26 lBOXING NEWSlJUNE 27, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.net
➤ “After agreeing to fight Owoh, I felt a pain in my
back during only my second run,” he said. “I was
about four miles from home, halfway through an
eight-mile run, and the pain got so bad it was the
first time in my life I had ever stopped on a run.”
Woodhall resented the fact he would have to
complete the “longest f**king walk of my life” to
make it home. He phoned his brother and was
told: “You’ve had the pain before, just push through
it.” But this was a different kind of pain, Woodhall
stressed, and what followed was a trip to
the hospital, an X-ray and the revelation
that his lower spine was cracked in two
places.
When asked by the
doctor what he did for a
living, Woodhall said he
boxed and that running
on roads was a crucial
and consistent part
of his training regime,
something he did five
times a week. “Well,
this is due to running
on hard surfaces,” the
doctor informed Woodhall, and because the former
champion couldn’t comprehend not running for six
months, as per the doctor’s instructions, he knew
then he had reached the end of the road.
“There wasn’t even a decision to make,” he said.
“When walking those four miles home, I’d already
decided I’d never box again, and knew an X-ray
would confirm my career was over. It was an
excruciating pain I hadn’t felt before.”
Regardless of whether the body or mind goes
first, most boxers associate the rolling of the end
credits with pain and disappointment, the exit
forced rather than forecast.
Some, however, do get lucky. The last punch
Carl Froch threw in a boxing ring, for example,
knocked out George Groves, his bitter rival, in
front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, while Joe
Calzaghe retired after back-to-back wins in America
against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jnr. Better
still, he retired at 36 with a 46-0 record, havingnever been beaten as a pro.
“It’s every fighter’s dream to win a world title, of
course it is, but we also dream of never losing a
fight,” said the former WBA, WBC and WBO world
super-middleweight champion.
“I feel blessed that I was able to retire
undefeated. If nothing else, it made it very easy for
me to retire when I needed to. Because, let’s face
it, if I had a defeat or two on my record, I probably
would have continued. I’d have found a way or a
reason for it to make sense. Maybe I’d have
gone for revenge – try to beat the guy who
beat me – or looked for redemption in some
other way.
“As it happened, I
had nothing to prove
or fight for. I beat two
legends stateside and
you couldn’t write a
better ending than that.
Sometimes you’ve got to
listen to your body. All
the doctors, and all the
signs, were telling me to
retire.”
Calzaghe’s hands, now bent out of shape, had
been an issue since he was 14 years of age, and
he also had problems with his back and legs by
the time he called it a day in 2008. More than that,
having boxed for 27 years, he was simply fed up
with getting punched.
“I think about boxing differently,” he said. “I don’t
want to get hit in the head anymore. That doesn’t
make sense to me now. I did that for a long, long
time and, looking back, that part was never nice.”
Steve Collins, a two-weight world champion with
whom Joe Calzaghe was linked towards the end of
Collins’ career, also bowed out on top. Undefeated
for five years, his final fights were defences of his
WBO super-middleweight title (a belt he would
vacate for Calzaghe to win) and both ended with his
hand being raised.
“I was so happy when I retired,” Collins said. “I
had no incentive to keep fighting. I said to myself
if the Roy Jones Jnr fight comes off, I’ll make anI LEFT THE SPORT, THE
SPORT DIDN’T LEAVE
ME. THAT’S THE NICEST
FEELING. NO ONE CAN
TAKE THAT AWAY”
VICTORY:
Calzaghe does
what his
opponent
Jones Jnr
couldn’t do,
and gets out
while the
going is good
Photos:
ACTION IMAGES