Joe Calzaghe fought a who’s who of super middleweight and light heavyweight stars across his decorated career.
The Pride of Wales stepped into the ring 46 times and won all 46 fights, including famous battles with the likes of Chris Eubank, Mikkel Kessler and Robin Reid before moving up to light heavyweight for his final two fights. He beat Bernard Hopkins for The Ring Magazine title, then defended it against Roy Jones Jr before retiring in 2008.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Calzaghe named the opponent he faced with the best chin – Jeff Lacy.
“I’ve fought quite a few people with good chins … but the amount of times I hit Jeff Lacy and he didn’t go down.
To be honest, I hit him over a thousand times. How he stood up to that beating I’ll never know. So I have to give him some kudos for taking the beating he took. That was my perfect night, I think. I just brought my “A” game.”
Calzaghe defended his WBO super middleweight title against the hard-hitting IBF champion Lacy at the MEN Arena, Manchester, in March 2006. Lacy was undefeated and the favourite going into the contest, but from the opening bell, Calzaghe dictated the pace with his southpaw stance, dazzling hand speed and relentless combinations and outworked and outclassed his opponent round after round.
Come the final bell, all three judges scored it overwhelmingly in Calzaghe’s favour with cards of 119–105, 119–10, and 119–107, which saw the Welshman unify the WBO and IBF titles. Once tipped as a future superstar, Lacy was never the same after the punishment he absorbed in Manchester.