British boxing legend Joe Calzaghe has spoken out and revealed the greatest opponent that he ever crossed paths with.
The Welsh icon remained unbeaten throughout the course of his 15-year professional career, reigning as the unified world super-middleweight champion during the later stages of his tenure.
Calzaghe’s reign as the WBO world champion at 168lbs spanned for an entire decade, where he made no less than 20 successful defences of his crown against the likes of Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler and Sakio Bika.
He eventually made the move up to light-heavyweight where he racked up victories over Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins, drawing the curtain on his career shortly after with an unblemished record of 46-0 to his name, proving himself to be arguably the greatest British fighter of all time.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, Calzaghe didn’t hesitate to reveal Danish boxing great Kessler as the best fighter that he faced during his accomplished career.
“Mikkel Kessler.
I would say when I beat him, he was at his peak, 39-0. I think I was a bit older than him. It was my last fight at Super Middleweight. Massive pressure at the Millennium Stadium, 50,000, he held three belts. The Mikkel Kessler I beat was the best Mikkel Kessler. Kessler just edges it between him and Bernard Hopkins.”
Calzaghe locked horns with the previously unbeaten Kessler just before he made the move up to 175lbs back in 2007, defeating the five time super-middleweight world champion via unanimous decision at a packed out Principality Stadium in what is considered to be one of the Welsh legend’s best ever performances.
