Tweet
Boxing: Joe Calzaghe ready for boxing return
JOE CALZAGHE is ready to end his four-year exile from boxing and return to the sport which brought him fame and fortune.
But former world champion Calzaghe – who turned 40 last March – will not be returning to the ring he graced for the last time in a 46-fight unbeaten career when he defeated Roy Jones Jr in New York in November 2008.
Instead Calzaghe plans to follow in the footsteps of his father Enzo and train fighters as well as manage potential champions.
“I love the sport and I hope to be coming back into it – training fighters and managing as well,” Calzaghe said yesterday at the launch of his father’s autobiography, Enzo Calzaghe – A Fighting Life.
“I think I can put my experiences to good use and a lot of fighters have asked me to come back into the sport and help them.
“I’m sure I can help them if I get back into it, but it’s early days yet and I’m making no real plans at the moment.
“I’ve said before that I would never do it, but I’m actually thinking about it now.”
Calzaghe’s 15-year fight career was a slow-burner despite him winning the world super-middleweight crown by beating Chris Eubank in 1997.
It wasn’t until he demolished the American Jeff Lacy – then regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world – in 2006 that the big fights and real big pay days came for Calzaghe against Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins and Jones.
And although he has since acted and appeared on the BBC hit show Strictly Come Dancing, Calzaghe admits it is hard to experience the buzz he received from boxing.
“I miss a lot of things about boxing, it’s my sport and what I did for 27 years,” he said.
“What you’ve got to deal with when you finish is boredom, when you’re boxing you’ve got a focus and your life is full.
“When you retire you need to find another goal and it’s finding that which is difficult.
“But time moves on and I feel blessed every day that I could retire from boxing looking good, still on the top of my game and on my own terms.
“I’ve done different things in business and I’ve got two sons – 18 and 15 – and life is good.
“I don’t think training is ever going to be like fighting, but it will keep me in shape and give me another goal in life.
“It might also see me spending more time with my dad and that would be great too.
“I’m in London a lot these days and I do miss him and the way we used to work and spend time together.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/...#ixzz29jdOAnfk
JOE CALZAGHE is ready to end his four-year exile from boxing and return to the sport which brought him fame and fortune.
But former world champion Calzaghe – who turned 40 last March – will not be returning to the ring he graced for the last time in a 46-fight unbeaten career when he defeated Roy Jones Jr in New York in November 2008.
Instead Calzaghe plans to follow in the footsteps of his father Enzo and train fighters as well as manage potential champions.
“I love the sport and I hope to be coming back into it – training fighters and managing as well,” Calzaghe said yesterday at the launch of his father’s autobiography, Enzo Calzaghe – A Fighting Life.
“I think I can put my experiences to good use and a lot of fighters have asked me to come back into the sport and help them.
“I’m sure I can help them if I get back into it, but it’s early days yet and I’m making no real plans at the moment.
“I’ve said before that I would never do it, but I’m actually thinking about it now.”
Calzaghe’s 15-year fight career was a slow-burner despite him winning the world super-middleweight crown by beating Chris Eubank in 1997.
It wasn’t until he demolished the American Jeff Lacy – then regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world – in 2006 that the big fights and real big pay days came for Calzaghe against Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins and Jones.
And although he has since acted and appeared on the BBC hit show Strictly Come Dancing, Calzaghe admits it is hard to experience the buzz he received from boxing.
“I miss a lot of things about boxing, it’s my sport and what I did for 27 years,” he said.
“What you’ve got to deal with when you finish is boredom, when you’re boxing you’ve got a focus and your life is full.
“When you retire you need to find another goal and it’s finding that which is difficult.
“But time moves on and I feel blessed every day that I could retire from boxing looking good, still on the top of my game and on my own terms.
“I’ve done different things in business and I’ve got two sons – 18 and 15 – and life is good.
“I don’t think training is ever going to be like fighting, but it will keep me in shape and give me another goal in life.
“It might also see me spending more time with my dad and that would be great too.
“I’m in London a lot these days and I do miss him and the way we used to work and spend time together.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/...#ixzz29jdOAnfk
Comment