‘I knew my hands were gone’: doctors told him to throw in the towel, but first Joe Calzaghe had to conquer America

He’s desperate to finish his career unbowed. Losing his prized “0” at this point will kill him. He doesn’t want for much. He’s financially comfortable and his family is healthy. It’s his own body that is failing him.

And then there’s his legacy. He finally earned the respect he craved and felt he deserved. On his finest night, he unified all the titles against the guy they said was the best around. The guy who was finally going to hand him his first loss. The guy who had walked through everyone. The guy didn’t walk through him, though. On his crowning night, his own people cheered him and held him aloft. His vanquished opponent applauded him. The media glorified him. Finally.

Now, his body failing more and more after each war, he has one last ambition to fulfil. He can retire content if he shows “those so-called experts in America”.

There they still say he’s dodged the biggest challenges. He wants them to eat their words.

But the pain. It eats him now. He knows he can’t go on much longer. The doctors have all told him it’s time to stop. But his legacy gnaws at him. He has to finish unbowed.

“It was a massive thing for me to keep that ‘0’. I was 37. I’d been dropped a couple of times. I still felt great, but I knew my hands were gone.”