Is Joe Calzaghe Britain's greatest ever boxer?

If this was the last time Joe Calzaghe stepped into the ring, if it was the time to draw a curtain on the greatest career in British boxing history, he left the crowd wanting more.

All the greats boxed at Madison Square Garden, from Benny Leonard and Jack Dempsey onwards. Calzaghe fits in well. In years to come, fans will regale tales of a super-middleweight so fast that he threw more punches than a featherweight, a southpaw so awkward that he would drop his hands, stand directly in front of his opponent and duck and dive for the hell of it, of a Welshman who showed that a Briton could be the world's greatest fighter.

His victory over Roy Jones Jr, himself an all-time great, was as dominant as it was brutal. Calzaghe beat Jones to the punch and pounded him relentlessly. Attacking to the body early on, he sapped Jones's strength and by the middle rounds, Jones's spindly legs could not take him where he wanted. Over the closing rounds, as Jones struggled after being badly cut, Calzaghe eased up and almost carried his rival over the finish line.

In defending his Ring magazine light-heavyweight title, Calzaghe, 36, showed what had brought him to the top of his sport, the flashing speed, the odd angles, the endless combinations, combined with a desire to win and utter confidence in his ability, characterised by his relentless showboating. Some might think the latter was in bad taste, but Jones, 39, who has spent a career taunting lesser opponents, would probably have appreciated it. Calzaghe was having fun.

“My stamina is second to none,” he said. “I knew I could do the 12 rounds easily and I thought he would tire.”

As on his US debut in April in Las Vegas against Bernard Hopkins, Calzaghe had to overcome a disastrous start. With 40 seconds remaining in the first round, Calzaghe walked into a hard left jab from Jones and a right uppercut. The punch actually missed, but Jones's wrist clobbered into Calzaghe's chin and sent him to the canvas.

It was the fourth time in his career he had been on the floor and he looked stunned, but he rose quickly and charged straight into Jones. The American's one chance was gone.

From the second round onwards, Calzaghe pressed the pace, while Jones stayed back and tried to hit him with pot shots. Jones had some success in the second - when Calzaghe received a small cut on his nose - but the third showed Calzaghe's brilliance.

He landed a thudding left early on that sent Jones retreating to the ropes, Calzaghe then opened up with his trademark combinations, landing well to the body and switching to the head as the American's hands dropped. Punch after punch landed and, as the seconds ticked away, Calzaghe dropped his hands as if to give Jones a free shot. Jones threw three hooks, all of which Calzaghe slipped.

From then on there was only one winner. Jones tried only single shots, Calzaghe tried more and more showboating to try to tempt his opponent forward. The American, though, stayed with his back to the ropes. At times, Calzaghe got close and pushed his face between Jones's guard as if to say “come and hit me”. “It's something I do at the gym, something that is part of the way I box,” he said. “I've got very good reflexes. Sometimes I get caught more when my hands are up than when they are down.” Both had promised a great contest and they delivered, until the seventh round, when a clubbing right by Calzaghe badly cut Jones above the left eye. From then on, Jones could not compete.

Twice the ringside doctor inspected the cut, but he allowed the bout to continue even though Jones's corner were unable to stanch the bleeding. The final round, if it proves to be Calzaghe's last, was not his best, as he was content to showboat, while Jones vainly tried to land one telling punch.

The judges, Jerry Roth, Terry O'Connor and Julie Lederman, had identical scorecards, making Calzaghe the winner 118-109, meaning they gave Jones only the first round.

“Being put on my arse twice in two fights was not in the script, but I showed what a true champion is all about,” Calzaghe said. “I hope everyone enjoyed it, I know I did.” He looked as if he was having a ball.