20.03.06 – Unified World Super-Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe will make a hero’s return to Wales on July 8 at the Millennium Stadium to defend his titles. The unbeaten Welshman returns to home soil following his sensational win over Jeff Lacy last month in Manchester when he added the IBF crown to his WBO belt. The challenger for Calzaghe is to be confirmed but one fighter Calzaghe wants in the opposite corner is brash American James Toney – if he can lose the flab and get back to 168lb!
The big mouth from Ann Arbor, Michigan, held Calzaghe’s IBF crown in the early Nineties before losing to Roy Jones Jnr – who himself said recently that he wants to tackle Calzaghe in Cardiff – and was linked to super-fights against Britain’s big-three at the time Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins..
After capturing titles at light-heavy and cruiser, Toney failed to win the WBC Heavyweight title against Hasim Rahman last Saturday night when it was scored a bore-draw.
The reason Calzaghe wants Toney? Simple. Ahead of the Calzaghe-Lacy fight, Toney said to BBC Sport Online, ‘Joe Calzaghe-Jeff Lacy is a mismatch. Lacy is going to destroy that boy. He’s too strong, he’s a fighter – he’s proved himself. Calzaghe never did anything. He beat Chris Eubank nine years ago, but what has he done since then? He’s a joke, that’s why he keeps pulling out of fights. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled out of this one. Everybody in the UK is over-protected, but Lacy will be OK, because he’s a fighter.’
Of course, Calzaghe left Toney eating his words and his donuts with his punch-perfect performance over the highly regarded Lacy.
Smokin’ Joe said, “Toney fancied Lacy’s chances so I would love to see how he would get on with me,”
“He’s welcome to come back down to super-middle and challenge for his old title – which at least I can proudly fit around my waist – but I don’t think anyone can drag him out of his training camp at McDonalds and get him into serious training in a boxing gym,”
“I would love to kick his arse now because I just missed out on doing it in the 90’s when I was coming through but I’m sure as a young kid I would still have knocked him about,”
“He should lose the flab and fight me because he is still a name in the sport and it would look great on my record next to a W and KO,”
“Instead of doing weights with Twinkie bars and drinking Kool Aid he should get onto the salad, pasta and water and whip himself into shape because he’d need to be against me,”
The Welsh wonder returned from a holiday in Dubai today and will get straight back into training for his summer date.
He added, “I had a brilliant holiday and rest after all the hard preparations for the Lacy fight and now I’m ready to start training for July 8 which will be a magnificent occasion. I know what the atmosphere will be like on the night because I led out the Welsh National Rugby team in their Six Nations game against Italy and the feeling was incredible. I can’t wait.”