“I don’t seek the limelight. I’m perfectly happy with a quiet life and spending time with my family, but I deserve recognition.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’ve fought in Copenhagen before, and it’s not the most hostile place in the world.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“At 14, 15, everyone at school stopped talking to me, and I went completely into my shell. Basically, I’d be hiding. I had no friends. I hated it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“You have to try things in life.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“You can never say never in this game, but I can’t see myself boxing again. There’s loads of things I want to do.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I don’t really watch much boxing.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m somebody from a little tiny town, who had boxed in leisure centres, and my last fight was in Madison Square Garden against one of the greats. What a great way to finish off.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I thank God that I had such an amazing father who was my trainer as well.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“At the end of your career, you go, ‘I’m gonna be able to retire undefeated and be one of the very, very few people in history to do it.’ People were saying I should try and get to 50-0, but my number was 46 – that was it. I could have kept trying, but one loss would have spoiled everything.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I embraced every struggle because it made me the fighter I was.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Boxing was my destiny.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I didn’t like school at all. I was bullied and didn’t have a good time. Boxing was my escapism, and the ring was where I felt best.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I was told as a teenager I’d never box again. I had a really bad wrist injury; I couldn’t even shadow box for six months. I went through surgery just to try and manage it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When I boxed against Jeff Lacy, that was one fight that I was so proud of.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I pick my nose quite a bit.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When I was 17, my mum made me work in a cake factory for three days – I hated it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Spiders – hate ’em.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I don’t want my career to peter out fighting meaningless fights; I want to go against the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When it comes to the singing part, I think I missed the boat – the whole family can sing except for me. But they can’t fight, so I suppose I’ve been a bit more successful than them there.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I liked ‘The Office’ when it was on.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Boxing’s in my blood, so I’ll always stay involved in that, and I’ll probably do a bit of TV work as well, commentary and that.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It’s not just a trainer – as a man, my dad was unbelievable. Even outside boxing, he was my friend as well. We were boxer and trainer in the gym, but as soon as that bell goes, we’d have a cup of tea, and we’d go on about normal life. We would just leave that bit behind. That’s how we kept going.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Ideally, it would be nice if you could earn enough money to kick on from boxing and use the finances to start a business. Realistically, that doesn’t happen.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I try to work out about four or five times a week. I’ll do a little bit of cardio, half hour on the punchbag, or just go for a jog.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I do like to travel.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“We had nothing, no money, when I was young. We lived in a council house. My dad struggled; my mum struggled. But that made me what I am. If I had everything on a plate from the start, maybe I would not have been a champion for 11 years.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I can’t understand it myself – how nervous I was when I took the floor for ‘Strictly Come Dancing.’ I walk out with 50,000 people gathered in the Millennium Stadium to fight Mikkel Kessler in the unification fight for the super middleweight division in 2007, and I feel great… and here I am, wearing tight pants and Cuban heels, and freaking out.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Fighters never realise when it is time to walk away. They can’t leave the buzz and adoration that surrounds being champion.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My father was a cocky, long-haired musician, a songwriter.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It’s one of the biggest disappointments of my boxing career, not going to the Olympics.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I appreciate what I’ve achieved, and nearly all of that is because of my dad. He pushed me to train harder than I would have done if he wasn’t there to discipline me.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My mum is the opposite of my dad. She’s a very private person, very shy and totally against boxing. She never watched any of my fights live. She hated me doing it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I was born in London but brought up in Wales from the age of two.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I like to give my kids the life I didn’t have – they go to an excellent school; they have nice clothes, money for shopping. I’m quite generous with them, but they have fantastic manners – they’re not spoilt.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I remember every defeat I suffered as an amateur. They were rare enough to be burned into my brain, and that’s why I can’t bear the thought of losing.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Having been a fighter for 25 years, I know how to handle the fear. The fear is there, but I use it to motivate me.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“We’re only human, and fear can eat away at you the closer you get to a big fight.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I never really, really pushed my boys into boxing, but I guess it’s in the blood.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Before the Roy Jones fight, I knew I was going to retire because I couldn’t train, my hands had gone, and the hunger had gone.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“If you know you’re just fighting for the money and you’re not fighting for the championship, you’re going to lose, so I thought, ‘It’s time for me to quit.’”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Promoting is a no-no – that’s hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don’t have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I’ll be good at.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m close to achieving something that very few boxers ever have – and that is to retire undefeated, like Rocky Marciano.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Why am I not a household name in Britain? Why have I not got the recognition I deserve after so long? I think the fact that none of my fights are seen on terrestrial television is significant but, other than that, I don’t exactly know. I really don’t.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When I was 14, I told my careers adviser that I was going to be a world champion boxer. Of course she laughed.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“You think that after becoming world champion, you’re going to be a massive superstar with lots of lucrative bouts against great fighters, but that never materialised for me.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m a boxer, and every fight could be my last. You just have to remember Michael Watson to know what boxing can do to you.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I like him as a guy, but I’m going to knock him out – Roy Jones is just a prop in a fairytale ending to a great career for me.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My first boxing memory is watching Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard on television.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When I was about 12, I realised I wasn’t going to make it as a top footballer, but I won my first British ABA title at 13. From then on, I wanted to be a world champion.