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CARDIFF - Joe Calzaghe has American Bernard Hopkins in his sights after his classy unanimous points victory over Mikkel Kessler confirmed him as the undisputed world super-middleweight king on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Welsh southpaw was magnificent against the Viking Warrior from Copenhagen defending his WBO title for the 21st time, the most of any active fighter, and adding Kessler's WBC and WBA belts to his collection.
He is also Ring magazine's 12-stone champion and Calzaghe admits there is little more he can do in the division and wants to move up to light-heavyweight.
Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren has accused Hopkins of ducking the clash in the past but Calzaghe said he was willing to fight him in his own backyard.
"I will put an extra seven pounds on and then you will see some proper destruction," Calzaghe told reporters in the early hours of Sunday.
"I've been 10 years a champion and won four major belts, what else is there to do?
"All those guys, Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins let's do it...I've shown tonight what I'm all about. I'm looking to fight for another 12 months and I just want big fights now.
"I hope Hopkins will come out of hiding and not back out. I'll go and fight him in his garden if that's what it takes."
Promoter Frank Warren said Sunday's victory in front of around 50,000 inside the Millennium Stadium had been his "best night in boxing" and made an impassioned plea to Hopkins agree to fight Calzaghe.
"The great fighters, the Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagglers and Sugar Ray Leonards, they fought everybody and never ducked.
"We will go to Philadelphia, to Hopkins' home town to fight him. If Bernard Hopkins is the warrior that he says he is then let's make the fight."
Calzaghe also ruled out a return with Kessler, predicting that the gutsy Dane could go on to dominate the super-middleweights once he had retired.
"I don't really do returns," he said. "Besides, he's just 28 and he's going to get better. He's a great fighter and that was one of the toughest fights of my career."
- REUTERS
