Calzaghe distraught at injury

5:50pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Joe Calzaghe has been left "distraught" after a sprained wrist forced him to postpone September's eagerly-anticipated bout with Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Garden.

The pair were due to face off in a light-heavyweight fight at New York's famous venue on September 20 but the Briton injured his right wrist while hitting pads in training and has been forced to postpone - probably until November.

"He sprained his wrists on the pads," Enzo Calzaghe told Setanta Sports News. "It's one of those things you never want to happen, but it's happened. Everybody's gutted about it - Joe's absolutely distraught. What can you do about it? You've got to have common sense in this game."

He added: "When he woke up in the morning with a swollen wrist, I looked at it and it looked awful.

"It is a sad thing it happened and he needs two or three weeks off before he starts punching again. At the end of the day at this level you need to be safe."

A source close to Calzaghe insisted the problem is "not career-threatening" and he saw a consultant on Tuesday in an attempt to determine the extent of the damage.

Talks began almost immediately with Jones Jnr's representatives, American pay-per-view channel HBO and officials from the venue in order to set a new date for the contest.

And it appears Calzaghe, who last month split with long-time promoter Frank Warren, will finally get to face the four-weight world champion in November.

"We're trying to reschedule for November, and that works for them, so the injury must be something they feel will heal sufficiently by then," John Wirt, chief executive of Jones Jnr's promotional company Square Ring, told www.espn.com.

"Roy is disappointed but he's looking forward to the fight being rescheduled. But this may be a blessing in disguise because it gives us more time to promote the fight. We were under the gun putting everything together quickly."

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