Publications
Partners
Calzaghe, who still has to decide whether to quit after beating Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones. this year to take his unbeaten record to 46 fights, said in London on Wednesday he was glad he was almost on the way out of the sport instead of just starting out.
"I think boxing is a dying sport. Globally, in America for instance, you have UFC, which has taken a lot off boxing, business-wise," Calzaghe said, referring to the mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship.
But the Welshman, who held the WBO super-middleweight title for more than ten years before moving up to light-heavyweight to fight Hopkins and Jones, said boxing also had its own internal problems.
"There is too much politics in boxing, too many belts and too many champions, which dilutes real champions like myself," he said.
"There are four world champions in each division and it's bad because there are no stars any more. It's a big problem."
Calzaghe also noted that the United States won only one medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, a bronze by heavyweight Deontay Wilder, which points to a grim future for American boxing.
"America only had one medallist in the Olympics this year," Calzaghe said. "In Britain, we did pretty good, but I'm glad I'm ending my career and not starting it because I don't think it's going to be so great in the future."
