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The phantom title
Steven LynchFebruary 4, 2015
A recent question mentioned Joe Calzaghe and his unbeaten record. Didn't he also win the world light-heavyweight title late on? asked Christopher Stowell
Joe Calzaghe had a perfect record of 46 wins from 46 professional fights, before his retirement in 2009. He won all four versions of the world super-middleweight title.
Calzaghe did move up to light-heavyweight towards the end of his career, and his last two bouts were at that weight. But although they were very high-profile big-money fights, none of the major titles was at stake.
The first of these "super fights" was against Bernard Hopkins, in Las Vegas in April 2008. Calzaghe made a slow start, and was knocked down in the first, but recovered to overpower the 43-year-old Hopkins and win on points.
Calzaghe's final fight was against Roy Jones Jr, who like Hopkins had won several world titles but did not possess any at the time of this fight, at Madison Square Garden in New York in November 2008.
Calzaghe was floored in the first round once more, but again climbed off the canvas to chisel out a convincing points decision.
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