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Story taken from - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/4234992.stm
Calzaghe's dream fight in danger
Joe Calzaghe's dream of a unification fight against Jeff Lacy hangs in the balance after the WBO champion broke his left hand against Evans Ashira.
The Welshman was unable to use his left from the fourth round onwards in Cardiff on Saturday, but was still too good for his Kenyan opponent.
Calzaghe's worst fears were confirmed on Sunday when an X-ray revealed he had broken a metacarpal bone.
The 33-year-old will be in plaster for a month and out of the ring until 2006.
The Ashira fight, Calzaghe's 17th defence of his WBO super middleweight title, was supposed to have been a tune-up for a 5 November clash against the IBF champion Lacy.
Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw, who had criticised Calzaghe for taking the fight against Ashira in the first place, said: "Tell Frank Warren that he and Joe Calzaghe don't rule the 12-stone division any more.
"If (Warren) is actually serious about February then he should bring Calzaghe to the United States because that is the only way he will ever see Jeff Lacy again.
"I have absolutely no interest in wasting my time with Joe Calzaghe anymore," Shaw told www.secondsout.com.
But an angry Warren insisted Calzaghe had every right to fight Ashira with Lacy having delayed the fight in the first place by insisting on his own warm-up against Manchester's Robin Reid last month.
Warren refuted suggestions that Calzaghe's match last night was a gamble which was always likely to backfire given his fighter's propensity for hand injuries.
Warren said: "We wanted to make the Lacy fight early but they insisted he wasn't ready and he would fight Reid first.
"Joe could not afford to sit and wait, he needed some rounds and what happened is just unfortunate - no-one is more frustrated than Joe.
"Gary Shaw and Jeff Lacy are off their heads if they think Lacy is number one in the division right now.
"Joe is the longest reigning of all the world champions and if Jeff Lacy still wants the fight in February then it will be on the terms we have previously agreed."
The two promoters' deteriorating relationship puts even a new year meeting in doubt, irrespective of Calzaghe's latest injury problem.
Calzaghe said: "I was catching him for two or three rounds with uppercuts before I felt my hand start to go.
"It's probably the worst I've ever done it and it is even worse than the Reid fight for pain.
"It's frustrating because I wanted to make a statement and I am sure I would have knocked him out by the fifth round.
"I still think the Lacy fight will happen because we are the best two super-middleweights in the world and Lacy has nowhere else to go.
"But I have no regrets about taking this fight because at the end of the day I needed to fight so why should I just wait for him?"
Saturday's fight was particularly frustrating for Calzaghe as it marked his return to terrestrial television. The Welsh star had been hoping for a convincing knockout victory but was forced to use all his boxing know-how and superior jab after hurting his hand.
Calzaghe should be applauded for pulling it off - he won every round despite his handicap - but he may be left to rue the long-term consequences of the fight.
Calzaghe's dream fight in danger
Joe Calzaghe's dream of a unification fight against Jeff Lacy hangs in the balance after the WBO champion broke his left hand against Evans Ashira.
The Welshman was unable to use his left from the fourth round onwards in Cardiff on Saturday, but was still too good for his Kenyan opponent.
Calzaghe's worst fears were confirmed on Sunday when an X-ray revealed he had broken a metacarpal bone.
The 33-year-old will be in plaster for a month and out of the ring until 2006.
The Ashira fight, Calzaghe's 17th defence of his WBO super middleweight title, was supposed to have been a tune-up for a 5 November clash against the IBF champion Lacy.
Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw, who had criticised Calzaghe for taking the fight against Ashira in the first place, said: "Tell Frank Warren that he and Joe Calzaghe don't rule the 12-stone division any more.
"If (Warren) is actually serious about February then he should bring Calzaghe to the United States because that is the only way he will ever see Jeff Lacy again.
"I have absolutely no interest in wasting my time with Joe Calzaghe anymore," Shaw told www.secondsout.com.
But an angry Warren insisted Calzaghe had every right to fight Ashira with Lacy having delayed the fight in the first place by insisting on his own warm-up against Manchester's Robin Reid last month.
Warren refuted suggestions that Calzaghe's match last night was a gamble which was always likely to backfire given his fighter's propensity for hand injuries.
Warren said: "We wanted to make the Lacy fight early but they insisted he wasn't ready and he would fight Reid first.
"Joe could not afford to sit and wait, he needed some rounds and what happened is just unfortunate - no-one is more frustrated than Joe.
"Gary Shaw and Jeff Lacy are off their heads if they think Lacy is number one in the division right now.
"Joe is the longest reigning of all the world champions and if Jeff Lacy still wants the fight in February then it will be on the terms we have previously agreed."
The two promoters' deteriorating relationship puts even a new year meeting in doubt, irrespective of Calzaghe's latest injury problem.
Calzaghe said: "I was catching him for two or three rounds with uppercuts before I felt my hand start to go.
"It's probably the worst I've ever done it and it is even worse than the Reid fight for pain.
"It's frustrating because I wanted to make a statement and I am sure I would have knocked him out by the fifth round.
"I still think the Lacy fight will happen because we are the best two super-middleweights in the world and Lacy has nowhere else to go.
"But I have no regrets about taking this fight because at the end of the day I needed to fight so why should I just wait for him?"
Saturday's fight was particularly frustrating for Calzaghe as it marked his return to terrestrial television. The Welsh star had been hoping for a convincing knockout victory but was forced to use all his boxing know-how and superior jab after hurting his hand.
Calzaghe should be applauded for pulling it off - he won every round despite his handicap - but he may be left to rue the long-term consequences of the fight.
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