Calzaghe deserves knighthood - Warren

Joe Calzaghe will meet the Prince of Wales at Cardiff Castle on Wednesday - but promoter Frank Warren insists he deserves an invitation to Buckingham Palace.

Warren believes Calzaghe should be knighted in the New Year's Honours after becoming the undisputed world super-middleweight champion with a points victory over Mikkel Kessler that stretched his unbeaten career record to 44 fights.

And as Warren works on arranging a clash with veteran American Bernard Hopkins, he believes Calzaghe's contribution to the boxing world and to British sport should be recognised immediately, arguing: "Sir Galahad was fighting when he was a knight, so why shouldn't our guy?"

He added: "Why should he have to wait until he is 100 to be knighted? He has done something no British boxer has done - remain undefeated for 10 years to be up there in such exalted company. He is the longest reigning current world champion. What more has he got to do?"

The impact of Calzaghe's unification victory over Kessler at the Millennium Stadium, his 21st successful title defence, continues to grow.

Over 300,000 tuned in to watch the fight live on Setanta - the channel received record subscriptions last week - and Warren is convinced boxing has a much larger place in the fabric of British sport than is often recognised.

"This is not the renaissance of British boxing. This is the public saying 'this is what we want'. Fifty thousand people turned up on Saturday night, making it the biggest indoor boxing event to take place in Europe," said Warren.

"If you want a reality show - there is no better reality show than boxing. There are no dodgy phone-ins. The results are what they are.

"And we have got the best. We have the best light-welterweight in the world in Ricky Hatton, the best super-middleweight in the world and the best prospect in the world in Amir Khan. Boxing is on such a high."