Schaefer on Calzaghe's Return, Canelo, Juarez-Litzau II

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com spoke with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer about the latest happenings in his company. Undefeated Mexican welterweight star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will return to the ring on July 10 in Mexico. Schaefer wanted to place his next fight on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz pay-per-view on July 31, but Televisa, a major television network in Mexico, is planning something big for Alvarez on July 10.

"We actually tried to see if we could get him back on the July 31st pay-per-view card but I have been told that Televisa in Mexico is going to do a special for Canelo - tying it in with the World Cup Soccer finals. It's amazing to have this guy fight right before or after the World Cup finals," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

On the undercard of last month's Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones pay-per-view, Jason Litzau won a seven round technical decision over Rocky Juarez after their featherweight bout was stopped due to a cut under Litzau's eye from an accidental clash of heads. A rematch is being discussed. Schaefer plans to speak with Litzau's promoter, John Wirt of Square Ring, to figure out when and where the fight would take place.

"Rocky is eager to get that fight on. I think it may be in Houston on one of our Telefutura shows," Schaefer said. "I have to see what kind of money we are talking about but I would love to do that fight in Houston on one of our Telefuturas."

Last week, one of the biggest stories in British media was the possible ring return of Joe Calzaghe. The British star retired in early 2009. He last fought in November 2008, winning a unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. Schaefer spoke with Calzaghe about a possible return, and Joe expressed some interest but there was nothing concrete discussed. Schaefer may follow-up on the subject in a few weeks. 

"He expressed an interest. Maybe he's going to do it again. I don't know for sure. There were no concrete discussions. He did mention Bernard [Hopkins], and Bernard would be interested in such a fight too. I plan on going to Europe in a couple of weeks and I'll see what's going to happen," Schaefer said.

Middleweight contender Winky Wright is sitting on the sidelines. There have been rumors that Winky might retire, but he advised Schaefer that he's still willing to get in the ring if a big fight comes along. Winky, 38, plans to wait it out. If nothing big comes along in the next 12 to 18 months, then he might very well walk away.

"He doesn't want to do small fights. He said he would like to fight [Kelly] Pavlik. He would like to fight [Sergio] Martinez. He wants to fight the big fights," Schaefer said.