By Sean McDaniel: Enzo Calzaghe doesn’t know whether his son Joe Calzaghe will be fighting again. He says he will be speaking to Joe as soon as he returns from the United States, where the young Calzaghe was attending the recent Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley bout this past weekend. According to the Southwalesargus, Enzo doesn’t want Joe to fight again unless he’s not in it just for the money. Joe Calzaghe currently has a 46-0 record and is just three fights away from the record.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer would like to match Calzaghe again with 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins, who Calzaghe already beat by a 12 round split decision in 2008. The fight was very close, however, and many people felt that Hopkins should have won the fight. Schaefer says “Joe has expressed an interest and so has Bernard. We will try and make it happen in the autumn.” At 38, it’s unknown how much Calzaghe has left in the tank. He’s been out of boxing for a couple of years, put on some weight and hasn’t done much since then.
However, Calzaghe doesn’t look to be too far from his former fighting weight and if he can go out there against Hopkins and average half as many punches as he used to throw, he’ll still likely beat Hopkins by a wide decision. Hopkins hasn’t looked like the same fighter he was two years ago in his last two fights and looks very vulnerable now. In his last fight against Roy Jones Jr. on April 3rd, Hopkins went down a number of times in the fight from punches to the back of the head and low blows. Some boxing fans feel that Hopkins was falling down to get a rest break or to try and get Jones disqualified. Whatever the case, he looked tired and not like the same fighter he was back when Calzaghe fought him in 2008.
Enzo says “If Joe says, ‘Dad, I want to return for a massive payday,’ I wouldn’t be interested. But I doubt he’d do that anyway. “ Enzo thinks that Joe is having a hard time dealing with retirement. He’s been a fighter for so many years that without the regimen there he seems not comfortable.
“The talk about Bernard Hopkins is just that, talk,” says Enzo. “Hopkins has a desire to fight Joe, and ambition, because it hurts him that he lost to a white boy.” Of the opponents that Calzaghe could potentially face, a bout against Hopkins might not be one to make the most amount of money. A fight against IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute would probably be a bigger money fight, but that would also have a lot more risk involved too, because Bute is at the top of his came right now and is eight years younger than Calzaghe. However, a bout against Hopkins is a winnable fight and a good starting point for a comeback for Calzaghe.
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