The great "Sugar" Ray Leonard made many an exit and entry from the boxing game until a 23-year-old upstart warrior named Terry Norris finally put a "woodshed-style beating" on him in early 1991.
Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, even the great Bernard Hopkins are wondering what many fans already suspect; it looks as though Joe Calzaghe would rather retire than face the same demise.
Joe Calzaghe—undefeated world super middleweight champion and longest reigning world title holder in recent boxing history—announced his retirement after an incredible boxing career spanning almost two decades, which saw him unbeaten in 18 years.
Calzaghe's overwhelming pressure fighting style combined with his lightning-fast barrages, which saw him breaking punch-stat numbers, made Joe unstoppable as a professional and amateur boxer.
If the great guitar rocker Jimi Hendrix were alive today, he might write something similar to the title of this article; only instead of it being a Steve Miller Band classic, it might go something like this—"hey Joe, where you going with those title belts in your hands."
B-Hop wants a rematch to avenge the loss most people, including this writer, feel that he won; Hopkins says he is ready, able, and willing to travel to England to finish the job that he thought he had accomplished.
Chad Dawson is also a force to be reckoned with and is regarded by some—including Floyd Mayweather—to be the true No.1 pound for pound fighter.
There's no one who wants a crack at Joe Cal, however, as much as the other undefeated Brit Super Middleweight Champ, Carl "The Cobra" Froch.
There's certainly no love lost between these two champions, especially since Calzaghe's recent derogatory comments regarding Froch's British fight of the year against Canadian Jean Pascal.
Joe stated, "To be honest, he's like a boy. He's a limited fighter. He has no defense, he throws single shots, and he would make me look great. People keep saying 'just fight the guy, you'd knock him out in three rounds.' I probably would knock the guy out in three rounds.
"I need to fight guys who are going to improve my legacy. I need to fight guys I can be motivated to fight as a champion. He only won a belt that I'd given up, and the guy he beat—Jean Pascal—wasn't any good. I'm fed up with people just mouthing me off and saying disrespectful things. I don't like the guy, so why would I want to give him a payday?"
Calzaghe's comments were in stark contrast to the congratulations that Froch gave Joe for his win over Mikkel Kessler.
Carl Froch recently fired back however, stating that it was a shame Calzaghe hasn't had a career-defining fight.
"He’s got a good record, but I'm not going to lose my mind and say he's a Sugar Ray Leonard, because he's not. ... I said a few weeks ago that he should retire. He got knocked on his ass by a 43-year-old and 40-year-old in his last two fights.
"I’m not stupid. Joe Calzaghe has been a great champion. He’s a warrior, he’s tough, he’s strong. He’s beaten everyone put in front of him. ... But, how old was Roy Jones Junior when he fought him? He was 40 years old. Bernard Hopkins was 43. Roy Jones was at his best 15 years prior to when they fought."
"The only person who will regret it now is Joe. He'll retire wondering if he would've beaten me, and he's not shut my mouth, has he?”
—Carl Froch
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