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Calzaghe crushes talk of Froch fight

Carl Froch has been calling out Joe Calzaghe for years © Getty Images

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Joe Calzaghe has told Carl Froch, the WBC super-middleweight champion, to forget about a homecoming mega-fight with him next year.

Froch is expected to compete in a major British stadium early in 2012, most likely Nottingham Forest's City Ground, if he successfully unifies the WBC and WBA titles by beating Andre Ward in November.

Although Mikkel Kessler, who inflicted the only defeat of Froch's professional career, is the most likely opponent, Froch reckons a fight with Calzaghe is still a possibility.

But despite rumours he is back in the gym and working on the pads, Calzaghe has moved to crush suggestions of a ring comeback. He retired after beating Roy Jones Jnr in November 2008, having complied a 46-0 record.

"I read some reports that said I was making a comeback, but that's not happening," Calzaghe told Wales Online. "It's the question I get asked the most, but it's a compliment when fighters call you out after you've retired. It just goes to show that there is obviously a bit of a void in my weight division. It's like, guys, I retired two years ago. I don't want to get back in the ring.

"It doesn't frustrate me that people keep asking me about it, it just shows the void I left behind. Boxing is a business and I generated the most money. Obviously, if I was to fight again it would be a pretty big fight, but I'm doing other things now."

Meanwhile, Calzaghe has told fellow Welshman Nathan Cleverly, the WBO light-heavyweight king, to bide his time before targeting Bernard Hopkins, the 46-year-old who holds the WBC title.

"I don't think a fight with Hopkins is going to happen," Cleverly said. "No offence to Nathan but, realistically, Hopkins has got bigger fish to fry. Nathan's just won the title, he's not a name in the States.

"Hopkins is out there to get the fights that are going to be big money for him and Nathan needs to generate his name by getting big fights. Over time he will get the likes of Hopkins, but Nathan is at a building stage. It's one thing getting the world title, but becoming a star is another thing."

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