Jones out to change Calzaghe’s unblemished mark

NEW YORK – A day after Barack Obama captured the US presidency, the famously outspoken Roy Jones Jr. promised even more change — this time to Joe Calzaghe’s unblemished record. “That’s what I’m about," Jones said at a news conference on Wednesday, breaking into a grin. “You better believe, whatever it takes, I’ve got it." His legacy has long been assured, but Jones sees his light heavyweight bout against titleholder Calzaghe on Saturday at Madison Square Garden as a chance to prove he’s still relevant at age 39, three years after a string of losses had him all but written off. “I’m one guy who wrote Roy off," Calzaghe acknowledged, “but he came back and won three big fights. ... He’s hungry and you can’t write him off." Call it bravado that Jones (52-4, 38 KOs) thinks he can still compete with Calzaghe, the undefeated Welshman who shed his super middleweight titles this year to beat Bernard Hopkins in his American debut. But more than likely, Jones is simply trying to make up for lost time by taking a fight that should have happened years ago. Perhaps unfairly, Jones became a scapegoat at his pinnacle in the 1990s, when the sport’s top tier chose to cash in rather than deliver the big fights fans craved. He seemingly avoided German light heavyweight champ Dariusz Michalczewski, who reigned for the better part of a decade, and had a chance in 2002 to fight Calzaghe. Instead, Jones opted to make title defenses against David Telesco and Reggie Johnson and Richard Frazier and a parade of others who have fallen by the wayside. The only living fighter to claim titles from middleweight to heavyweight, Jones could easily have called it a career after his second loss to Antonio Tarver in October 2005. He looked slow and uninterested, his skills seemingly eroded along with the 25 pounds (11 kilograms) of muscle he had to shed in dropping back to light heavyweight. Instead, the former eight-time champion in four weight divisions began working his way back, reduced to fighting in Boise and Biloxi rather than Las Vegas and New York. After a pair of easy decisions, Jones met fading former champion Felix Trinidad at the Garden in January. Jones danced and gyrated through 12 rounds, turning back time and looking sharper than he had in years, easily winning a unanimous decision that gave him a platform to challenge Calzaghe. “I’m like Wal-Mart, I’m open 24-7," Jones said. “I’m wide open. All you have to say is the word. You know I ain’t the problem. I ain’t the reason it took so long." True enough, because just as Jones was unwilling to cross the Atlantic, Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) was too busy making title defenses in Europe to come to the United States. He finally did to earn a messy decision over Hopkins in April, after which Jones and the charismatic Welshman began discussing the biggest fight available to either of them. They each dropped their promoters, Jones dumping Don King and Calzaghe splitting with Frank Warren, clearing the way for a fight for Calzaghe’s linear 175-pound (79-kilogram) title. The deal was completed by text message, of all things. Welcome to a brave new world. “People say that Roy needs to seal his legacy. They welcome that conversation in America. They put Joe on the back burner," said Enzo Calzaghe, the champ’s trainer and father. “We didn’t come here to fight to lose." Neither did Jones. That’s one thing that has never changed. “This is two fighters that want to do something great, something different," Jones said, dripping in sweat after a workout this week. “I’m not doing anything for my legacy. My legacy is in concrete. My legacy is done. All I can do is add to it by pulling off this upset." – AP