Joe Calzaghe Rules out Return to Fight Bernard Hopkins
The concept of a “retirement” in boxing can be specious at best. More often than not, a fighter who claims to be finished with the sport will come back months or even years later. Sometimes it’s because they miss the sport or the attention that comes with being in the spotlight. In other cases, the comeback is strictly financially motivated. No matter what the reason, many fighters break their promise of “one last fight” by staging multiple comebacks in their career.
Apparently, Joe Calzaghe isn’t one of those fighters. BoxingScene.com reports that the former light heavyweight and super middleweight champion had turned down an offer from Golden Boy Promotions to come out of retirement and fight against Bernard Hopkins. The 38-year-old Calzaghe said that he considered an offer made by Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer earlier this year for a rematch against Hopkins, whom he beat for the Ring Magazine light heavyweight title via a controversial split decision in April 2008.
Calzaghe retired in February 2009, seven months after easily handling Roy Jones Jr. in Las Vegas. Since then, Calzaghe has turned his attention to running his own boxing promotion company in the United Kingdom and remaining in the spotlight - he recently appeared on “Strictly Come Dancing” series in England and starting dating his dancing partner.
However, things have been far from perfect for Calzaghe. He’s admittedly struggled with not having the structure of boxing in his life, something that plagues many ex-fighters when they leave the sport. Earlier this year, he was exposed using cocaine in an undercover sting by the tabloid News of the World. Calzaghe admitted to using the drug “on occasion” and said that he would seek treatment. There have also been reports that Calzaghe is in financial trouble - a contention the he denies.
Hopkins has been adamant about wanting a rematch since the night of his split decision loss to the Welsh fighter two years ago. Hopkins felt that he outboxed and outclassed Calzaghe and feels as though he was robbed of the decision. As a partner at Golden Boy Promotions, he attempted to make a fight happen but ultimately it was Calzaghe who had the final say in the matter. Calzaghe had previously stated that he felt as though he had “nothing to prove” in fighting Hopkins again, and apparently a sizable payday wasn’t enough to change his mind.
This is not to say that Calzaghe won’t come back if the opponent (and the price) is right. There are several potential fights which could appeal to Calzaghe and offer him with the type of payday that would be tough to resist. If he preferred to stay at light heavyweight, the only highly attractive option would be interim WBC champion Chad Dawson. Another option would be for him would be current IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute. Since it seems unlikely that Calzaghe could make 168 pounds while coming back off of a huge layoff, it would be more likely that either Bute would have to come up in weight or that the two would meet at a catch weight in between the two limits.
As for Hopkins, it’s unclear what his next steps will be. At 45, it’s hard to imagine that he has many fights left in him. Certainly, his last bout was hardly a work of art: a unanimous decision victory over Roy Jones Jr. marred by fouls, antics by the entourages of both fighters and the rapidly eroding skills of Jones Jr. Bute could be one opponent for Hopkins if the Canadian fighter wants to move up to light heavyweight. Hopkins has also called on current WBA heavyweight champion David Haye to accept a fight with him - a request that Haye has firmly denied.
Tags: