CAREER 10 years on from his Joe Calzaghe speaks about that

IT’S MIND OVER BATTER

MAGIC MOMENT: Joe Calzaghe celebrates after beating Kessler JOE CALZAGHE rates beating Mikkel Kessler 10 years ago this Friday as the finest moment of his outstanding career.

It got no better for the great Welshman than unifying the world super-middleweight titles in front of a then record British indoor boxing crowd –

50,000 – before last night’s world heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Carlos Takam, which was expected to draw a crowd of over 75,000 to the same venue.

Calzaghe, now 45, earned a unanimous points verdict –

117-111 and 116-112 on the other two cards – over the previously unbeaten Dane to successfully defend his WBO world supermiddleweight title for a 21st time and claim Kessler’s WBA and WBC versions of the title.

Victory at the Millennium Stadium – now known as the Principality Stadium – confirmed Calzaghe as king of the 12 stone division and one of the leading pound-for-pound boxers in the world.

In an exclusive interview with the Calzaghe said: “Hundred per cent Kessler was the best win of my career.

“I knew it was going to be a hard fight. It was the fight of my life. I believed in myself and knew if I trained to my best I would beat the guy.

“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 hometown.”

Calzaghe complained about being avoided during his career by rival world champs before he outpointed Lacy in

2006 and then Kessler in title unification fights.

He said: “I had been world champion since 1997 and I had got frustrated because I had a lot of years with injuries.

“I fought ex-world champions like Richie Woodhall, Charles Brewer and then after beating