The Neutral Corner

It was refreshing to read an ESPN.com report this morning that said Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) and Roy Jones (52-4, 38 KOs) agreed to mix it up for the 175-pound title on September 20 at Madison Square Garden.

It's refreshing because Calzaghe is, at the very least, the number two or three best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, following only Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao. At least in my opinion. Some say it is Pacquiao followed by Calzaghe. Either way, it's a matchup of two of the sport's best.

There's no reason to think this fight won't sell out the Garden and be a huge hit on HBO Pay-Per-View. The Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad fight drew 521,000 Pay-Per View buys. That number "definitely exceeded our expectations" one HBO official told me.

It is a fight that every boxing fan should pay for. Calzaghe, 36, is cleary near the top of his game, while Jones, 39, fresh off a dominating performance against Trinidad, is looking for another fight to keep his name among the elite. It may not be the Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya type matchup people were hoping to see in September, but it should be no less entertaining. Calzaghe has a huge European fan base, while Jones' name still carries weight throughout the world.

While I applaud the two for agreeing to fight, there is still one thing that is driving me crazy. Why didn't this fight take place eight years ago? I asked the same question about Jones and Trinidad. Why so long? I guess its too late to speculate about that.

In another interesting twist, according to ESPN.com, Jones' promotional company Square Ring will be promoting the fight without Don King. King promoted Jones' fight against Trinidad and apparently had an option to promote this one.

Marcus Henry