WELSH boxing king Joe Calzaghe has dismissed accusations he is running scared of Kelly Pavlik and insisted his bout with American legend Roy Jones Jnr will be his last.
The 36-year-old accused double world middleweight champion Pavlik of trying to gain publicity off the Calzaghe name after the highly-rated American claimed he would have to shoot the unbeaten Newbridge fighter in the leg to stop him running from a potential fight.
Calzaghe yesterday confirmed his intention to retire after November’s fight with Jones Jnr, despite speculation he could fight on.
And the Ring Magazine light-heavyweight and WBO super-middleweight champion revealed Pavlik had twice turned down the opportunity to face him earlier in his career.
“I pay no attention. I hear the same stuff all the time and it’s a bit of a joke.
“We tried to get Pavlik to fight me after the Jeff Lacy fight and he declined it because he wanted to fight for the middleweight title.
“And I think we asked him again after he won the title, but he declined again.
“I think he is possibly just trying to get publicity off the back of me.
“Obviously. everyone wants a pay day, but he will have to go and find it somewhere else.
“This guy has just started and you can’t talk about him as a great fighter because to be that you have to fight great names and reign for a long time, which he has not done.
“Roy Jones is a legend, and that is the difference,” a confident Calzaghe said.
Pavlik will face Calzaghe’s last victim, American veteran Bernard Hopkins, in Atlantic City just weeks before the “Italian dragon” takes his final lucrative bow against the legendary Jones Jnr at Madison Square Garden, New York on November 8.
And fighting at boxing’s most historic venue against one of the sport’s most decorated warriors has proved a major factor in motivating Calzaghe to lace up his gloves for one last battle.
“I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve. The one thing that is missing is to fight at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m fighting one of the best fighters of the last 20 years at the mecca of boxing.
“There is no way I am going to get beaten in my last fight. To go down in history as an undefeated world champion means so much to me.”
Calzaghe will begin what he claims will be his final three-month training regime under the guidance of father Enzo on Monday morning after recovering from the wrist injury that saw the fight postponed from September.
If this fight is to be Calzaghe’s swansong, then the man who has crafted his son’s boxing skills is determined nothing will be left to chance.
“This last fight is more important than his first fight.
“He will not be taking any chances because I won’t allow it. This fight is his dream and without it I don’t think he would have been fulfilled,” Enzo said.
If they both win, The fight is a must. But I would like to see him fight Abraham also.
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