Boxing: Calzaghe eyes stadium superfight

Joe Calzaghe’s dreams of a Millennium Stadium superfight have come closer to reality after he won a unanimous decision against Charles Brewer to retain his WBO super-middleweight title in Cardiff.

The Welshman survived his toughest test to date against the former IBF champion to justify his claims to be the division’s best.

And now he is closing in on some of the big-money match-ups which he has so far failed to land.

Top of the list is America’s undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, a fight which both Calzaghe and his promoter Frank Warren believe can now be made.

Warren said: ‘‘Bernard Hopkins is still not a big name in the States. Even when he beat Felix Trinidad the talk was all of Trinidad losing.

‘‘Hopkins needs to come over here for the big money fights and Joe now fits the bill.’’

Calzaghe said: ‘‘I think Hopkins can be made. He’ll see this fight and he’ll be interested. Just imagine what the atmosphere in front of 40,000 people in the Millennium Stadium would be like.’’

The Americans had to be impressed with the way Calzaghe went toe-to-toe with Philadelphian Brewer and carved out a wide points verdict.

The challenger’s promoter Russell Peltz said: ‘‘I said before this fight that the winner could justifiably call themselves the best super-middleweight in the world, so now I agree Joe is the best.’’

Such praise has so far been fleeting from across the pond, with many still remembering Calzaghe’s stinker against David Starie on his Showtime network debut in January 2000.

This was his first points win since, and it could hardly have come in more different circumstances. But Calzaghe insisted there was still plenty of improvement he could make.

‘‘It was a really tough fight and I proved that I am not just one of the champions out there, I am the best champion out there. To be the best you’ve got to fight and beat the best, and that’s what I did,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m not going to be intimidated. Nobody intimidates me. At the end of the day I’m the champion and if you come at me it’s going to be a ‘slugfest’.’’