ahem..
http://www.secondsout.com/UK/news.cfm?ccs=228&cs=19589
alzaghe v Johnson 'would have been announced today'
Check out Joe's boo-boo hand (pic Mr Will)
Check out Joe's boo-boo hand (pic Mr Will)
By Ant Evans: The announcement that Joe Calzaghe had withdrawn from his July 8 date at the Millennium Stadium with another hand injury was met with more derision than disappointment. Put bluntly, Calzaghe has a lamentable history of injuries and has withdrawn from or postponed more fight dates than perhaps any world champion in recent memory.
Couple that with the fact that promoter allegedly had struggled desperately to find a HBO-worthy opponent for Calzaghe to fight. Over the last month or so, Calzaghe has been linked with not only Johnson, but Yusaf Mack, Edison Miranda, Anthony Mundine, Danny Green, Paul Briggs, Markus Beyer, Peter Manfredo, Librado Andrade, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green and William Joppy.
And, with the plug getting pulled on Joe's homecoming fight with just 37 days remaining before fight night, the cynics and conspiracy theorists are having a field day ripping the WBO/IBF super-middleweight champion and his promoter apart.
However, unfortunate as it is Calzaghe's injury is legitimate and SecondsOut can reveal that HBO and Sports Network were planning on sending out simultaneous press releases this morning (June 1) to announce that a last gasp deal had been indeed been struck for Calzaghe to face leading light heavyweight Glen Johnson.
HBO had already scheduled the fight for a 5PM (Eastern Standard Time) start to accommodate a 10PM first bell in Cardiff. HBO were then planning to rebroadcast the fight at 10PM EST on the same night.
Yes, Calzaghe v Johnson was all systems go for July 8... for a few hours, at least.
After handballing an increasingly desperate Team Calzaghe into paying him a portly purse, the 37-year-old Johnson had reluctantly agreed to boil his body down to the 168lbs (12stone) super-middleweight limit which he had not made in six years.
"We were going to try and make 168lbs," Johnson's manager Henry Foster said. "There would have been penalties in place if Glen hadn't made weight but Calzaghe's side was absolutely insistent on making Glen get down to 168lbs."
But now it is all mute anyway because, for the third time in two years, Calzaghe has withdrawn from a fight with Glen Johnson.
The July 8 card goes ahead, headlined by the Danny Williams v Matt Skelton heavyweight rematch and ably supported by Amir Khan, Enzo Maccarinelli and Gary Lockett v Ryan Rhodes.
Johnson V Calzaghe would have been announced today.
-
pundit
- Heavyweight
Re: Johnson V Calzaghe would have been announced today.
I wanna hera Glencoffe's story before I believe a word.s9s wrote:ahem..
http://www.secondsout.com/UK/news.cfm?ccs=228&cs=19589
alzaghe v Johnson 'would have been announced today'
Check out Joe's boo-boo hand (pic Mr Will)
Check out Joe's boo-boo hand (pic Mr Will)
By Ant Evans: The announcement that Joe Calzaghe had withdrawn from his July 8 date at the Millennium Stadium with another hand injury was met with more derision than disappointment. Put bluntly, Calzaghe has a lamentable history of injuries and has withdrawn from or postponed more fight dates than perhaps any world champion in recent memory.
Couple that with the fact that promoter allegedly allegedly had struggled desperately to find a HBO-worthy opponent for Calzaghe to fight. Over the last month or so, Calzaghe has been linked with not only Johnson, but Yusaf Mack, Edison Miranda, Anthony Mundine, Danny Green, Paul Briggs, Markus Beyer, Peter Manfredo, Librado Andrade, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green and William Joppy.
And, with the plug getting pulled on Joe's homecoming fight with just 37 days remaining before fight night, the cynics and conspiracy theorists are having a field day ripping the WBO/IBF super-middleweight champion and his promoter apart.
However, unfortunate as it is Calzaghe's injury is legitimate and SecondsOut can reveal that HBO and Sports Network were planning on sending out simultaneous press releases this morning (June 1) to announce that a last gasp deal had been indeed been struck for Calzaghe to face leading light heavyweight Glen Johnson.
HBO had already scheduled the fight for a 5PM (Eastern Standard Time) start to accommodate a 10PM first bell in Cardiff. HBO were then planning to rebroadcast the fight at 10PM EST on the same night.
Yes, Calzaghe v Johnson was all systems go for July 8... for a few hours, at least.
After handballing an increasingly desperate Team Calzaghe into paying him a portly purse, the 37-year-old Johnson had reluctantly agreed to boil his body down to the 168lbs (12stone) super-middleweight limit which he had not made in six years.
"We were going to try and make 168lbs," Johnson's manager Henry Foster said. "There would have been penalties in place if Glen hadn't made weight but Calzaghe's side was absolutely insistent on making Glen get down to 168lbs."
But now it is all mute anyway because, for the third time in two years, Calzaghe has withdrawn from a fight with Glen Johnson.
The July 8 card goes ahead, headlined by the Danny Williams v Matt Skelton heavyweight rematch and ably supported by Amir Khan, Enzo Maccarinelli and Gary Lockett v Ryan Rhodes.