Boxing: The day Calzaghe's dad called him chicken

The final chapter has yet to be written in Joe Calzaghe's life story, even though his autobiography has just been published. But while he awaits the formal conclusion of arguably the most successful career of any British boxer, he has admitted that it might all have ended in tears, shame and embarrassment just 14 months ago.

The undefeated world super-middleweight champion revealed for the first time last week that he wanted to quit before his memorable victory over the American Jeff Lacy in Manchester but was warned by his father and mentor, Enzo, that he would end up as a laughing stock.

Calzaghe suffered one of his numerous hand injuries before the fight and asked to pull out. "But my dad went ballistic," he told me. "He really kicked me up the arse, calling me 'a fucking chicken'... everything under the sun. He told me I would never live it down and that I would never come back.

"I had damaged my wrist in sparring and I had these demons in my head telling me that I couldn't fight this guy - who had a 22-0 record, who had the six-pack of the year and who was being hyped as the second coming of Mike Tyson - with one hand.

"I may be the fighter but it is my dad who pulls no punches. He said if I wasn't going through with the fight I might as well quit, as I would lose all credibility. He said: 'Even if you lose, people will still respect you, otherwise they will remember you as a fucking chicken. Is that what you want?'

"He reckoned: 'Look, this guy won't touch you. You will do a number on him, beat the crap out of him. Believe me, because you obviously don't believe in yourself.' Fortunately everything came right, my hand got strong again and so did my mind. "Boxing with me is all about mindset. I thought I would be going into the fight worrying about that right hand, but as it turned out Lacy was demoralised from the first bell. Dad was proved right."

The rest, as they say, is boxing history. Calzaghe gave one of the most enthralling exhibitions since the dancing years of Muhammad Ali and has emerged as Britain's most enduring world champion, unblemished physically and statistically in 43 fights, 20 of them world-title defences.

In No Ordinary Joe, dextrously ghosted by Brian Doogan, Calzaghe also reveals that at one of the low points of his career he was helped by a psychic and was bullied at school because of his Italian ancestry.

Now, at 35, the Welsh southpaw is looking at just two or three more bouts to complete the legacy: "Lacy was the pinnacle of my career but I want to go out on another high." A unifying super-fight, this time with the unbeaten Dane Mikkel Kessler - who holds the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council versions (Calzaghe is the World Boxing Organisation champion) - was agreed on Friday, according to the promoter Frank Warren. The fight will be in Denmark in September. "There is talk of a $5m purse. I'd take that. Net of course," said Calzaghe.

He is a more ordinary Joe than the title of the book suggests. A trip to New York next weekend to present the main award at the US Boxing Writers' dinner is a rare excursion from his native Newbridge. He is one multi-millionaire fighter whose head has never been turned, except by the occasional punch. Yet he obviously thinks he has never been accorded the public acclaim he feels his achievements merit.

This, he says, is because most of his title fights were "tucked away" on Sky. "I'm not knocking that. I've been well paid, but until ITV came on the scene recently I've never had the sort of exposure that Amir Khan has had. I envy him because I never had the chance to fulfil my Olympic dream. He's a lucky young man really. I like him, he's a nice lad, but he needs to remain that way. He's earning a lot of money at a very young age and that can be dangerous. He must remember he's won nothing yet. He has to pay his dues.

"I believe I was better than Amir at comparative stages of our careers. But if I had had his treatment I could have been much bigger than I am now."

While Calzaghe has never been a carouser like his erstwhile stablemate Ricky Hatton, he admits, intriguingly, that he is no pugilistic paragon. "Yes, I do like a pint and I eat a lot of shit at times. Sometimes I've let myself go and forgotten I'm a professional boxer. I've been over 14st between fights but I'm 6ft 1in and it doesn't show as it does on a smaller guy like Ricky. I can carry the weight and I always pay by training harder."

So what happens when he finally quits? "I don't know. It worries me a bit. The trouble is you get bored. I've just got my trainer's licence and I'd like to help my dad, and maybe manage a few fighters. Business-wise I've invested in property, some in Eastern Europe. But I've never been a nine-to-five man. I may get pissed off now and then but boxing's in my blood. There's this hunger driving me on.

"Actually, when I do retire I fancy being a bit of a ringside pundit. That Barry McGuigan had better watch out."

Calzaghe's story in his own words 'No Ordinary Joe' (Century Books, £18.99)