An impressed Wayne McCullough pays Joe Calzaghe the highest tribute of all after his weekend win.
Calzaghe coasts his way to the very top of the pile
Having defeating two of the world's top pound for pound fighters, Joe Calzaghe must now be considered the best British fighter ever.
His recent considerably easy win over Roy Jones Jnr and his victory over Bernard Hopkins in April were both fought in his opponent's home country.
Surprisingly the fight with Jones began much the same as the fight with Hopkins where Calzaghe had to pull himself off the canvas in the first round of each fight to win.
He won the Hopkins fight by a close split decision but he won 11 of the 12 rounds against Jones according to the three judges at ringside.
Calzaghe has more than proven himself in the States and has definitely impressed the fans.
People may say that Hopkins and Jones are past their sell-by dates - which could be true in Jones' case - but Hopkins demonstrated that he's far from done when he outclassed Kelly Pavlik six months after his loss to Calzaghe.
Jones hasn't scored a knockout since September 2002 against Clinton Woods. He is a puncher and was able to land a right uppercut to Calzaghe's chin to put him down in the first moments of their fight. But he has been more of a hit-and-run sort of fighter in recent times.
Following severe back-to-back knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson and a decision loss in the rematch with Tarver, I personally thought that Jones' reflexes were almost gone. He was exposed when he tried to duck shots, got hit - and went to sleep!
Punished
Calzaghe punished Jones with fast shots while Jones kept his hands low and his chin up thinking he was avoiding the punches, but he wasn't.
Jones was cut badly over his left eye about the seventh round and from that point on this future Hall of Famer showed guts as he tried to fight back with his face covered in blood. He continued to get hit and may have shared a round or two in the final stages.
But Calzaghe was accurate and threw way more punches than Jones. He suggested, prior to the fight, that he would retire but will he fight on and if so, who would it be?
I think Chad Dawson is the only guy left for Calzaghe to fight. He is the IBF light heavyweight champion and has shown interest in a fight with Joe. Plus at only 26, this 6ft 3in southpaw is undefeated and says he would travel to Wales for the fight.
Whether Calzaghe continues to fight or not, he has made a worldwide name for himself by coming to America and taking on the big boys.
In my opinion, not only is he Britain's all-time best but he now takes the number one slot on my pound-for-pound list.
