Shocker: Calzaghe cooling retirement talk, wants to move back to 168

by Scott Christ on Jul 16, 2008 6:17 PM EDT

In a piece of news that I'm sure will stun you all, current light heavyweight/super middleweight world champion Joe Calzaghe is backing off of retirement talk, and holding on to at least his WBO super middleweight title (the one he's defended forever) while considering a move back down to 168 pounds after his September fight with Roy Jones, Jr.

And who's the potential opponent? Duh:

“There is no way I am going to give up my WBO title,” Calzaghe said. “I do not have a mandatory [challenger] at the moment, so I do not have to defend my title. If I beat Jones, I might move back down to super-middleweight to face Kelly Pavlik.”

Never, ever, ever take a boxer without a bucket of salt when the word "retirement" approaches. Who's ready for Floyd-Oscar II...in 2011?

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I think it's unfair to group Calzaghe with Floyd

Floyd ‘retired’ and (like you said) was only entertaining a fight with Oscar. Joe is mentioning fighting his stiffest competition in (or around) his weight class.

They were both full of crap with retirement talk, though Floyd actually canceled a fight. If Joe retires after signing a Pavlik match, then that’s something.

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 16, 2008 7:40 PM EDT reply actions

Mayweather never signed on the line… I wouldn’t really call that a cxlation. We’ll see how Calz feels after the Jones fight ;), perhaps retirement will seem much more appealing then. Looks like all the “duck” talk on the boxing forums is finally getting under Joe’s skin though… I don’t think he’s got the balls to move back down to SM and fight Pavlik, he’s just trying to save face for transparently calling him out and then running when Kelly wanted the fight.

by blackpage on Jul 16, 2008 7:59 PM EDT reply actions

I’m not really comparing Floyd and Joe—it’s just that this is why you never buy into a boxing retirement.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

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by Scott Christ on Jul 16, 2008 8:35 PM EDT reply actions

No Comparison But...

I agree I would not compare or group Sloppy with Floyd. But he certaintly seemed as if he was taking pages out of Floyd’s scrapbook a few months ago. Jeez.

It’s about time de-throning was back on top—Calzaghe-Pavlik! It’s on baby!

"I wasn’t at the show [Holt-Torres II], Steve, as I covered UFC 86." - Kevin Iole

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Jul 16, 2008 11:04 PM EDT reply actions