LONDON, June 14: World boxing champion Joe Calzaghe said he was “knocked out” after his unbeaten run as a professional was recognised with the award of a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Birthday Honours List of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

A CBE is just one rank below a knighthood.

For Calzaghe, unbeaten in 45 professional fights and already the holder of the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medal, this latest award came as a complete surprise.

“For the first time in my life I was knocked out,” said Calzaghe, unbeaten in 45 professional fights.“It’s unbelievable when I think back to when I was a kid that one day I would have achieved so much through boxing, and my teachers laughed at me when I said I was going to be a boxer,” added the 36-year-old Welshman.

Also receiving a CBE was former England rugby union captain Bill Beaumont.

World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio, another ex-England captain, was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).

England’s John Surtees, the only man to win world motorsport titles on both two wheels and four, was promoted to an OBE from MBE.

David Morgan, the former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the chairman-elect of the International Cricket Council was also made an OBE.—AFP