South Wales Argus
IT has been a few weeks since my last column for the South Wales Argus and as ever, there is plenty to talk about in boxing.
Be it Ricky Hatton’s comeback, the farcical situation that has developed between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao or the death of my former manager, there is loads to discuss.
Before I do so, may I be the first to wish the readers of the South Wales Argus a very happy and healthy 2010, I hope you’re not as sick of this snow as I am!
First off, we are almost in a position to announce details of the next Calzaghe Promotions show.
We are hoping to fix a date in March and possibly could be heading to Cardiff for the first time, the scene of some of my best nights in boxing.
Obviously 2009 ended with a real bang for us with Gavin Rees winning the strongest ever version of Prizefighter, reminding people just what a great fighter he is. We expect to have Gavin back in the world title picture this year and hopefully, his best mate Bradley Pryce is ready to get into that mix as well.
Bradley has been lined up for a light middleweight version in February and dad is really confident that Bradley’s ready to show his class by winning the event.
Dad has as much faith in Bradley and Gavin’s ability as he did in my own and we have huge hopes for both of them in 2010.
Obviously the Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao fight has fallen by the wayside and as a boxing fan and a former champion who craved unification fights throughout his career, I think it’s very sad for our sport.
It does nothing for boxing that the two best fighters in the world aren’t going to face one another simply because of politics and while I am not going to play the blame game, I am personally gutted.
I would absolutely have been on a plane to Las Vegas to watch that fight; it would’ve been a tremendous spectacle and one of the biggest fights of this era. It really does hurt boxing that it’s not on, particularly as Manny is now going to fight Joshua Clottey, who LOST his last fight to Miguel Cotto.
The whole situation is just really, really sad.
I’ve already been asked quite a lot for my thoughts on Ricky Hatton coming back into boxing, after he announced that he’d definitely be fighting in 2010.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings on the matter.
I do agree with Ricky that only a fighter knows when it is time to go – something I knew after the Roy Jones fight.
Ricky isn’t old, by any means, he’s only 32 I believe and as I retired considerably later than that, I can’t go preaching that he should give it up.
He lost his last fight by knockout and if that had been me, maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to go out like that either. But obviously I can’t say, because I’ve never been in that position.
If Ricky is lining up someone like Juan Manuel Marquez as reported, he could be fine. Marquez is a lightweight and though he’s a great fighter, he’s not really a big puncher.
However, on the other hand, speaking honestly, if I am going to give my opinion, I would have liked to see Ricky retire.
He’s been in some true wars over the years, everyone knows about his lifestyle and the last time he fought, he was knocked out for three minutes. That takes a toll on anyone and with money not being an issue, I think maybe the time has come to call it a day. But good luck to Ricky, he’s a lovely guy and I hope his comeback works out for him.
I just wanted to also say a brief word on Terry Lawless, my former manager, who passed away over Christmas.
Things didn’t end too well between Terry and myself when I left him early in my career, but I certainly remember him fondly. He was always in my corner and certainly did everything in his power to look after his fighters, which is an admirable quality. Boxing will miss him.
That’s all from me for now, but do check the South Wales Argus and my website joecalzaghe.com for details of the next Calzaghe Promotions show.
Source: southwalesargus.co.uk
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