Joe Calzaghe Names The Hardest Puncher He Ever Faced

 

Welsh great Joe Calzaghe shared the ring with a number of heavy-hitters during his professional career but singled out one man in particular when naming the strongest of them all. 

'The Pride of Wales' is widely regarded as being one of, if not the greatest boxer that Great Britain has ever produced. 

The Newbridge-native remained unbeaten for the duration of his tenure, defeating each of the 46 opponents that he shared a ring with. 

He remains the longest-reigning world super-middleweight champion of all time, making no less than 20 successful defences of his WBO world title over a ten year period. 

Whilst he faced the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Chris Eubank Sr and the legendary Roy Jones Jr during his career, Calzaghe gave a surprising answer when revealing the hardest hitter that he ever crossed paths with. 

In an interview with The Ring Magazine, the Welsh legend spoke fondly of former rival Charles Brewer who he says punched him harder than anyone else did. 

“Kessler hit hard, but I’d probably go with Charles Brewer. My game plan was to outbox him, but Charles Brewer I had seen knock out lots of guys ... So, I figure I’ll outbox him. I remember in the first round he came out and whacked me right in the solar plexus. If you watch the tape, you see me take a deep breath and then go toe to toe for the rest of the fight. He buzzed me up a few times in that fight. Heavy-handed and dangerous from the first round till the 12th.”

Calzaghe faced Brewer in what was the tenth defence of his WBO super-middleweight title at the Cardiff International Arena in April of 2002. 

After a tough 12-round battle, Calzaghe was declared the winner via unanimous decision to extend his unbeaten record to 33-0. 

Article by Kailem Lowe

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