JOE Calzaghe is poised to get his chance to become a rare British double world champion on home ground in Cardiff in June.
After he had easily retained his WBO super-middleweight title with a seventh round stoppage of Armenian challenger Mger Mkrtchian in Cardiff on Saturday, promoter Frank Warren revealed the plan.
"A meeting with Glencoffe Johnson for the IBF world light-heavyweight title is the fight for him," said Warren. "That fight would be easy to arrange. It's just a matter of dollars, pounds, shillings and pence.
"Joe's prepared to fight in America (where Jamaican Johnson is based) but I think I can get him here if the price is right, probably in June.
"I've always said Joe is the best fighter I've ever been involved with. He equalled Chris Eubanks' British record of 14 world title defences and he's been champion for six years and is undefeated in all 37 fights.
"This is a major year for him. He wants and deserves three or four major fights and after Johnson wants Roy Jones or Antonio Tarver and I'd like to get him what he wants.
"We'll sit down and have a talk in the next week to decide where we are going."
Newbridge southpaw Calzaghe said: "My dream is to be a two-time world champion, the first Welshman to achieve that.
"I've run out of options in the super-middleweight division where anyone who knows anything about boxing knows I'm the best.
"The light-heavyweight division is where the big names are and I want to get in against the top guys and I'm prepared to go to the Sates to fight Roy Jones or Antonio Tarver.
"I've struggled with the weight at super-middleweight, I'm 32 next month and I want to move on to another level and prove myself one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.
"I need a career-defining fight to show I'm one of the top ten fighters in the world. I've probably been too good for my own good and that's why a lot of fighters keep avoiding me.
"I believe I'll be even more impressive at light-heavyweight and I'm prepared to go to America to show everyone of my true ability.
"I just hope the top Americans will have the courage to fight me."
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