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m a Juventus fan, although I did support Chelsea for some time – mainly because of Gianfranco Zola. Zola is from the same town as my father Enzo, in Sardinia.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Test match cricket – it’s the most boring thing to watch. How they call themselves sportsmen I’ll never know.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“There’s no point looking good and losing. Winning is what it’s all about, and you can’t always look spectacular while doing it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I cried watching ‘Million Dollar Baby.’ I’m a big baby, man.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I prayed before fights. Especially just before I got in to the ring. But I’d also have my iPod on, Prodigy and Linkin Park ripping through my ears.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I agreed to be on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ without watching the show. I got talked into it by my manager. And my God, I was crap at it.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Boxing definitely has a part to play in taking away unwanted aggression.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I believe amateur boxing training should be available in schools. Not for all, but for those who want to.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’ve beaten all contenders for 11 years. I’m not a robot; I’m fed up. My body’s tired of it. I’m 36.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Boxing’s a very lonely sport. That ring is the loneliest place in the world.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My career has been very difficult. People respect the fact that I haven’t just turned professional like Amir Khan or Audley Harrison, and it’s been, ‘Here’s a million pound’ – for spoilt brats to fight a couple of fights.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m a regular guy, got the same friends. I live in the same area of south Wales. That’s who I am. I’m just a normal guy. I just fight.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’ve been through the routine so many times that I genuinely don’t even think about a big fight very much beforehand.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My natural weight is 13 st. 7 lb. That’s what I walk around at.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“My dad is a great judge of fights. He’s the only person I know who said that Holyfield would beat Tyson the first time.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I swore to myself that I was never going to lose again, and that’s what drives me still. More than money, more than titles, more than fame, it’s the desire not to be defeated.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“The perfect fighter has never been born and never will be.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“If I’m greedy and keep chasing the money, it’s inevitable I will be beaten one day.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m actually thinking about acting lessons. If somebody says to me, ‘You can be in the movies,’ I’d be pretty happy.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Enzo, my dad, supports Juventus, so that’s my team and, obviously, Italy, who I’ve been fortunate enough to see win two World Cups.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“From 13 years old, I was treated like a professional.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I think we have a normal father-and-son relationship. But like any other relationship, we have our differences. But we always seem to work out our differences. Believe it or not, our personalities are similar. We’re both fiery and passionate.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Every fighter, when they box, wants to leave a mark in their sport, or a legacy, and I managed to do that beyond my wildest dreams.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m not going to lie: you do get down sometimes, but I wouldn’t say I was ever depressed; that’s too hard a word. But you do become bored, because all you’ve done in your life is fight and box.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Being retired is one thing, but staying retired is another. Even when I announced my retirement, I’m sure people thought I was going to come back.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’m pretty excited: to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is a massive achievement… and to be inducted with Oscar de la Hoya and Felix Trinidad, two great fighters, is a massive honour for me and my family.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“After a weigh-in, you drink and put on the pounds. But it’s just fluid, not muscle, so you get in the ring and feel flat.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I’ve never wanted fame. I’ve only ever wanted recognition.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It used to hurt me when people said I was hiding in Wales.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“In America, they slag each other off at the press conference, then get in the ring and don’t do anything.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It would be good to fight Roy Jones. I’ve always admired him, and I think this would be a great fight for the fans.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“The world title in a second weight division and a win in America is just the icing on the cake of my career.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Roy Jones is a difficult fight.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When you’ve been at the top of the sport for so many years, it’s your life, and it becomes very difficult just to quit boxing and find something else to be happy.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Amateur boxing is one of the safest sports around.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I am not an aggressive person. I am a disciplined, chilled, and relaxed guy.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“On a personal level, I probably wouldn’t want my boys to box professionally. But I do encourage them to get into boxing training – they both go along. It keeps them fit.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“When I go into the ring, I don’t hate opponents, and I certainly don’t want to hurt them.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“To win the four major title belts, to be the unbeaten champion and 10 years a champion – it’s amazing. I’m so proud.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It’s in my DNA to fight and entertain.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“Beating Chris Eubank in 1997 was a great win and the toughest fight of my life, and beating Jeff Lacy was great, too. But Mikkel Kessler topped it, winning all the belts and fighting in front of all those fans in my home town.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I definitely was a big puncher early on in my career, and I used to load up with my left hand. Then, towards the end of my career, I had hand problems and needed injections in my hands for the pain.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“There is a world of difference between being a reality TV star and a world champion boxer.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“There’ll never be another Muhammad Ali. He was a superstar. And although he has gone, his legacy will live on for what he has done for sport and humanity.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“There comes a time in any proud sportsman’s career when you have to make the difficult decision to stop.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I find it quite sad to see the likes of Evander Holyfield carrying on past their sell-by date.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“There were times people tried to get me to change trainers, but I stuck with my dad.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“I want to prove that I’m not just the best super middleweight in the world but the best pound-for-pound.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“You ask all the super-middleweights: Who is the best fighter in Britain? If I came back, it would be me.”
― Joe Calzaghe
“It’s unbelievable when I think back to when I was a kid that one day I would have achieved so much through boxing, and to think my teachers laughed at me when I said I was going to be a boxer.”
― Joe Calzaghe
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