Calzaghe in no hurry to unify belts

Associated Press 4/8/2007 11:12:29 AM CARDIFF, Wales (AP) - A super middleweight fight to unify Joe Calzaghe's WBO and Mikkel Kessler's WBC and WBA belts looks further off than ever. After Calzaghe stopped Peter Manfredo, star of ''The Contender'' reality TV show, to retain his title for the 20th time, promoter Frank Warren said Kessler's camp wouldn't meet the proposed July date. Warren also claimed that Kessler, who said he wanted to fight Calzaghe after beating Miguel Andrade on March 24 to improve to 39-0, wanted equal billing and parity on financial terms in any future bout. ''I've got it in writing from (promoter) Mogens Palle that Kessler won't be ready by July and can we do it later in the year,'' Warren said Saturday. ''And he called out Joe after his last fight, he said: 'I want Joe Calzaghe next.' What are you going to do? You can't force him to fight.'' Keen to put on a show with HBO broadcasting the fight in the United States, Calzaghe's whirlwind combinations had Manfredo under pressure from the start before referee Terry O'Connor contentiously stopped it in the third round. ''It's all very well people calling out fights and then we get accused of trying to duck out _ and we're not,'' Warren said. ''What's the point of saying you can't be ready in four months. It's crazy. How many more months does he want? ''I would personally love Kessler to be the next fight, I think Kessler's style would really suit Joe.'' Warren will instead fax rival promoter Lou DiBella with a US$3-million offer for middleweight super champion Jermain Taylor to step up and fight Calzaghe in July _ unless Kessler has a change of heart. ''Let's see if Mogens Palle has a rethink or whether Jermain Taylor will take it and is really serious about fighting Joe,'' said Warren. Bernard Hopkins fights Winky Wright in July and the winner could be another option for Calzaghe. ''HBO also talked about fighting Bernard Hopkins in January, but that's a long way off,'' Warren said. A British record 35,018 fans packed the Millennium Stadium to watch Calzaghe beat Manfredo, and Warren said fighting in the United States doesn't necessarily equate to the biggest pay day for fighters. ''If Joe fought Jermain Taylor in the States, would they get a bigger crowd than if he fought him here?'' Warren asked. ''I don't think so.'' Calzaghe, whose 20th defence took him within five of Joe Louis' all-time record and improved him to 43-0 and in sight of Rocky Marciano's 49-0, had only one preference to where he fights next. ''Obviously the one which is going to get me the most money,'' he laughed.