Joe Calzaghe names who gave him his hardest fight after retiring undefeated

This March marks the 20th anniversary of Joe Calzaghe’s career-defining performance against Jeff Lacy. While the American was widely expected to provide the toughest test of Calzaghe’s career, the honour of pushing the Welshman to his absolute limits actually belonged to a late-notice opponent years earlier.

Calzaghe’s virtuoso display against ‘Left Hook’ Lacy is still regarded as his finest hour, a performance that cemented his status as the world’s best super-middleweight and added the IBF title to the WBO belt he had already defended a staggering 17 times.

That victory elevated Calzaghe to a new level of respect and recognition, paving the way for another defining night against Mikkel Kessler before he closed out his career by beating American legends Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins on their own turf.

Yet the foundations of that greatness were laid much earlier. In 1997, Calzaghe’s world title journey began and, after a blistering start to his professional career, the Welsh wizard was forced to dig deeper than ever before to defeat Chris Eubank in what he has called, by far, his toughest fight. Though the former WBO champion was nearing the end of his career, his experience, durability and ring IQ were unlike anything Calzaghe had previously encountered.

Calzaghe had originally been due to face Steve Collins, who held the title at the time, but the Irishman chose to retire and vacate the belt. Speaking to Paul Zanon for Boxing News, Calzaghe admitted to a mix of excitement and nerves.

“I knew I’d be busier, I also knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I used to love watching [Michael] Watson, Eubank, [Nigel] Benn and Collins, but I looked at Eubank, in particular, as a very unpredictable and dangerous fighter.”

Calzaghe made a blistering start, dropping Eubank in the opening round with a left hook that the veteran acknowledged with a respectful nod. From there, however, it was far from plain sailing.

“About rounds six, seven and eight, I realised this guy was not going to get knocked out. I was shattered. It’s at that point I realised these were the trenches he was talking about. Knocking him down in the first round was the ultimate false sense of security, as it turned out to be 12 hard rounds.

“I learned more in that fight than all the fights put together. I realised if I wanted to be a world champion for a long time, there’s no way I could ever go into a fight that reckless again. I needed to think about my defence, use my boxing skills and be more patient.”

Eubank would later move on to challenge Carl Thompson in two brutal encounters for the WBO cruiserweight title and, even though his final three fights ended in defeat, they showcased everything that made him great — toughness, pride and an unbreakable will. For Calzaghe, that night against Eubank proved just as important, forging the resilience and ring intelligence that would underpin one of British boxing’s greatest unbeaten careers.