Two-division champion and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in boxing, Joe Calzaghe, announced his retirement. Calzaghe ended his career with a 46-0 record with 32 knockouts.

Calzaghe has been pondering a return to the ring since his dominant win over Roy Jones, Jr. in November. At 36-years old, Calzaghe was looking to possibly make one last mega-fight at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

But Calzaghe told the BBC that it was time to hang up the gloves.

“It was a difficult decision but I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve in boxing,” said Calzaghe. “I’ve been world champion for 11 years. I’ve got no other goals to go for. That’s why I am calling it a day.”

Calzaghe reigned supreme at super-middleweight for 11 years, before moving up to light-heavyweight to capture the title from Bernard Hopkins in 2008.

Although he’s considered a legend in Europe, Calzaghe worked to gain the approval of American fight fans in the last few years of his career, beating American legends Hopkins and Jones in his final two fights.

While those may be the biggest names on his resume, his biggest win likely was the win over Mikkel Kessler of Denmark in 2007. Seen as the true challenger to Calzaghe’s super-middleweight champion status, Kessler brought two belts into the ring in a huge unification bout. While competitive, Calzaghe drew away from Kessler late in the fight to win a comfortable unanimous decision. It may not go down as his most profitable fight, but that was the fight that affirmed Calzaghe’s prior accomplishments.

Calzaghe’s stablemate, fellow countryman, and close friend Enzo Maccarinelli supported the decision:

“Joe had nothing to prove to anyone – he was head and shoulders above anyone else so I don’t think anyone could have beaten him. I don’t think Joe had anything to prove against [Carl] Froch. He beats Froch 10 times out of 10 Froch boxed well against Jean Pascal last time and it was a good fight. He wouldn’t fight light-heavy and there is no way Joe could make super-middle so that put an end to that straight away,”

Calzaghe also got accolades and support from fellow Brit Ricky Hatton, as well as the approval of his father, Enzo, who both praised his career and agreed with Joe’s decision.

Courtesy of HBO, here are some of Calzaghe’s greatest hits:

Calzaghe will remain as the BoxingInformer.com light-heavyweight and pound-for-pound champion until March, at which time he will be replaced.