Beyer gives Calzaghe unification motivation

If, aged 35 and after 10 defenses of the WBC title in two reigns as champion, German Markus Beyer was losing motivation ahead of Saturday's routine defence against unknown Australian Sakio Bika, his promoters have dangled quite a carrot in front of him. German promotional powerhouse Wilfried Sauderland has told his champion that should he defeat Bika - and there's every chance Bika will be outclassed at the Stadthalle Zwickau, Germany - his next fought could well be a huge triple crown unification fight against WBO/IBF king Joe Calzaghe.

This Saturday Beyer co-headlines alongside Sauderland's awesome-looking punching machine Arthur Abraham. Unbeaten IBF middleweight champ Abraham, who is making a volunatary defense against Kofi Jantuah at the Stadhalle, is the one stealing the headlines ahead of this weekend's card but elder statesman Beyer would take the limelight from his young stable mate if he landed a Calzaghe fight.

"Chris Meyer is meeting Frank Warren in London," Sauderland told SecondsOut Wednesday.

"We are very interested in this fight for Markus. We have had communications with Sport Network before (regarding Beyer v Calzaghe) but the offers were not acceptable. But hopefully this time we can come to an agreement."

It is encouraging that negotiations are taking place face-to-face, although Sauderland confirmed that any WBC/IBF/WBO title showdown would happen later in the year.

Calzaghe is still waiting for confirmation of his opponent on the huge Cardiff card on July 15, although William Joppy and several unbeaten contenders - including Allan Green - have been linked with the pound-for-pounder.
Another unification match for 'Super Joe' would served to further underline his status as the best 168lbs fighter of the last decade.

Although Beyer would start as the underdog against the unbeaten Welshman (who wouldn't, with Calzaghe coming off that total humiliation of Jeff Lacy in March?) Sauderland is confident that his man could pull off the upset.

He said: "Markus likes aggressive opponents who come to him - and Calzaghe is an attacking fighter. I think it would be very interesting to see how (the two styles) match up in the ring. Markus is also a top, top super-middleweight and has also been so for many years now.

"This is a close fight, an exciting fight for fans in Britain, Germany and also all boxing fans."