13.06.08 – by James Slater: It seems the fight all of boxing is talking about right now – In Joe Calzaghe-Kelly Pavlik – will not be happening. At least not any time soon. Speaking to The South Wales Argus, Calzaghe said a fight with Roy Jones Junior would be the much more likely bout for him in his next fight..
“A lot of people would love to see it,” Joe said. “However, at this point, I think it’s unlikely. I’m not sure if Pavlik really wants to face me at the moment. He would have little to gain because I believe I would definitely beat him and, with respect to Gary Lockett, I would be a step up too far for Pavlik.”
So there you are. Calzaghe feels Pavlik is not as keen as many other people feel he is when it comes to a fight with the unbeaten Welshman. Many fans will disagree with Joe, naturally. And Calzaghe could have perhaps gone into more detail about his opinion of the fight being “Unlikely.” I believe Kelly Pavlik, also unbeaten of course, would take a super-middleweight showdown with Calzaghe if it were offered to him. “The Ghost” is certainly not afraid of Joe.
After (temporarily at least) dismissing Pavlik as his next foe, the 36-year-old light-heavyweight champ spoke about who he feels he WILL meet next.
“Talks are ongoing about me facing Roy Jones, a genuine legend of boxing and a previous four-weight world champion,” Joe said. “That is a fight that I think can be made. Pavlik’s got the world at his feet at middleweight or super-middleweight and will want to build his unbeaten record, rather than stepping up at least one weight category to face me. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that we will face each other, but I think Jones is the right fight for me at the moment.”
It will be very interesting to hear what Kelly Pavlik has to say, now that Calzaghe has presumed to tell us all what Pavlik “will want to do.” How does Joe know Kelly would be more interested in building his unbeaten record than in a mega-fight with him? At least Calzaghe added that the fight everyone wants to see is not “beyond the realms of possibility.”
Hopefully, after he beats Roy Jones (as he certainly will should they fight) Joe Calzaghe will then opt to face Kelly Pavlik. After all, this is a fight that is too good to miss and only comes around once in a long, long while.