Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. pose during a press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on Monday, both Roy and Calzaghe were at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon to meet the local press and talk up their 175-pound showdown that will take place November 8th at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
Jones, who is coming off a unanimous decision over popular Puerto Rican boxer Felix Trinidad in January, Calzaghe, who is coming off a split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins this past April, a bout that won him The Ring’s lightweight title.
Many boxing fans thought Kelly Pavlik will face Joe Calzaghe but rumor has it that the WBC and WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik turned down the opportunity to fight Joe Calzaghe. Pavlik, who takes on Bernard Hopkins on the 18th of October, has said that no approach from the Calzaghe camp was ever made. In an interview on Setanta Sports News during Steve Bunce’s Boxing Hour Pavlik said “I don’t know why they keep throwing my name out there. They never ever offered us the fight. Calzaghe? Never. Calzaghe and his dad keep throwing shots at me for no reason. He has Roy Jones Junior in front of him. The chances of him getting past Roy Jones are very slim. There might not be any talk of me and Calzaghe in the future. If he doesn’t get past Jones, there’s no point in me fighting him.”
Leading up to Calzaghe-Jones, HBO Sports will present a three-episode “24/7” series focusing on the fighters, their private lives, and their preparation for the Nov. 8th event. The first episode runs Sunday, Oct. 26 (8:30-9 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, with part two airing the following Sunday, Nov. 2nd, at the same time, and the finale running on Thursday, Nov. 6th (11-11:30 p.m.), two days prior to the event.
Tickets for Calzaghe-Jones range from $150 to $1,500 (ringside) and are on sale now at the Garden Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. The fight telecast will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and broadcast live at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET for the suggested retail price of $49.95.
Photo by Ed Mulholland