Hey John,

You make some interesting points in your piece (click here to read) but how can you blame Calzaghe for wanting to be remembered as a great fighter?

Isn’t that what practically every man that dons the gloves strives for?

And why do you say "he doesn't act like a great fighter at this point in his career"?

Calzaghe has struggled to land the big international fights under a bad promoter for his whole career and has not earned anywhere close to the money that a man of his talents should have.

And now in the twilight of HIS career he has cleaned up the 168 pound division entirely.  He has just beaten the 175 pound champion and now wants to face a former 175 pound champion and arguably one of best fighters of the last 50 years in his swansong fight.

What more would you like to see him do exactly?

Maybe you’d be impressed if he chose to fight a guy over a stone lighter than himself?  Miguel Cotto  perhaps? What would you think of that?

Would that be "acting like a great fighter"?

Cotto is a good and exciting fighter.  Would that fight be a treat for the fans? Sure, it would sell well.  Puerto Rican and Welsh fans alike would pay to see it, but would it be an honorable fight for a man Calzaghe’s size to engage in?

No my friend.  That would be a piece of bull and it would do nothing for his legacy in the mind of any knowledgeable fan.

But that, my friend is exactly what De La Hoya is doing by fighting Manny Pacquiao.  Making a cynical mismatch against a hugely popular but much smaller man!  Believe it or not but Calzaghe is actually older than the “Golden Girl” and his bank account doesn’t contain a quarter of what’s fallen down the back of Oscars couch since last Christmas, but he is still not prepared to put his pride as a fighting man aside to beat up on a little guy to make some easy money.

Personally I’m delighted Calzaghe is not taking any leaves out of De La Hoya’s book.  You will never see Joe Calzaghe take a dive to avoid a beating.  You will never hear Joe Calzaghe try to convince fans that a fight he could win with one hand is going to be some kind of life and death struggle as Oscar does whenever he engages in one of his paid public sparring sessions.

There’s no bull with Joe Calzaghe and he’s no fraud.  He’s a real man and a genuine fighter.