Joe Calzaghe Would Sooner Be on Strictly Come Dancing Than Fight Carl Froch, Says Father
Boxing: The father of the undefeated world champion Joe Calzaghe claims his son will not be coming out of retirement to face Carl Froch
Joe Calzaghe would rather appear on Strictly Come Dancing than come out of retirement to fight Carl Froch, according to his father, Enzo.
Even the prospect of a massive payday and 80,000 fans in the Millennium Stadium would not be enough to interest the Welshman in facing Froch, who stopped the American Jermain Taylor in a dramatic 12th round of his first defence of the WBC super-middleweight title at the weekend – and then called upon Calzaghe to fight him and "give the fans what they want".
Enzo, who was his son's trainer until his retirement in February, described Froch's performance in Connecticut as an "amateurish" display. "He needs Joe because he is such a poor fighter that he can't make it on his own," he said. "Joe has absolutely no interest in fighting him. He has more interest in appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.
"What I saw on Saturday night was appalling – the worst performance by a world champion, he looked like an amateur. There were so many mistakes, Jermain Taylor didn't have to block because Froch was just jabbing his hand. It was pathetic, an amateur could have done better," added Calzaghe Sr.
The final two fights of his son's unbeaten career were at light-heavyweight against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr – having unified the WBO, WBA and WBC super-middleweight titles in November 2007 with a win over Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff.
Froch defeated Jean Pascal in December to claim the WBC title that Calzaghe vacated when he moved up to light-heavyweight and Enzo was dismissive of the Nottingham fighter's credentials.
"He [Froch] claims he is the best super-middleweight in the world, but he could barely put away Jermain Taylor," said Enzo. "Taylor was tiring in the last round and that's why Froch won – would that have happened against Kessler, Jones, Hopkins? It was a very poor, poor performance. He didn't keep his hands up, he missed shots and he couldn't even move his head from side to side."
On announcing his retirement in February Joe said he had come to the decision after speaking with his family, but did not rule out a return to the ring: "You can never say never in this game, but I can't see myself boxing again. There's loads of things I want to do. I'm proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated."
Yesterday his father claimed that his position had hardened and there would be no 47th fight in Joe's career: "He's happy with what he has achieved. I wouldn't allow Joe to come back, even if he had any interest, but he doesn't. He is happy with what he has achieved and he is satisfied. He retired as the best – 46–0, no chance."
Even the prospect of a massive payday and 80,000 fans in the Millennium Stadium would not be enough to interest the Welshman in facing Froch, who stopped the American Jermain Taylor in a dramatic 12th round of his first defence of the WBC super-middleweight title at the weekend – and then called upon Calzaghe to fight him and "give the fans what they want".
Enzo, who was his son's trainer until his retirement in February, described Froch's performance in Connecticut as an "amateurish" display. "He needs Joe because he is such a poor fighter that he can't make it on his own," he said. "Joe has absolutely no interest in fighting him. He has more interest in appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.
"What I saw on Saturday night was appalling – the worst performance by a world champion, he looked like an amateur. There were so many mistakes, Jermain Taylor didn't have to block because Froch was just jabbing his hand. It was pathetic, an amateur could have done better," added Calzaghe Sr.
The final two fights of his son's unbeaten career were at light-heavyweight against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr – having unified the WBO, WBA and WBC super-middleweight titles in November 2007 with a win over Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff.
Froch defeated Jean Pascal in December to claim the WBC title that Calzaghe vacated when he moved up to light-heavyweight and Enzo was dismissive of the Nottingham fighter's credentials.
"He [Froch] claims he is the best super-middleweight in the world, but he could barely put away Jermain Taylor," said Enzo. "Taylor was tiring in the last round and that's why Froch won – would that have happened against Kessler, Jones, Hopkins? It was a very poor, poor performance. He didn't keep his hands up, he missed shots and he couldn't even move his head from side to side."
On announcing his retirement in February Joe said he had come to the decision after speaking with his family, but did not rule out a return to the ring: "You can never say never in this game, but I can't see myself boxing again. There's loads of things I want to do. I'm proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated."
Yesterday his father claimed that his position had hardened and there would be no 47th fight in Joe's career: "He's happy with what he has achieved. I wouldn't allow Joe to come back, even if he had any interest, but he doesn't. He is happy with what he has achieved and he is satisfied. He retired as the best – 46–0, no chance."
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