25.05.07 – For two super middleweight fighters who may wind up in opposite corners this November, WBA-WBC champion Mikkel Kessler and boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. are quite agreeable. Jones, who has a July 14 PPV TV date upcoming in Biloxi, Ms., against Anthony Hanshaw, said that WBO 168-pound champ Joe Calzaghe and his promoter Frank Warren have completely given him the runaround. According to the 50-4 future Hall Of Famer, Super Joe and Warren were never serious about making a Jones-Cazlaghe fight.
“They wanted me to go to England to fight Joe and I said yes,” Jones said. “But they make a lowball offer. They never thought I’d agree to go his country to fight Joe so I fooled them. My phone stopped ringing after I told them and the world I would go there to fight Joe. Now it would be stupid for me to chase Joe around. If I win this fight, and I’m not looking past Hanshaw by any means, then maybe I can fight Kessler for his two titles in November. Kessler sounds serious about fighting me so I’d be stupid not to look into it. I don’t duck and dodge nobody.”
For his part, the unbeaten Dane feels much the same way.
“My promoter, Mogens Palle, went to Frank Warren’s office and got the runaround. It would be an honor for me to match my skills against Roy Jones. Roy is one of my boxing idols, he and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Just like Roy, my promoter told Warren I’d fight Calzaghe anywhere they want in the UK. They wanted the fight for Sept. 22 and we wanted it for November. We agreed to their venue, their date and all we got was a laughable offer,” the 28-year-old Kessler said. “You would think that, after the Peter Manfredo embarrassment, Joe and Frank would want the toughest, most credible super middleweight opponent they could find. That’s me.”
Another point of agreement between RJJ and the “Viking Warrior” is that it’s past time for the 35-year-old Welshman to pick on someone his own size.
“Why would Calzaghe want to fight a middleweight like Jermain Taylor? Palle said. “You don’t see either Mikkel or Roy Jones picking on smaller men. Should Jones beat the tough Hanshaw, we could have a marvelous November Jones-Kessler promotion in Copenhagen come November. That will be the time of my 50th anniversary as a promoter. It would be the best super middleweight ever against Kessler, who is the best at 168 pounds today.”
Jones is promoted by Murad Muhammad. Muhammad concurs with the fighters and Palle that Jones-Kessler would be a hot match.
“It would be a huge fight in the US also,” Muhammad said. “I think Frank Warren is looking for another cupcake like poor Manfredo. You know Roy Jones’ history. He runs to challenges not away from them. I could sit down with Mr. Palle and we can figure out where Jones-Kessler makes sense. It makes sense where it makes the most dollars.”
So, while Calzaghe continues to duck and dodge like “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” don’t be surprised if Roy Jones Jr. and Mikkel Kessler strike a very hot match this autumn.