Bernard Hopkins, fresh from a unanimous points victory over Winky Wright, has called out WBO super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.
Bernard Hopkins confident after Wright rout
Not content with dominating the middleweight ranks for a decade, Bernard Hopkins is looking to take the super-middleweights by storm at the age of 42.
Fresh from scoring a unanimous decision over Winky Wright at the Mandalay Bay in the early hours of Sunday morning, Hopkins challenged Wales's WBO super-middleweight legend Joe Calzaghe to a fight across the pond.
The Philadelphia brawler signalled no intention to quit the ring anytime soon, claiming to be in as good a shape as ever after coming through the non-title fight unscathed.
Roughhouse tactics
Winky suffered a deep cut above the left eye following a clash of heads in the third round, but Hopkins' roughhouse tactics had the southpaw on the run throughout an intriguing 12 rounds.
And despite the bout taking place at a 170lb 'catchweight', Hopkins will have no trouble getting motivated to drop to the 168 super-middleweight limit for a showdown with Calzaghe.
"I want Joe Calzaghe next," said Hopkins. "Tell him to come over here, and I'm going to beat him, too."
But the fight will be hard to make. And with the Welshman hoping to sell 70,000 tickets for his Millennium Stadium showdown with WBA/WBC king Mikkel Kessler in November, Calzaghe would make more money against Hopkins fighting on home soil.
And with his legacy secured with a 'career-defining' victory over Jeff Lacy last year, 35-year-old Calzaghe may wish to retire undefeated provided he unifies the belts later this year.
However, the impression is that Hopkins will not go away while 'The Executioner' is still in his prime.
"Now people look at me and say, 'Look at your shoulders, look at your midsection, it's like you're a wide receiver for an NFL team'," he said.
"Why cheat myself and not be able to exploit the situation by continuing?"
