Floyd Mayweather
Mayweather is arrogant, a real showboater, but he has the skills to back up his boasts. Fast, skilful, mobile and strong, he is technically the most complete boxer on the planet right now. He showed that against Oscar De La Hoya, who has been another hero of mine. De La Hoya was unlucky to lose that fight, he just met a man who gave a masterclass of the art. I don't like listening to Mayweather talk but I have the utmost respect for him and love to watch him fight.

Manny Pacquiao
I do not go out of my way to watch that many modern fighters. There are few who entertain or really impress me but I admire Pacquiao, the Philippino super-featherweight champion and to a lesser extent, his countryman Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao fights with ferocity and guts, and his handspeed is phenomenal.

Joe Calzaghe
I'm eighth on the The Ring magazine's pound-for-pound ratings but they don't mean much. Before I beat Lacy, I hardly figured in most people's ratings. Did I improve that much in one night? It was nice to be included in The Ring's top ten, it showed I was finally getting the respect I deserved, but it is impossible to compare accurately every fighter at every weight.

If I had to name the best, I put myself, Mayweather and Pacquiao above everyody else. Am I the best of the three? I wouldn't like to say but I firmly believe I'm the best in my two divisions, middleweight and super-middleweight. Better than Jermain Taylor, a middleweight champion; better than Winky Wright, who boxed Taylor to a draw. Better even than Bernard Hopkins, the light-heavyweight champion who refuses to drop a weight to fight me. I wouldn't have any of those guys on this list.

Joe Calzaghe: No Ordinary Joe is published in hardback by Century on May 24th 2007 for £18.99

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