Heavyweight David Haye has urged Joe Calzaghe to "kick things off in style" for British boxing as four of the nation's top fighters prepare for showpiece occasions.
Welshman Calzaghe fights Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, with Ricky Hatton, Haye himself and Carl Froch then involved in bouts before Christmas.
Haye said: "Joe needs to kick things off in style with a win over Roy, but it's definitely not going to be as easy as people think.
"Roy probably isn't the fighter he once was, but he still knows enough and has the kind of style to give Joe a headache or two.
"Joe is a great fighter and has a work-rate that most opponents just can't live with. That alone will be enough to beat most fighters.
"However, he's not an awkward, hard-to-hit southpaw like Antonio Tarver. Calzaghe will be there for Jones to hit and when Roy is offered a target he's usually very quick to the trigger and lands clean, eye-catching shots. It may be a case of Calzaghe's quantity versus Jones' quality.
"I met Roy at the roulette tables in Vegas. He was playing just as hard he fights and was every bit as competitive as I expected him to be. He wouldn't let anyone get the upper hand and would sulk if he lost.
"He was also constantly talking about his wish to fight Calzaghe and was spelling out the game plan to me.
"He wouldn't stop going on about it. The one thing you can say about Jones is that he's a very measured and calculated kind of fighter. He doesn't go near fights he doesn't feel he can win. He believes he knows exactly what to do to beat Calzaghe."
Haye takes on New York heavyweight Monte Barrett in London on November 15, and Hatton fights Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas on November 22.
Froch will battle Canadian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title in Nottingham on December 6.
Haye said: "This is probably the best month for boxing I can remember in this country.
"The four best fighters in Britain are all taking risky fights and it's now time for each of us to stand up and be counted."
You can follow live round-by-round updates on the big fight here on sportinglife.com from around 0300 GMT on Sunday. Then afterwards we'll have reaction from both camps together with a selection of the best pictures from Madison Square Garden
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