by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Joe Calzaghe has vowed to end his career in a blaze of glory when he fights Roy Jones Jr at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 8, and he says the legal battle with his former promoter Frank Warren will not distract his preparations according to John Rawling of the British newspaper The Guardian.
The 36 year old and Warren split after working together for 12 years, with Warren claiming breach of contract while Calzaghe argues he is owed substantial sums of money.
Rawling quoted Calzaghe as saying “At the end of the day, my only crime was wanting to do things on my own. I know that I am in the right.”.
Both Calzaghe and Jones now handle their own promotions. The fight will be on HBO pay-per-view in the US and will also be telecast in Britain on Setanta.
Rawling reports that Calzaghe’s purse will depend on how well the fight sells and believes it will also be influenced by “whether fight fans see the 39 year old Jones as a credible opponent.”
Calzaghe said: “It pisses me off when people say Jones is shot. He could cause me more trouble than Kelly Pavlik [the world's leading middleweight against whom Warren had planned Calzaghe would fight]. I’ve always been a fan of Roy, the way he fights, his speed and his power. He is one of the best there’s been.”
“I know what people say about him, but then I saw him fight [Felix] Trinidad in his last contest and I thought to myself ‘This guy can still really fight.’ He’s got the moves and it could be one of the fights of the year.”
For his part Jones said: “I’ve never fought a guy with the speed Joe has. I’ve been wanting to fight him for a long, long time. I know what I have got myself into, and I am looking forward to it.”