Born Joseph William Calzaghe on March 23, 1972 in London, England, Calzaghe boxed out of Newbridge, Wales.
Following an accomplished amateur career (110-10) that included three consecutive ABA titles, Calzaghe turned pro on October 1, 1993 in Cardiff, Wales. Under the tutelage of his father, Enzo, Calzaghe never tasted defeat in a 15 year pro career. He captured the BBBC British super middleweight title before defeating Chris Eubank (W 12) in 1997 for the vacant WBO super middleweight championship. Calzaghe would successfully defend the title a division record 21 times over the next decade including victories over Robin Reid (W 12), Omar Sheika (TKO 5), Richie Woodhall (TKO 10), Charles Brewer (W 12) and Byron Mitchell (TKO 2). In 2006 he scored a unanimous decision over IBF champion Jeff Lacy to unify titles. After a defense over Sakio Bika (W 12) he relinquished the IBF strap and next defended the WBO belt against Peter Manfredo Jr (TKO 3). In 2007 he scored a unanimous decision over WBA/WBC champion Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff to unify the three belts in a 168-pound mega-fight. In April 2008 he went up in weight to defeat Bernard Hopkins (W 12) for The Ring light heavyweight championship. In his last contest, Calzaghe scored a 12 round win over Roy Jones Jr. in Madison Square Garden to defend the light heavyweight title.
Equipped with excellent hand speed and mobility that often overwhelmed opponents, “The Pride of Wales” retired with an unblemished 46-0 (32 KOs) record. The immensely popular Calzaghe was bestowed the CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008.
Born: March 23, 1972
Bouts: 46
Won: 46
Lost: 0
KOs: 32
Induction: 2014
Joe Calzaghe
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