Legend Jones next on list for Calzaghe, the victor of Vegas

The first is likely to be at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium this autumn and would draw a 60,000-plus crowd.

A disputed split decision over the ageing but A-list Hopkins threatens Lennox Lewis's title as the most successful British fighter of the post-war era.

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Calzaghe could expect to make £10million from a home-and-away deal with the 39-year-old Jones, the official Nineties 'Fighter of the Decade' and the first middleweight champion for 106 years to step up to heavyweight and claim a world title.

Watched by movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Governor, and Sylvester Stallone in a record turn-out of Hollywood celebs, Calzaghe recovered from a first-round knockdown to dominate the second half of the fight and win on two of the three judges' scorecards.

Hopkins contested the verdict and accused Calzaghe of "throwing punches like my sister."

Calzaghe said: "The one thing missing from my record was to come to the U.S. and beat one of the biggest names. It would have been easy to stay at home, have a few more fights and retire.

"I fought at a new weight for the first time and I was put down in the first round but I still managed to win. I showed the true heart of a champion."

Jones said at ringside: "I'm in. It's on if Joe wants it. I'll fight him anywhere. I'll go to Wales, England, wherever. November 15. I've already got it in my schedule."

Wales play Canada at rugby in the Millennium Stadium that day but on another weekend Calzaghe-Jones would break the sport's indoor attendance record of 63,350 for the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks fight in 1978. Around 50,000 saw Calzaghe defeat Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff last year.

Calzaghe is unbeaten in 45 fights stretching back to 1993 and has added the prestigious Ringmagazine crown of No 1 light-heavyweight to his title as undisputed worldsuper- middleweight champion.

An often ugly, dirty fight produced allegations of foul play from both sides, with Hopkins taking a three-minute time-out to recover from a Calzaghe low blow and the Welshman accusing his victim of "feigning injury" because he was "tired".

Hopkins said: "I took this guy to school and made him look amateurish."

After the booing of the Star Spangled Banner at the Ricky Hatton-Floyd Mayweather fight here, a mostly British crowd of 14,000 stayed silent for America's National Anthem.