Quotes from Joe Calzaghe

Fighters never realise when it is time to walk away. They can't leave the buzz and adoration that surrounds being champion.

I know Haye's a good fighter as well and he beat Mormeck but Mormeck is not Enzo Maccarinelli and does not have the speed, stamina or punching power.

After a weigh-in, you drink and put on the pounds. But it's just fluid, not muscle, so you get in the ring and feel flat.

I cried watching 'Million Dollar Baby.' I'm a big baby, man.

I agreed to be on 'Strictly Come Dancing' without watching the show. I got talked into it by my manager. And my God, I was crap at it.

At 14, 15, everyone at school stopped talking to me, and I went completely into my shell. Basically, I'd be hiding. I had no friends. I hated it.

I prayed before fights. Especially just before I got in to the ring. But I'd also have my iPod on, Prodigy and Linkin Park ripping through my ears.

I find it quite sad to see the likes of Evander Holyfield carrying on past their sell-by date.

I'm not going to lie: you do get down sometimes, but I wouldn't say I was ever depressed; that's too hard a word. But you do become bored, because all you've done in your life is fight and box.

My mum is the opposite of my dad. She's a very private person, very shy and totally against boxing. She never watched any of my fights live. She hated me doing it.

On a personal level, I probably wouldn't want my boys to box professionally. But I do encourage them to get into boxing training - they both go along. It keeps them fit.

Promoting is a no-no - that's hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don't have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I'll be good at.

I like him as a guy, but I'm going to knock him out - Roy Jones is just a prop in a fairytale ending to a great career for me.

I've beaten all contenders for 11 years. I'm not a robot; I'm fed up. My body's tired of it. I'm 36.

The perfect fighter has never been born and never will be.

I embraced every struggle because it made me the fighter I was.

You ask all the super-middleweights: Who is the best fighter in Britain? If I came back, it would be me.

Why am I not a household name in Britain? Why have I not got the recognition I deserve after so long? I think the fact that none of my fights are seen on terrestrial television is significant but, other than that, I don't exactly know. I really don't.

I appreciate what I've achieved, and nearly all of that is because of my dad. He pushed me to train harder than I would have done if he wasn't there to discipline me.

I never really, really pushed my boys into boxing, but I guess it's in the blood.

Every fighter, when they box, wants to leave a mark in their sport, or a legacy, and I managed to do that beyond my wildest dreams.

If you know you're just fighting for the money and you're not fighting for the championship, you're going to lose, so I thought, 'It's time for me to quit.'

I pick my nose quite a bit.

I didn't like school at all. I was bullied and didn't have a good time. Boxing was my escapism, and the ring was where I felt best.