Last Updated: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:02
Joe Calzaghe has been labelled as the best fighter to descend from Britain by former featherweight world champion Barry McGuigan.
Welsh boxer Calzaghe stretched his unbeaten run to 45 fights in 18 years when he defeated Bernard Hopkins in a light-heavyweight showdown in Las Vegas on April 20.
McGuigan feels his ability to defend his world super-middleweight crown on 21 occasions before stepping up a weight grade to see off Hopkins, means he must be classed as the best of British.
The Northern Irishman, who could challenge Calzaghe for the crown himself following the legendary IBF featherweight title victory over Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road in 1985, told BBC Sport: "His record alone tells us that he's probably the best fighter we've ever had.
"Also the amount of world champions he's beaten and the way he's conducted his life, he has to be up there."
He added: "There'll be those old-timers who say he wasn't as good as Jimmy Wilde or Benny Lynch or Jim Driscoll or Randolph Turpin or Nigel Benn, whatever.
"Boxing's about styles and his style may not appeal to everybody, but he could well be the best boxer this country has produced."