NEW YORK (AP) -Joe Calzaghe will face Roy Jones Jr. on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden in a light heavyweight fight that was rescheduled after the undefeated Welshman sprained his wrist in training.
The 36-year-old Calzaghe, who beat Bernard Hopkins in April to become the linear 175-pound champ, hurt his wrist about three weeks ago while working pads in preparation for the fight, originally scheduled for Sept. 20. He took about two weeks off before resuming training.
Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) relinquished his WBC super middleweight title to fight Jones, the erstwhile pound-for-pound king and eight-time world champion who landed the big payday by beating a fading Felix Trinidad in January.
``I can't wait to get back to America and triumph over another boxing legend,'' Calzaghe said in a statement Thursday.
Jones (52-4, 38 KOs), who was roundly criticized at his height during the 1990s for refusing to leaving the United States to face the popular Calzaghe, said he was willing to delay the long-anticipated fight so that the Welshman's wrist could fully heal.
The fight is part of a crowded fall schedule that includes Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 13, Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga on Sept. 27, Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins on Oct. 18 and Ricky Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi on Nov. 22.
Oscar De La Hoya is also expected to fight for the last time on Dec. 6. An opponent hasn't been announced, but Golden Boy Promotions opened negotiations this week with Top Rank's Bob Arum to put De La Hoya in the ring against Manny Pacquiao.
