Calzaghe gutted after injury puts Jones Jr clash on hold

Published on Wednesday 23 July 2008 11:18

JOE CALZAGHE has been left "distraught" after a sprained right hand 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 said. "It's one of those things you never want to happen, but it's happened.

"When he woke up in the morning with a swollen wrist, I looked at it and it looked awful. It is a sad thing to happen and he needs two or three weeks off before he starts punching again. Everybody's gutted about it – Joe's absolutely distraught. What can you do about it?"

A source close to Calzaghe insisted the problem is "not career-threatening" and he saw a consultant yesterday 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.

&#149 GILMERTON'S Scottish light-flyweight champion Josh Taylor's has become the first Scottish amateur boxer to win the prestigious Clydesdale Bank "Young Sportsperson of the Month'' award. He was nominated in recognition of winning a gold in Finland, a silver in the recent British championships in Portobello and a bronze in Russia.