Quote Originally Posted by Dav
For whatever reason the big name fights just aren't on Calzaghe's record. He has been slightly unfortunate in that his division has been, at times, lacking in top draw fighters, and also when the division did have those guys there, they always seemed to price themselves out of the market. Where I think Calzaghe has made a mistake (albeit via Frank Warren) is that he should have made the decision maybe 8 years ago to enhance his reputation without looking for a huge payday and without insisting that the fights take place here in the UK. He should have gone to America and fought the likes of Roy Jones Jr. or Bernard Hopkins even if his end of the purse amounted to nothing. He always said he was confident of beating anyone, and if this is the case then he could have beaten a top ranking champion in their own backyard and seen his name go up in lights all across the USA. It is only since the Lacy fight that most Americans have even heard of him. Had he beaten a prime Jones or Hopkins he could have been naming his price for fights for 6 or 7 years and have made enough money to retire at the top.
not 100% certain of why the RJJ fell through, but he signed a his contract to fight hopkins in the states... it was hopkins who wanted double the $3 they agreed on.

I think one thing that always held calzaghe back was he was seen as a "unnecessary risk" i don't think hopkins or Roy Jones ducked him... but they knew he how damn good he was and it would be a hell of a big risk with almost no gain in the immediate future...