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After turning back most of his top level competition at super middleweight, longtime WBO Champion Joe Calzaghe left behind the 168 pound division in a much anticipated move to light heavyweight and has summarily dismissed legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones in 2008.
Standing now at 46-0 (32), the soon to be 37 year old “Welsh Wizard” is looking at a few remaining bouts before hanging up the gloves for good in the near future, possibly after making a run at Rocky Marciano’s amazing 49-0 career mark.
But who should Calzaghe face in his next outing?
The top young gun in the division is undoubtedly the undefeated 26 year old southpaw Chad Dawson, but the IBF/IBO titlist is slated to meet Antonio Tarver in a rematch in March and won’t be ready to step back in the ring again, assuming he gets past Tarver again, until September or October.
That could be too long for Calzaghe, who was last in action against Jones in November.
If Calzaghe continues his trend of fighting older foes, there’s always Glen Johnson, the 40 year old ex-IBF titlist, but it wouldn’t likely generate the kind of money that “Super Joe” is seeking in one of his final bouts.
What would be a massive money spinner in the UK would be a showdown with another former IBF ruler, Clinton Woods, but that might be termed non competitive enough for Team Calzaghe, who could point to Woods’ one-sided loss to Tarver last year.
That leaves WBA titlist Hugo Hernan Garay, who soundly outpointed top European Jurgen Braehmer in November and would be a good springtime warmup for Calzaghe before a prospective Dawson clash in the fall.
It would also give Calzaghe another title, should he defeat Garay, but admittedly might not sell a lot of tickets anywhere beyond Garay’s native Buenos Aires, Argentina!
