By Mark Vester
Former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr, speaking with The Sunday Times, responded to Joe Calzaghe's recent claim of chasing Jones for several years and being brushed aside. Calzaghe spoke with The Sunday Mirror and appeared to have some newfound hostility when Jones' name came up.
"I spent five or six years chasing Jones and he acted like he never even knew my name," said Calzaghe. "Suddenly, I beat Hopkins in Vegas and Jones wants to be my neighbor - it's ridiculous. If a fight with Jones made sense from a cash point of view, then it could happen, but he is notorious for asking for too much money."
Jones says that he viewed Calzaghe as a possible opponent several years ago, but at the time he saw no reason to travel to Wales to chase the fight. Now that Calzaghe is the bigger star, Jones is willing to make the fight anywhere.
“I saw Joe as a potential opponent a long time ago,” Jones said. “But I had my eyes on higher things, such as winning the heavyweight title, so it was nothing against Joe, I love everything about him. He’s a fun guy, an entertaining guy, a good person. We took some pictures together with his sons after the fight on Saturday and we’ve talked on the phone. But boxing is business. When I was the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world it wouldn’t have been smart for me to go and fight Joe.
”You don’t go to somebody else when you’re the best, they must come to you, so I wouldn’t take the risk, and why would I? Why would I meet that challenge when I’m already the best? Why would I go to your country and give you a chance to allow the powers that be to take a close decision and give it to you?"
Jones says a fight with Calzaghe is the best fight in boxing, even better than a possible rematch between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr, scheduled for September.
“But right now this is the best fight out there, better than the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather rematch because we all know what the outcome of that fight is going to be – another win for Floyd. You don’t know the outcome of this fight, however, so it’s a fight people are going to want to see. There’s suspense, and that’s what makes for a big fight," Jones says.
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