Joe Calzaghe to retire after Roy Jones, Jr. Bout

Fighters as a group have a tendency to stick around longer than they should, tarnishing their legacy by continuing to battle past their prime. The talented native of Cardiff, Wales fights Roy Jones Jr. in arguably the biggest challenge of his career this November and regardless of the outcome plans to hang up the gloves following the bout.

At a press conference in his hometown Calzaghe didn’t equivocate on his plans:

"It's a massive fight and it will be my last I've known for a while when I want to go out and as long as I put on a great performance this is my time.

“If I can do that then I've achieved everything I've wanted to achieve in my career. I would never forgive myself if I came to my last fight and threw it all away. Complacency is not in my mindset.”

Unlike many of his fellow pugilists, Calzaghe is keenly aware that after a point he can only tarnish his legacy by continuing his career. He also gave notice that he’s anxious to achieve what so few others in the sport have been able to—retire undefeated.

"But I know in my heart this is the right time to stop and my aim is to remain undefeated."

While Calzaghe has only recently crossed the radar of the casual American sportsfan, boxing enthusiasts are aware that he’s a seasoned veteran of the sweet science. In a career spanning 15 years, Calzaghe has compiled a record of 45-0 with 32 KOs. Critics note that much of his career was spent in the cozy confines of the United Kingdom toiling against a substandard level of opposition, but Calzaghe has stepped up his game in the past few years. He’s continued to fight primarily in his home country but has stepped up the quality of opposition he’s faced, defeating highly touted American Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, Peter Manfredo and Mikkel Kessler. He fought on US soil for the first time in April when he won a hotly contested split decision over Bernard Hopkins at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas what now appears to be the penultimate bout of his career.

Calzaghe ‘swan song’ against former ‘pound for pound’ king Roy Jones, Jr. takes place at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 8th.