by James Slater – There is some bad blood forming in the run up to the hugely anticipated Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Junior clash. Originally, when the fight was signed a few months ago, the two fighters spoke of each other with only respect, saying what a great fighter the other guy was. But now, in a stunning outburst in The Daily Mirror newspaper, 36-year-old Calzaghe has turned more than a little nasty towards the man he will be facing in New York on November 8th.
The two legends were originally supposed to fight, way back in 2001. According to the Mirror article, Jones claims the Welshman avoided him because he was afraid of him. Obviously, “The Pride of Wales” disagrees. However, he does acknowledge that Jones has spoken badly of him in the past. The two men will meet up for a series of promotional bits to help hype the fight later this week. Starting in New York and travelling to Los Angeles, London and finally Cardiff, the two will have plenty of opportunities to go face to face.
“I can’t wait to see Jones in the flesh and look him in the eyes,” the unbeaten Calzaghe told The Mirror. “I’ve been listening to him bad-mouth me for about six or seven years. When we get to New York and Los Angeles I will get the chance to put him on his back foot and shut him up. This is the start of the fight for me and when I get in the ring I will make him pay for all the bad comments he’s ever made.”
It seems Jones had succeeded in getting under the normally cool Calzaghe’s skin. Whether or not either fighter was non too keen on a meeting back in 2001, it is a shame the two greats have had to wait until they are both in the twilight stage of their careers before getting it on. Still, better late than never. For his part, Floridian Jones, at least in The Mirror article, only expressed his happiness that the fight is finally happening.
“I’m pleased Joe has finally agreed to fight me but I know that he will regret it,” former pound-for-pound king Jones said. “This is a fight between two great champions and it is a fight all boxing fans deserve. Joe is a great British fighter but I’m a great American fighter and that will be the difference.”
With the fight very likely being Joe Calzaghe’s final fight, as well as Roy Jones’ final shot at the big time, we can expect both men to be doing their very best to back up their talk on November 8th.