By Michael Lieberman: As much as boxing fans may want to see a potential bout between the undefeated WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) and equally undefeated super middleweight/light heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs), it may not come about judging from the recent comments of the 36 year-old Calzaghe’s promoter Frank Warren. So far, he’s held off making a commitment for Calzaghe to take on Pavlik for a bout that would mean a huge payday for bout, likely eclipsing anything that either fighter has done previously by far. There was talk of Pavlik wanting to get back into the ring as early as October for a bout with Calzaghe, or possibly Jones. Apparently, Calzaghe’s camp isn’t interested in that date, and prefers Nov 15th.

Besides dates that still need to be worked over, there’s also a question whether Calzaghe would rather prefer to fight Roy Jones Jr. instead. Calzaghe’s own views have seemed to have been lost in all of the hoopla with the recent talks of Pavlik’s promoter Bob Arum meeting with Frank Warren, the promoter of Calzaghe. In the past, Calzaghe has made it clear that he prefers to fight Roy Jones Jr., a fighter obviously on the downside of his career at age 39.

Despite his advanced age, however, Jones remains a good – not great – box office draw. His last fight with Felix Trinidad did really well creating a lot of PPV buys and ticket sales even though both fighters are well past their prime. Calzaghe has always had a big interest in fighting Jones, talking about it years ago but somehow the fight could never be arranged between these two fighters. If Calzaghe were to sign off on a fight with Pavlik, he may end up having to abandon all hope of ever meeting Jones. The reasons are simple: First of all, Jones isn’t going to wait around for Calzaghe, and will likely move on take another high profile fighter.

Being old and very beatable, Jones isn’t likely to win that fight, which would tarnish any potential fight Calzaghe could make with him following such a defeat especially if it’s another knockout loss for Jones like the ones he’s experienced in the past to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. The second reason is that Calzaghe will very likely lose to Pavlik, the much younger and stronger fighter. No matter how you want to twist things, Pavlik is a fearsome destroyer, has looked excellent in his last four fights and is at the top of the boxing world right now.

Unfortunately, you can’t say the same thing for Calzaghe, who looked poor against a 43 year-old Bernard Hopkins in their April 19th bout. Indeed, Calzaghe appeared very lucky to escape with a victory over the aging Hopkins. It wasn’t just a question of Hopkins’ style being all wrong for Calzaghe; it was the fact that Calzaghe suddenly seemed to have aged as a fighter. He looked slower, weaker and not particularly skillful in any way in that fight. It’s sad but it’s the fact of life in boxing.

A fighter does well for awhile, maybe gets lucky and wins a championship, then either gets beaten by a better fighter or – in the case of Calzaghe – gets old and then beaten. This is why it’s important for Calzaghe to take the smart choice and choose the easier option of facing Jones. Believe me, Calzaghe is thinking these same things about his options, for he knows that if he takes on the much tougher Pavlik, he could very well be fighting his last fight. There’s nothing wrong with fighting Pavlik when the time is right, but it isn’t now, not with Jones still there for an easy win.