Joe Calzaghe: Former world champion eyes trainer or manager role

Calzaghe says he feels reopening the gym where he and other boxers such as world champions Enzo Maccarinelli and Gavin Rees enjoyed such success has helped him with his grief, as the Calzaghe family pay tribute to the man who won trainer of the year at the 2007 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

“Yeah of course, the memories from this place will last forever,” he said. “My dad is not here now so it’s not got the crazy buzz that we used to have here but, at the end of the day, we are doing it for my sons and for the sport of boxing, because I love the sport of boxing.

“It would have been a shame to just leave the gym as it was. We had amazing days, three world champions, incredible times over the last 20 years in this gym, but now it is time to take the next step.

“My boys have always loved boxing and wanted to follow me into the sport and they teach it down here, so it is continuing the legacy really, continuing the legacy of the gym, of my dad Enzo and of myself and going forward – boxing is a great sport.

“This is like the Kronk Gym [the famous American boxing gym in Detroit] of Britain, this is the champs’ camp, that’s how I like to look at it and it has been sleeping long enough now, it is time to get back into it. I have more enthusiasm now to be involved with the gym again.

“It is such a magic place and my sons Joe and Connor will continue the legacy. It is going to be really good, there is lots of interest and we are revamping the place to what it was like before.

“The boys really enjoy it, they have loads of enthusiasm for the sport and it makes me proud, they can kick on and achieve good things and who knows, maybe one day a world champion could walk through these doors again. It is a possibility.

“Dad would love it, he would be proud of the boys, of course.”