March this year marks the organization’s 20th anniversary Joe Calzaghe’s career-defining performance vs. Jeff Lacy. While the American is widely expected to provide the toughest test of Karzaghi’s career, the honor of pushing the Welshman to the absolute limit actually belongs to a late opponent from years ago.

Karzaghi’s masterful performance against “Left Hook” Lacey is still considered his finest moment, a performance that cemented his status as the best super middleweight in the world and added an IBF title to the WBO belt he has defended 17 times.

This victory took Karzakh to a new level of respect and recognition, Paving the way for another fateful night against Mikel Kessler He then ended his career by defeating American legends Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins on their own turf.

However, the foundation for this greatness was laid early. In 1997, Karzaghi began his journey to the world championship. After a brilliant start to his career, The Welsh wizard was forced to dig deeper than ever to defeat Chris Eubank in what he described as his toughest fight yet. Although the former WBO champion is nearing the end of his career, his experience, stamina and boxing IQ are unlike anyone Khazaghi has faced before.

Karzaghi was originally scheduled to face then-champion Steve Collins, but the Irishman opted to retire and vacate the belt. Boxing News Interview with Paul ZanonCalzaghe admits to being both excited and nervous.

“I knew I was going to be busier and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I used to love watching (Michael) Watson, Eubank, (Nigel) Benn and Collins, but I particularly saw Eubank as a very unpredictable and dangerous fighter.”

Calzaghe knocked out Eubank with a left hook in the first round, and the veteran nodded respectfully. However, things have been far from plain sailing since then.

“Around round six, seven and eight, I realized this guy was not going to be knocked out. It broke my heart. That’s when I realized these were the trenches he was talking about. Knocking him out in the first round was the ultimate false sense of security because it turned out to be a tough 12-round fight.

“I learned more in that fight than in all my fights combined. I realized that if I wanted to be a world champion long-term, I couldn’t go into another fight recklessly. I needed to think about my defense, use my boxing skills and be more patient.”

Eubank later challenged Carl Thompson for the WBO lightweight title in two brutal bouts, and although his last three fights ended in defeat, they displayed everything that made him great – toughness, pride and an unbreakable will. That night against Eubank was equally important for Calzaghe, who developed the toughness and boxing intelligence that would underpin one of the greatest undefeated careers in British boxing.