Top 60 Joe Calzaghe Quotes

I like him as a guy, but I’m going to knock him out – Roy Jones is just a prop in a fairytale ending to a great career for me.

I’ve been through the routine so many times that I genuinely don’t even think about a big fight very much beforehand.

You have to try things in life.

I thank God that I had such an amazing father who was my trainer as well.

I’ve beaten all contenders for 11 years. I’m not a robot; I’m fed up. My body’s tired of it. I’m 36.

I liked ‘The Office’ when it was on.

I’m a regular guy, got the same friends. I live in the same area of south Wales. That’s who I am. I’m just a normal guy. I just fight.

Boxing’s in my blood, so I’ll always stay involved in that, and I’ll probably do a bit of TV work as well, commentary and that.

I do like to travel.

Every fighter, when they box, wants to leave a mark in their sport, or a legacy, and I managed to do that beyond my wildest dreams.

It’s one of the biggest disappointments of my boxing career, not going to the Olympics.

From 13 years old, I was treated like a professional.

Amateur boxing is one of the safest sports around.

I want to prove that I’m not just the best super middleweight in the world but the best pound-for-pound.

Why am I not a household name in Britain? Why have I not got the recognition I deserve after so long? I think the fact that none of my fights are seen on terrestrial television is significant but, other than that, I don’t exactly know. I really don’t.

I don’t really watch much boxing.

Enzo, my dad, supports Juventus, so that’s my team and, obviously, Italy, who I’ve been fortunate enough to see win two World Cups.

Being retired is one thing, but staying retired is another. Even when I announced my retirement, I’m sure people thought I was going to come back.

My dad is a great judge of fights. He’s the only person I know who said that Holyfield would beat Tyson the first time.

When I was about 12, I realised I wasn’t going to make it as a top footballer, but I won my first British ABA title at 13. From then on, I wanted to be a world champion.

My father was a cocky, long-haired musician, a songwriter.

I pick my nose quite a bit.

There is a world of difference between being a reality TV star and a world champion boxer.

Roy Jones is a difficult fight.

I am not an aggressive person. I am a disciplined, chilled, and relaxed guy.

Fighters never realise when it is time to walk away. They can’t leave the buzz and adoration that surrounds being champion.

I swore to myself that I was never going to lose again, and that’s what drives me still. More than money, more than titles, more than fame, it’s the desire not to be defeated.

There’ll never be another Muhammad Ali. He was a superstar. And although he has gone, his legacy will live on for what he has done for sport and humanity.

I cried watching ‘Million Dollar Baby.’ I’m a big baby, man.

I prayed before fights. Especially just before I got in to the ring. But I’d also have my iPod on, Prodigy and Linkin Park ripping through my ears.

Promoting is a no-no – that’s hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don’t have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I’ll be good at.

Spiders – hate ’em.

You can never say never in this game, but I can’t see myself boxing again. There’s loads of things I want to do.

I think we have a normal father-and-son relationship. But like any other relationship, we have our differences. But we always seem to work out our differences. Believe it or not, our personalities are similar. We’re both fiery and passionate.

I’m a Juventus fan, although I did support Chelsea for some time – mainly because of Gianfranco Zola. Zola is from the same town as my father Enzo, in Sardinia.

My natural weight is 13 st. 7 lb. That’s what I walk around at.

I’m not going to lie: you do get down sometimes, but I wouldn’t say I was ever depressed; that’s too hard a word. But you do become bored, because all you’ve done in your life is fight and box.

It used to hurt me when people said I was hiding in Wales.

There comes a time in any proud sportsman’s career when you have to make the difficult decision to stop.

Beating Chris Eubank in 1997 was a great win and the toughest fight of my life, and beating Jeff Lacy was great, too. But Mikkel Kessler topped it, winning all the belts and fighting in front of all those fans in my home town.

I never really, really pushed my boys into boxing, but I guess it’s in the blood.

I’m a boxer, and every fight could be my last. You just have to remember Michael Watson to know what boxing can do to you.

It’s in my DNA to fight and entertain.

At the end of your career, you go, ‘I’m gonna be able to retire undefeated and be one of the very, very few people in history to do it.’ People were saying I should try and get to 50-0, but my number was 46 – that was it. I could have kept trying, but one loss would have spoiled everything.

I remember every defeat I suffered as an amateur. They were rare enough to be burned into my brain, and that’s why I can’t bear the thought of losing.

I’m somebody from a little tiny town, who had boxed in leisure centres, and my last fight was in Madison Square Garden against one of the greats. What a great way to finish off.

I was born in London but brought up in Wales from the age of two.

Ideally, it would be nice if you could earn enough money to kick on from boxing and use the finances to start a business. Realistically, that doesn’t happen.

You think that after becoming world champion, you’re going to be a massive superstar with lots of lucrative bouts against great fighters, but that never materialised for me.

Boxing definitely has a part to play in taking away unwanted aggression.

The world title in a second weight division and a win in America is just the icing on the cake of my career.

I’ve never wanted fame. I’ve only ever wanted recognition.

I’m proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated.

If I’m greedy and keep chasing the money, it’s inevitable I will be beaten one day.

At 14, 15, everyone at school stopped talking to me, and I went completely into my shell. Basically, I’d be hiding. I had no friends. I hated it.

Boxing was my destiny.

When I go into the ring, I don’t hate opponents, and I certainly don’t want to hurt them.

I was told as a teenager I’d never box again. I had a really bad wrist injury; I couldn’t even shadow box for six months. I went through surgery just to try and manage it.

I’m actually thinking about acting lessons. If somebody says to me, ‘You can be in the movies,’ I’d be pretty happy.

In America, they slag each other off at the press conference, then get in the ring and don’t do anything.