By Sammy Rozenberg

History was made at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday night. Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) successfully defended his WBO super middleweight title against reality star Peter Manfredo, Jr, (26-4, 12 KOs) and in the process he tied Bernard Hopkins' record of 20 successful title defense.

Manfredo, who gained fame from his appearance on the reality program "The Contender," was overwhelmed by a fighter on another level. Calzaghe used his quick hands to hit Manfedo to the body, and then come upstairs with a solid right hand.

In the third round, Calzaghe unleashed a barrage of punches on Manfredo as he was stuck against the ropes. Manfredo tried to block the punches, but he did not fire back, which prompted referee Terry O'Connor to jump in and stop the action. Although the stoppage was seen as a bit premature, Calzaghe well was on his way to winning the fight by knockout.

An estimated 35,000 Calzaghe fans packed the house to back their hero, the longest reigning champion in the sport of boxing. The fight with Manfredo is perceived to be Calzaghe's final bout in Wales, before a possible trip to America for a future mega-fight.

The win over Manfredo sets up two profitable scenarios for Calzaghe. The first option is a multi-million dollar bout against Bernard Hopkins in America. The storyline alone can sell the fight. Hopkins on more than one occasion has said on the record that he will not allow Calzaghe to break his record of 20 successful title defenses.

The fight is profitable enough that Calzaghe is willing to make the trip to America. He really doesn't have much of a choice in that department because Hopkins isn't willing to fight him in any country other than America.

Of course, Hopkins still has Winky Wright to contend with in the main event of a July pay-per-view. Hopkins meets Wright at a catch-weight of 170-pounds and there is nothing set in stone that Hopkins will win the fight. Wright is a very formidable opponent who could very well pull off the upset.

Another issue in making Calzaghe-Hopkins a reality, is the weight. Hopkins may not be able to get down to 168-pounds in order to make the fight, and Calzgahe may not want to risk his unbeaten record against Hopkins at a higher weight - for the moment. It's unlikely that Calzaghe will move up in weight to face Hopkins until he breaks his record of successful title defenses.

The other scenario would pit him against unbeaten WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler of Denmark. Kessler, a hard punching fighter with a fantastic jab, is gaining a lot of fans all over the world with his aggressive, power-punching style. His most recent win over Librado Andrade on March 24, was showcased on HBO, the "King Kong" of televised boxing in America. HBO also televised clips of his October 06 unification knockout win over Markus Beyer.

It's no secret that HBO is pushing behind the scenes for a winner takes all, unification showdown between Calzaghe and Kessler. Kessler makes the most money in Denmark, and Calzaghe gets the most bang for his buck in the United Kingdom. The fight is not worth nearly as much in America, but it's worth a fortune overseas.

Hopkins and Kessler are not the only fighters on Calzaghe's hit list. There is certainly the option of facing unbeaten middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, should Taylor be willing to move up in weight. At the moment, Taylor has a lot of options in the middleweight division and probably at least a year away from moving up in weight.

And then there is Roy Jones, Jr. The biggest issue that comes with making a fight with Jones is the negotiations process. Jones, more than any other in the sport, is the most difficult fighter to deal with at the negotiations table.

Numerous fights in the last two years have broken down because of Jones' unrealistic demands with respect to his financial compensation. Jones has also lost three of his last four fights, making him an opponent that Calzaghe has very little to gain from in victory, other than adding another "name" opponent on his resume.