super-middleweight champion in Cardiff tonight
  46. ^ "Calzaghe the king in Cardiff Welshman wows his home crowd with points win over great Dane". Sky Sports. 4 November 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  47. ^ Kimball, George (11 November 2007). "Calzaghe's plans quickly executed". Boston Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Lucien Bute, whose claim to the International Boxing Federation title is all that stands between the Welshman and undisputed world champion status
  48. ^ Gonzalez, Frank, Jr. (3 November 2007). "Sharkie's Machine: Joe Calzaghe Too Slick For Mikkel Kessler". eastsideboxing.com. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Joe Calzaghe, who is now the closest to being the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world. (There's still the IBF title if he's to have all four of the most recognized belts.){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ Avila, David A. (1 November 2007). "America's Watching Calzaghe-Kessler". thesweetscience.com. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  50. ^ "Super Championships guidelines". World Boxing Association. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  51. ^ "Calzaghe ends Warren association". BBC News. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  52. ^ Calzaghe Wins Court Battle Against Promoter NY Times, 16 March 2009
  53. ^ Iole, Kevin. "Fight breakdown: Hopkins-Calzaghe – Boxing – Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  54. ^   04.19 (19 April 2008). "Hopkins-Calzaghe, Round-By-Round | SI Staff Blog". FanNation.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  55. ^ Iole, Kevin. "Hopkins-Calzaghe round-by-round – Boxing – Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  56. ^ "Sharkie's Machine: White Boy Beats Bernard Hopkins". Eastsideboxing.com. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  57. ^ Falgoust, J. Michael (20 April 2008). "'Legend killer' Calzaghe overcomes Hopkins". USA Today. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  58. ^ "Bernard Hopkins Still Wants Rematch With Calzaghe, Says He'll KO Joe This Time!". Eastsideboxing.com. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  59. ^ Dirs, Ben (20 April 2008). "Calzaghe rallies to beat Hopkins". BBC News.
  60. ^ "Calzaghe confident on hand injury". BBC News. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  61. ^ Rawling, John (23 July 2008). "Hand injury hits Calzaghe's New York date with Jones". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  62. ^ [1][dead link]
  63. ^ Perfect Joe Calzaghe. boxingcapital.com
  64. ^ "Undefeated Calzaghe quits boxing". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  65. ^ "Hatton hails Calzaghe as the best". BBC Sport. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  66. ^ Boxer Lb for Lb Ratings. boxrec.com
  67. ^ "Only Hatton can decide – Calzaghe". BBC Sport. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  68. ^ About Joe joecalzaghe.com
  69. ^ "Calzaghe could be Strictly Champion". Wales Online. 26 August 2009.
  70. ^ "Strictly single: The curse of Come Dancing KOs Joe Calzaghe's five-year romance". Dailymail.co.uk (28 August 2009). Retrieved on 2012-12-19.
  71. ^ "'Joe persuaded me to strip off': Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff reveals boxer boyfriend encouraged her to bare all for calendar" Dailymail.co.uk (18 December 2012). Retrieved on 9 January 2012.
  72. ^ "Strictly over: Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff 'mutually and amicably' split after a four year romance". Daily Mail. London.
  73. ^ "An Apology". joecalzaghe.com. 28 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Wikiquote has quotations related to Joe Calzaghe.
Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous:
Timothy Taylor 		ABA light-middleweight champion
1992 		Next:
David Starie
Previous:
Lee Woolcock 		ABA middleweight champion
1993
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Sam Storey 		British super-middleweight champion
28 October 1995 – May 1996
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
David Starie
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Steve Collins 		WBO super-middleweight champion
11 October 1997 – 26 September 2008
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Denis Inkin
Preceded by IBF super-middleweight champion
4 March 2006 – 27 November 2006
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Alejandro Berrio
New title The Ring super-middleweight champion
4 March 2006 – 28 September 2008
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Andre Ward
Vacant
Title last held by
Bruno Girard 		Lineal super-middleweight champion
4 March 2006 – 28 September 2008
Vacated
Preceded by WBA super-middleweight champion
Super title
4 November 2007 – 3 October 2008
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Mikkel Kessler
WBC super-middleweight champion
4 November 2007 – 5 July 2008
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Carl Froch
Preceded by The Ring light-heavyweight champion
19 April 2008 – 5 February 2009
Retired 		Vacant
Title next held by
Jean Pascal
Honorary boxing titles
Non-transferable title WBO Super champion
June 2004 – September 2008 		Non-transferable title
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