Joe Calzaghe retired with a perfect 46-0 unbeaten record.
He reigned as super-middleweight world champion for over a decade, defeating fighters such as Chris Eubank Sr and Mikkel Kessler at 168lbs, before then ending his career at light heavyweight, claiming victories against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.
While Calzaghe may have never tasted defeat, there is one man that remains adamant that he should have come out on top when he fought the Welshman.
Robin Reid took on Calzaghe in February 1999, suffering a split decision defeat for the WBO super-middleweight title, in a close contest that some fans felt could have gone either way.
Reid, the WBC Champion between ’96 and ’97, has reflected on the meeting, telling The Chronicle why he felt he should have handed Calzaghe his first professional loss that night.
“Yep, I believe to this day that I won. The more I’ve looked at tapes of the fight the more convinced I am. I won by at least two rounds and that includes the point deducted for a low blow.
“However, we were both involved professionally with Frank Warren which made it a peculiar situation from the very start because Calzaghe was his undefeated champion and therefore must be favoured.
“I was told afterwards to be gracious in defeat so my press conference quotes reflected that. Then I went home, watched the tape for the first time, and it confirmed that I had won.
“Sure, I got a point deducted for a low blow but we were both as dirty as each other. The only difference was that the referee always seemed to be on my case. I was getting all the blame.”
Reid – who still pays the utmost respect to Calzaghe and his achievements – also took on Carl Froch during his career, and he has revealed how he thinks a fight between the would-be rivals would have played out.
