In an artical written by Niall Hickman of The Daily Express documenting the recent winning of the Boxing Writers Association's 'Young Boxer of the Year' award by Londoner George Groves, an award Joe himself won in 1996. Hickman claims that Joe Calzaghe is arguably the greatest of all the winners so far, writing:
" It is a compelling list, but my choice would go to Calzaghe. On a stunning night five years ago he gave a boxing masterclass to defeat previously unbeaten Jeff Lacy, then followed it up with victories over Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins. He was a 12-stone champion for ten years, retired with a flawless 46-0 record and had, as they say, everything."