Boxing

What will Calzaghe do next?

British boxing appears to be on the lips of many sports fans and a series of high profile wins and a lot of loud talking has certainly captured the attention of many boxing fans around the world. Of great interest is the future of Joe Calzaghe and whether the Welsh wonder will be persuaded to fight on for one final and huge, pay check or whether he will decide enough is enough and bow out at the top of his game. The defeat of Roy Jones Jnr in Madison Square Gardens was said to have been the boxers’ final fight but all talk since then has hinted at a possible additional fight before he hangs up his gloves for good. Debate will continue to rage on until the New Year when Calzaghe is tipped to give his official statement on the future of his boxing career but boxing insiders at the moment believe he is set to disappoint his fans and announce his retirement from the sport.

As well as his fans, if Calzaghe does announce his retirement, Carl Froche will also be extremely disappointed. Froch took Calzaghes former crown, the WBC super-middleweight title with a victory over Jean Pascal and it is said that Froch is keen to fight the Welshman. Knowing that the incentive for Calzaghe would probably come for the purse up for grabs as opposed to one more fight, it has been said that Froche has encouraged his management team to entice Calzaghe with a lucrative offer but there appears to be a number of people also looking to persuade Calzaghe to take one more opponent before calling it a day.

Three names who have all made positive noises about their desire to take on Calzaghe are Glen Johnson, Chad Dawson and Jermain Taylor but even then, the list of possible opponents for the Welsh boxer does not end there. Calzaghe has defeated many opponents in his illustrious career and it seems that many of them are still bristling about the defeats they received. Bernard Hopkins, Mikkel Kessler and the recently defeated Roy Jones Jnr have all made announcements and proclamations about squaring off against Calzaghe one more time.

It only goes to show the demand for the Welsh boxer who remains unbeaten after 46 fights in a career that has lasted 18 years and currently sees him hold the position of World Light-Heavyweight number one. With success comes responsibility and the desire for opponents to be the person who takes your undefeated record so it is hardly surprising there are many people looking for one last fight against Calzaghe. Whether any of them can create a case, and a purse, lucrative enough for Calzaghe to put his title and record on the line one more time is debatable and there may be more for Calzaghe to risk and lose if he decides to step into the ring once more.

Money is a powerful incentive for any man but when you already have money, the idea of bowing out gracefully at the top of the game and retaining an undefeated record may be worth more to Calzaghe than any amount of money. The boxing world will be waiting with baited breath for the announcement on what happens next in the career of Joe Calzaghe.