On This Day In Boxing History!

1972: Joe Calzaghe Was Born!

Joe Calzaghe (born 23 March 1972 in Hammersmith, London, England) is a retired Welsh boxing great who finished his professional career undefeated and is widely regarded as one of Britain’s finest fighters. Known as “The Pride of Wales” and “The Italian Dragon,” he combined relentless work rate, sharp southpaw skills, and remarkable toughness to dominate the super‑middleweight and later light‑heavyweight divisions.

Born to a Sardinian father, Enzo, and a Welsh mother, Jackie, Calzaghe spent his early childhood in London before the family settled in Wales, where his boxing journey truly began. He took up the sport as a boy and built an outstanding amateur résumé, winning three Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) titles in different weight classes and compiling roughly 110 wins in about 120 bouts, a rare feat for a British amateur. Those achievements marked him early as a special talent within the UK boxing scene.

Calzaghe turned professional in 1993, boxing out of Newbridge, Wales, and quickly established himself with a string of dominant early stoppage victories. In 1997 he won the WBO super‑middleweight title by defeating former champion Chris Eubank, beginning a championship reign that would last more than a decade. Over the years he unified major belts at super‑middleweight and eventually captured The Ring magazine light‑heavyweight title, becoming a two‑weight world champion.

Across 46 professional fights, Calzaghe never lost, retiring with a perfect 46–0 record, including 32 wins by knockout. His résumé includes notable victories over Mikkel Kessler, Jeff Lacy, Bernard Hopkins, and Roy Jones Jr., wins that cemented his standing on the world stage and led many observers to call him the greatest Welsh boxer in history. He fought his final bout in 2008 and formally retired in 2009, leaving the sport as one of the few modern world champions to finish undefeated.

In recognition of his career, Calzaghe was appointed CBE and, in 2014, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Beyond the statistics, he is remembered for his high‑volume punching, adaptability in the ring, and the long, successful partnership with his trainer and father, Enzo, which became one of boxing’s most respected father‑son teams.

Joe Calzaghe

Born: March 23rd, 1972

Birth Place: Hammersmith, London, UK

Birth Name: Joseph Calzaghe

Residence: Newbridge, Wales

Pro-Debut: October 10th, 1993

Alias: Pride of Wales / Italian Dragon

Division: Super Middleweight

Stance: Southpaw

Height: 5′ 11″  

Reach: 73″  

Record: 46-0, 32Ko’s         

Bouts: 46

Rounds: 262

Kos: 70%

WBO Super Middleweight Champion: Oct 11th 1997 – Sep 26th, 2008

IBF Super Middleweight Champion: Mar 4th, 2006 –Nov 27th, 2006

WBA Super Middleweight Champion: Nov 3rd, 2007 – Sep 2008

WBC Super Middleweight Champion:  Nov 3rd, 2007 –Jun 28th, 2008

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame: Class of 2014.

March 23rd

1893: Johnny Wilson was born Giovanni Panica in New York City

1900: Frank Erne KO12 Joe Gans

1913: Sixto Escobar is born in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico

1917: Battling Levinsky ND10 Tommy Gibbons

1937: Ceferino Garcia TKO1 Aaron Wade

1948: Rinty Monaghan KO7 Jackie Paterson

1956: Ricardo Moreno KO5 Alejo Mejia

Ralph "Tiger" Jones WSD10 Charley Humez

1963: Davey Moore KOed by Sugar Ramos two days earlier dies

1972: Joe Calzaghe is born in Hammersmith, London, England

1979: Larry Holmes KO7 Osvaldo Ocasio

Earnie Shavers KO1 Ken Norton

1983: Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO3 Eric Winbush

Calvin Porter TKO10 Freddie Boynton

Richie Bennett TKO5 Tony Campbell

1986: Tyrell Biggs W10 Jeff Sims

1988: Mike Tyson co-manager Jimmy Jacobs suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia passed age 58 from pneumonia at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York

1989: Tomas Perez TKO11 Royan Hammond

Johnny Tapia W8 Fred Hernandez

1992: Marlon Tapales is born in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines

Tim Witherspoon W10 James Pritchard

1993: James Toney TKO9 Govoner Chavers

James Leija W12 Louie Espinoza

Eddie Hopson KO6 Hector Javier Monjardin

David Tua KO1 Alfredo Nevarez

1994: Przemyslaw Saleta W12 Dennis Andries

Floyd Havard TKO10 Neil Haddock

Carlo Colarusso TKO5 Glenn Catley

1996: Nate Miller KO9 Brian LaSpada

Arturo Gatti KO6 Wilson Rodriguez

Antonio Cermeno W 2 Yober Ortega

Junior Jones WSD12 Orlando Canizales

Oliver McCall TKO6 James Stanton

1998: Yory Boy Campas KO3 Anthony Stephens

Floyd Mayweather TKO3 Miguel Melo

2001: Clarence Adams W12 Ivan Alvarez

2002: Masamori Tokuyama KO9 Kazuhiro Ryuko

2008: Anita Christensen W10Jane Kavulani

2012: Jelena Mrdjenovich TKO1 Lindsay Garbatt

2013: Robert Stieglitz TKO4 Arthur Abraham    

Melissa McMorrow SD10 Nadia Raoui

Tony Thompson KO2 David Price 

2019: Charlie Edwards W12 Angel Moreno

Joshua Buatsi TKO3 Liam Conroy

Shannon Courtenay pro-debut W4 Cristina Busuioc

2024: Dalton Smith KO5 Jose Zepeda