Joe Calzaghe hardly put a foot wrong throughout his decorated career, having become a long-time world champion before later retiring with an unbeaten record.
Of everyone he faced across his 46 professional victories and 21 world title fights, there is one man that seemed to distinguish himself as the very best.
Calzaghe’s most complete performance arguably came against Jeff Lacy, with the Welshman earning a dominant unanimous decision win, but Lacy of course is far from the most elite operator that Calzaghe ever faced.
Rather, many have argued his light-heavyweight encounter with Bernard Hopkins, back in 2008, saw Calzaghe claim his most impressive victory.
But while B-Hop floored his man in the opening round, and ultimately lost a rather contentious split decision, Calzaghe has insisted that his toughest opponent was in fact Mikkel Kessler.
The razor-sharp technician collided with the Danish world champion in 2007, when an added degree of speed saw him come away with three major titles at 168lbs.
In an interview with Ring Magazine, Calzaghe claimed that no other opponent was quite so much of a handful.
“Mikkel Kessler. I would say that, when I beat him, he was at his peak, 39-0. I think I was a bit older than him.
“It was my last fight at super middleweight. Massive pressure at the Millennium Stadium, 50,000, he held three belts.
“The Mikkel Kessler I beat was the best Mikkel Kessler. Kessler just edges it between him and Bernard Hopkins.”
Kessler held world honours at super-middleweight on multiple occasions, having also shared the ring with fighters such as Carl Froch and Andre Ward before ending his career in 2013 with a final record of 46 wins and 3 defeats.
Calzaghe also faced the likes of Roy Jones Jr, Chris Eubank and Robin Reid throughout his decorated career.
