Joe Calzaghe's fight with Roy Jones Jr, of the United States, has been postponed after the Welshman suffered an injury to his right hand in training. The pair were due to face off in a light-heavyweight fight at New York's Madison Square Garden on September 20.

Talks began almost immediately with Jones Jr's representatives, HBO, the American pay-per-view channel, and officials from the venue in order to set a new date for the contest. It appears Calzaghe, who last month split with long-time promoter Frank Warren, will finally get to face the former four-weight world champion later in the year.

"We're trying to reschedule for November, and that works for them [Calzaghe's camp], so the injury must be something they feel will heal sufficiently by then," John Wirt, chief executive of Jones Jr's promotional company Square Ring, said. "Roy is disappointed but he's looking forward to the fight being rescheduled."

A source close to Calzaghe has insisted his injury is "not career-threatening" and he has seen a consultant today in an attempt to ascertain its exact nature. The 36-year-old has suffered a string of similar injuries in the past - although the majority were to his left hand.

The fight with Jones Jr was widely expected to be Calzaghe's last before retirement, but he has refused to relinquish his WBO super-middleweight title ahead of the contest and last week suggested he could defend it against Kelly Pavlik at the 12 stone weight next year.

Calzaghe is the longest-reigning champion in his sport, having defended the WBO belt 21 times, four short of the all-time record for consecutive defences held by Joe Louis, the former heavyweight champion.

The Welshman outpointed Bernard Hopkins in a light-heavyweight fight in Las Vegas in April to extend his winning streak to 45 fights. The Ring Magazine belt he earned by beating the veteran American was to have been on the line against Jones Jr, with both fighters taking a 50 per cent cut of the purse.

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