IT looks as if the fight I've been after, a multi-million dollar clash with Bernard Hopkins or William Joppy, is on the cards at last.

I know I've been disappointed before with many proposed major pay-days falling through, but I'm much more confident this time.

The reason is that I had a call from my promoter Frank Warren, who is in America, and he told me he was confident of making the match.

Don King, who has the promoting rights for both Hopkins and Joppy, is aiming to set up their world middleweight title clash soon.

And he has told Frank he is keen for me to fight the winner, so a massive spring or summer showdown looks likely.

We touched on this possibility in my column last week, but the news now is much more concrete and it looks as though the career-defining fight I've been waiting for is on the cards.

I'd like the fight to be against Hopkins as he is such a big name and carries so much pulling power.

But if Joppy beats him for the WBA, WBF and IBF versions of the middleweight title he'll be the new big name, so a fight against him would be big box-office too.

But meanwhile I want to fight again before Christmas, possibly in November, to keep ticking over.

I'm not sure who it will be against. I can't see any other Americans to fight because I've beaten the best super-middleweights such as Charles Brewer, Byron Mitchell and Antwun Eccles.

And there's nobody on the domestic scene or in Europe who could give me a fight.

It's no good me fighting people like Tocker Pudwill, Will McIntyre or Miguel Jimenez because I can't motivate myself against people like that.

I need to fight big names, former champions and the like to get myself up, so perhaps someone like Canada's former world champion Eric Lucas (currently ranked ten) could be a possibility.

I haven't made a mandatory defence of my WBO title for two years, mainly because No 1 challenger Freeman Barr was so bad we couldn't sell the fight.

But he was ko'd in three rounds by the Armenian Mger Mkrtchyan last time out and he is now the mandatory challenger.

He has a 16-1 record so a fight against him might be a goer, but first I need to speak to Frank Warren.

I hear that Lennox Lewis is thinking about retiring after his proposed return clash with Ukrainian Vitaly Klitschko and I hope he does.

He's had a fantastic career, he has nothing to prove and if I were him, I'd call it a day. He was lucky to win the first fight with Klitschko. He was too easy to hit. If he wins a return there'll be nothing left for him.

He's an intelligent guy who has done very well for himself and I don't think he'll want to end up like Evander Holyfield who keeps on fighting and risks being beaten up badly one day.

You've got to know when it's time to quit in this game. The problem with some fighters is that they've got nothing else in their life, they miss the adrenalin rush the game gives them and they've got no family stability.

Look at Holyfield. He's been married three or four times, he's got a house with 107 bedrooms, most the size of a normal person's house, with kitchens in some of them. He lives in 500 or 600 acres of land and has 35 to 40 cars. But what has he got really?

I think I'll know when to finish, I'll find plenty of things to do, and I think Lewis will know when his time's up.

I see that Audley Harrison is still insisting he's on course to be world heavyweight champion by the time he's 34.

Well, let me tell you, I'll be surprised if he even wins the British or European titles. The first time he meets a top-rated fighter who can punch he'll be laid out.

He fights as if he's apprehensive, he doesn't really come forward, and that's the sign of somebody who knows he can't take a punch.

He might beat a Herbie Hyde or a Danny Williams, but that's about it.

But I'll give him one thing. He's made himself a millionaire out of the game without fighting anyone, so he's got a business head.

Until next week.......

Joe Calzaghe