Joe Calzaghe has advised WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly to forget about a unification showdown with American great Bernard Hopkins. Calzaghe believes Hopkins, who celebrates his 47th birthday next week, wants a big-name opponent for final payday.
Cleverly will defend his WBO crown for a third time against 'unknown' American Tommy Karpency in his Welsh homecoming on the 25th of February but the 24-year-old wants a summer unification show with WBC champion Hopkins or WBA title-holder Beibut Shumenov.
"I don't think he has any intention of fighting Nathan. Bernard Hopkins is a 46-year-old man looking for a big, big payday against a big-name fighter," Calzaghe told BBC Radio Wales' Back Page show. "Hopkins will only fight if he gets a big payday and a big name. Nathan is in the early part of his career and I'm not sure you can build that fight up. He is not known in America. And Nathan, who is an up-and-coming fighter, is too dangerous for Hopkins."
