Joe Calzaghe believes Saturday's spectacular win over Mario Veit proved his "heart was still in the sport".

The undefeated WBO super-middleweight champion, who floored his German mandatory challenger twice before the bout was halted in the sixth round, was impressive as he put aside his problems.

"Just to be fighting again was a relief because I knew I couldn't fight any worse than last time," Calzaghe said after his 39th win in as many bouts.

"Back then I had a lot of things going on in my private life and didn't function on the night. "Believe me, I'm in great shape. If my heart wasn't in this there is no way I could train for eight weeks to fight Brian Magee, have one week off and prepare for another seven weeks for this fight. I'm still hungry."

Even the German promoters praised Calzaghe as "without a doubt the best super-middleweight fighter in the world".

Manager Klaus-Peter Kohl said, "Calzaghe is a deserving champion, no-one can cope with him in this weight division."