Enzo Calzaghe seriously ill in hospital as family issue statement to confirm he has not died

The family of Enzo Calzaghe, the father of former world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe, has issued a statement to say that he remains seriously ill in hospital after false reports of his death emerged.

Various reports claimed on Friday that ex-trainer Calzaghe, 69, had passed away, but his niece Carrie issued a statement on social media to deny those claims.

"Enzo Calzaghe my uncle, has not passed away, this is false news, he is alive but very poorly,” she wrote on Facebook on Friday night.

"Please allow space for our family at this time. He is alive and still fighting.

"We will keep you posted and let you know how he is doing when we can. Please allow and respect our privacy at this time Thank you. Team Calzaghe."

She later added in the early hours of Saturday morning: “Thanks for all the shares, we can see that the news reports have been changed! Again, please respect our privacy, his situation remains the same for now but we will let you know when we know. Team Calzaghe.”

Enzo guided his son through all 46 of his unbeaten fights as Joe retired as one of the greatest boxers to have graced the sport, having become the unified super middleweight world champion during his career.

The Italian, who was born in Bancali on the island of Sardinia, also trained fellow Welsh fighters Gavin Rees and Enzo Macrinelli to world titles during his training career, and also guided Nathan Cleverly and Bradley Price before retiring.