By Mark Vester
During a recent interview, Joe Calzaghe gave his reason for walking away from the sport and announcing his retirement - before taking a fight with IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who many saw as the number-one contender to Calzaghe's throne. He felt Dawson was not yet a big enough star to make the fight. The money wasn't there for a fight with Dawson, and Calzaghe wasn't willing to wait around for the money to develop. He wanted to go out on top without a loss on his record.
"I like Chad Dawson, but he's still on his way up. I had spent the last 24 months looking for the right time to get out. The biggest thing in making the decision was whether I still had anything to prove to myself and I haven't. At the moment I'm really happy. My mum's relieved that I have retired and I have got a few things planned, some things on TV and, of course, the promoting," Calzaghe said to The Times Online.
Besides Dawson, Calzaghe felt there weren't any fights on the horizon that were worth sticking around for. All of the guys calling him out were guys he already beat.
“Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins and even Mikkel Kessler were all interested in a rematch, but I've beaten them. Beating them again wouldn't really mean anything. I didn't have the luxury of being a welterweight, where there are lots of big fights that could be made. The fights I was offered were either rematches or ones that don't mean that much," Calzaghe said.
Calzaghe is now focused on his promotional company. His father/trainer Enzo Calzaghe is developing the young talent at their family gym in South Wales.
“Merthyr has got a good history of boxing. Johnny Owen came from there, as did Howard Winstone and another good fighter, Eddie Thomas,” Calzaghe said. "We've got a good team together. Dad is doing most of the work - I wouldn't have it any other way!”
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