By Mark Vester
Roy Jones Jr. is a heavy favorite over the returning Felix Trinidad when they collide at a catch-weight of 170-pounds on Jan. 19 in New York's Madison Square Garden. Should Jones look impressive and most expect he will, several potential paydays are waiting in the wings.
Jones recently called out undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, who lists Jones as a possible opponent for 2008. Calzaghe has Jones in mind as a "plan B" opponent and may actually pursue the fight - if negotiations for a bout with Bernard Hopkins fall apart.
Calzaghe and Hopkins have hit a wall with the agreed upon location for the fight. Calzaghe prefers a location in the UK and Hopkins has stood firm on staging the fight in America. There is also the prospect of a possible fallout over money, since Hopkins publicly voiced his demand for a 60-40 split in his favor.
In a recent conversation with PA Sport, Nazim Richardson, trainer and close personal friend of Hopkins, told the paper that a fight with Jones would mean more to Hopkins, and the American public would have more interest in that fight.
Jones won a unanimous decision over Hopkins in 1993 to win the vacant IBF middleweight title. Following the loss to Jones, Hopkins would stay unbeaten for the next twelve years. Richardson has urged Hopkins, 43, to hang up the gloves. He feels that Hopkins has nothing left to prove.
"Bernard has accomplished everything he needs to accomplish in this sport and I have been telling him for a long time that he should stop fighting. But I can see why a fight against Roy Jones would mean so much to him. It is all about settling the score after their fight in 1993 and I believe it is the fight between two great veterans which the US would prefer to see," Richardson said.
Richardson sees no reason for Hopkins to choose the alternative, a fight with Calzaghe, unless the fight takes place in America.
"Bernard does not see any reason why he should travel to Calzaghe's back yard," Richardson added. "He is the great fighter and he has earned the right over the years to make his choice. Calzaghe is a good fighter but there is a big difference between the two of them. Everyone built up Kessler but who had he really beaten? Where are the living legends on Calzaghe's record? The mark of an all-time great fighter is the fights he has had against other living legends. Bernard has fought Jones and beaten Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. He is a class apart."
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