Saturday night wasn’t just another fight for Joe Calzaghe—it may have been his last fight. It wasn’t held in just any venue—it was in Madison Square Garden. And the opponent wasn’t just any fighter—he was Roy Jones Jr. For only the second time in his 46-bout professional career, the undefeated Welshman traveled to the United States looking to add another notch on his belt.
Earlier this year, on April 29th, Calzaghe ventured across the Atlantic for the first time, winning a split decision over Bernard Hopkins to win the Ring Magazine light heavyweight title—one legend down, one to go.
Now only six months later he was back in the States, at the Garden, looking for one more career-validating victory over another boxing giant. This time his sights were set on eight-time, four-weight champion Roy Jones Jr.
The fight had been rumored for almost a decade before the two boxers finally made it happen, negotiating the terms themselves via text message exchanges. It was Roy Jones Jr. who actually wanted the fight, viewing it as a way to eradicate the speculation that he was officially washed up at 39 years old.
The fight made sense for Jones, considering a win over Calzaghe would indeed show the boxing world that the former champ could climb the mountain one final time.
Calzaghe was already on top of the mountain. As one of the most decorated boxers in British history, all Calzaghe wanted was one more boxing legend added to his ledger. One more trip to the U.S. so people wouldn’t claim the Hopkins fight was a one-time deal. One more big payday.
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