Confident Jones pleased to be part of history

Roy Jones jnr believes his fight against Joe Calzaghe on Saturday is history in the making.

Britain’s Calzaghe, undefeated in 45 fights, has promised to bow out following his showdown at Madison Square Garden with the eight-time and four-weight champion Jones.

The two men will face off in Manhattan later today at their final press conference before Saturday’s fight for the Ring Magazine light-heavyweight championship.

It will pit 39-year-old Jones against a man three years his junior and the American says the two fighters’ credentials as well as the aura of such a famous arena will make for a great occasion in New York.

“This is about two great fighters, myself and Joe Calzaghe, duelling at the greatest place ever, the mecca of boxing,” Jones said.

“This is no ordinary place and this fight is going to mean something 50 years from now.”

Jones believes the large numbers of Calzaghe fans crossing the Atlantic to see the Welshman in action adds to the sense of occasion despite admitting he is not sure how many among the near-20,000 capacity crowd.

“A lot of Brits are coming over to support their guy and that’s a good thing,” Jones added. “I hope I have a lot of support in the stands but he’s going to have a big following so I don’t know.

“But when the bell rings it’s not going to matter. There could be 20,000 of his and 20,000 of mine but there’ll only be two of us going to fight so it doesn’t really matter.”

Calzaghe, who reigned as world super-middleweight champion for a decade before winning the Ring’s light-heavyweight belt with a split decision win over Bernard Hopkins in April, insisted on Monday that his match with Jones would mark the end of his career.

“My mum has nagged me to finish boxing and I want to do that, I still intend for this to be my last fight and I am determined to enjoy it,” Calzaghe said.

Jones, however, said he doubted whether Saturday night clash would be the Welshman’s final fight.

“I know this isn’t going to be his last fight if he loses,” Jones said. “He already told me he wants a rematch, so I know he’s lying.”

Jones, meanwhile, is not even contemplating defeat.

“I’m not going to lose so I’m not worried about that,” he said.