16.06.08 – by James Slater: It seems Joe Calzaghe has all but made his mind up. Roy Jones Junior will not only be Joe’s next opponent, he will very likely be his last. Speaking to BBC sport recently, the 36-year-old great suggested the fans had better enjoy him while he’s still boxing, because it’s likely the fight with Jones will be his swansong.
“What a way to finish, fighting one of the greats of this generation,” Calzaghe told BBC Radio Wales. “I’d love my last fight to be in Cardiff but it comes down to business and what the T.V companies want. It’ll be the fight of my life. I haven’t started training yet, but once a date is confirmed I’ll get back down to business. Fighting the greatest fighter of the 1990s would be the perfect way to finish off my career. But he [Jones] will be fighting the greatest fighter of the millennium. This is a case of famous last words but I think that’ll probably be it for me so my message to my fans is enjoy it now because after this year, it’ll be the end..”
So there it is. It seems that not only will there be no Calzaghe Vs. Pavlik fight, there will be no more Calzaghe Vs. anybody fight after he’s taken care of Jones. The planned month for Joe’s final bout is November and it is likely the fight will take place in Las Vegas – or certainly America, anyway. It’s not clear how fans will react to the unbeaten Welshman’s decision to retire after Jones (if he actually does so), but one suspects some people will feel disappointment if Calzaghe does not box Pavlik.
Still, no fighter can go on forever, and Joe may feel he is too old to be risking his legacy with a bout against a brutal puncher such as “The Ghost.” Calzaghe certainly has nothing to prove in regards to his overall greatness, that’s for sure. Yes, a win over Pavlik at super-middleweight would be a sensational way for the 36-year-old to go out, but after all he’s achieved in his long career Joe has the right to go out in whatever way he sees fit. And it now looks almost 100 % definite that the way Joe has chosen is with a fight with the once pound-for-pound king in Jones Junior.
Speaking a little more on this fight, Calzaghe said what he feels the bout will be like.
“Me and Roy Jones wouldn’t just be a fight,” Joe said. “But a spectacular event!”