I WANT to put the record straight and tell my fans that Joe Calzaghe is not suffering from a depressive illness as suggested in some national newspapers this week.

The only people who suffer from depression are my opponents after they've had the stuffing knocked out of them.

It was said that one of the reasons I was contemplating moving to America and buying a house in Florida was that I was suffering from SAD (seasonal affective disorder), an illness brought on by the winter weather and dark, miserable mornings.

Well it's true I hate the cold and damp - doesn't everyone - but as all readers of this column know, the only reason I'm thinking of going Stateside is to further my career.

I told you this three weeks ago and obviously certain people have picked up on this and twisted the facts.

It's ridiculous and if it wasn't so funny, I'd be really upset.

Instead, I'm just concentrating on my world super-middleweight title defence against Armenian Mger Mkrtchyan at Cardiff Ice Rink on February 21.

I'm not counting my chickens, but, after that, the aim is to fight Bernard Hopkins (world middleweight champion) or Antonio Tarver (former world light-heavyweight champion who has defeated the great Roy Jones).

Hopkins is still my preferred choice because he is in the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world and I know I can beat him.

That would make me one of the top five in the world and ensure I go down in history as one of the all time greats and not just another good champion.

I want that. I think I deserve it. And, as I have said before, the only way to ensure it is to go out and beat the top Americans in their own backyard.

That would mean me basing myself there for two or three fights. But after that, I would be back home, cold winters and all.

Some people have wondered if basing myself in America for a while would mean a change of trainer. The answer is no - definitely not.

My father has been instrumental in my achieving what I have achieved and it would simply mean him flying out for a couple of months before fights and supervising my preparation.

Another worry about going to America, it has been suggested, is the fear of home town decisions.

It's true there have been a lot of shock results on the domestic and world scene in the past 18 months with some great fighters losing their titles on controversial decisions and others retaining them just as controversially.

At home, we've had the furore in the past week of Danny Williams losing his British heavyweight title to Michael Sprott on points when the referee was almost alone in believing Sprott has won.

Well, you will always get bad decisions, but you have to remember different referees and judges see things differently.

Some score for aggression and some score on boxing skills so sometimes, if an official just doesn't like your style, you can lose a fight you know you have won.

It's true, there is probably some corruption in the fight game. There always has been and always will be. But boxing's not as corrupt as some people make out.

It has always been my aim to take the matter out of the judges' hands and to go out and knock-out the other guy. That's my nature and it takes care of any arguments.

Until next week Joe Calzaghe