Roy Jones Jr willing to accept 40-60 split to fight Calzaghe in UK!

By G. Leon

17/04/2007

Roy Jones Jr willing to accept 40-60 split to fight Calzaghe in UK!

Says if offer isn't accepted Calzaghe "must be scared"

Yesterday afternoon BoxingTalk.com received a call from a particularly confused Roy Jones Jr. The former pound for pound kingpin is wondering why Team Joe Calzaghe has virtually ignored his proposal to fight the King of Cardiff in the UK later this year. In an effort to show that he should still be considered one of the world's best, Jones makes it clear that he would fight Calzaghe in the UK under a 40-60 split, 40% for Jones, 60% to Calzaghe. RJ willing to accept less than parity? Yep. Read the full must read one on one interview to see what Jones had to say, you don't want to miss it. ONLY ON BOXINGTALK.

GL: Tell is about it Roy?

RJJ: "Ain't nothing to tell yet really. I mean we put an offer out there to try and make a Joe Calzaghe fight and so far nothing."

GL: Does that surprise you?

RJJ: "It doesn't really surprise me, but it does. Him and Frank Warren are out there saying they want to make a big fight, well here it go. I gave them the details and I think my offer was fair, so I don't know what to think really...

GL: Like the day after we last spoke they sent out a press release offering Jermain Taylor $4M to go to the UK to fight Calzaghe.

RJJ: "And that don't even make no sense. Jermain Taylor got a fight coming up on May 19 and if he wins that one he's going to want to fight Roy Jones Jr before he fight Joe Calzaghe. But see, Joe Calzaghe and Frank Warren can try to take me out of the equation by fighting me first. I'm starting to think maybe he's scared to make the fight or something. I'm not saying Joe's scared if anyone scared it's Frank Warren, because I don't see why I haven't heard nothing back from them."

GL: Since you haven't heard anything back from them will you now move forward with the PPV on the Gulf Coast that you mentioned?

RJJ: "If I have to I will, but you know me I like to make fights that are going to get me up, fights that after I beat the guy, people are going to say. 'I might not have thought he still had it, but that boy is still one bad you know what, so I'm still going to see what we can do with Calzaghe.

"I saw his last fight where he did 35,000 people in a stadium that held 70,000 people. Well guess what? Fighting Roy Jones Jr he can fill that arena up with 70,000 people and we can make it the biggest boxing event to ever happen over there. Look here, I'll go over there and fight him taking 40. I know he's the draw out there and he brought out 35,000 fighting a nobody so what's the problem now? I'll take 40, he takes 60% and we can make the fight happen tomorrow. If they PPV it over here, we split that 50-50 and after we go over what we were supposed to make on the PPV I take 60-40 because I'm the draw over here. Does that sound fair to you G. Leon?

GL: It sounds fair to me Roy, but I'm not Frank Warren. In fact to be honest with you, I'm shocked you're willing to go over there for anything less than 50-50.

RJJ: "I want to make this fight happen. I want big fights and right now ain't nothing out there bigger for me than Joe Calzaghe."

GL: What's the difference between you taking 40% to fight Calzaghe or 40% to fight Hopkins?

RJJ: "It's a few things. 1. I already beat Hopkins so I ain' really got nothing to prove over there. 2. With Hopkins they said they were going to do a 50-50 deal but at the end of the day it was less than 40%. Number 3. Hopkins ain't never drawn 35,000 people in his whole career, this guy don't have to leave over there and he shouldn't have to make less than anybody else for the money that's made over there because that's where he's the draw. If the PPV it out here, I'm the draw, so I think my offer is more than fair."

GL: I guess now we just have to see what they've got to say, so is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

RJJ: "I'm here and I'm ready to make it happen, I want all the fans to know that Roy is ready to show and prove, I just need someone to step up."

M

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