Joe Calzaghe, left, exchanges punches with Sakio Bika during their super middleweight title fight in Manchester, England, on Oct. 14, 2006. Calzaghe can become the first British fighter to make 20 straight successful title defenses when he defends his WBO belt against Peter Manfredo Jr. on April 7. Photo by The Associated Press.

Joe Calzaghe has a chance to do something no British fighter has ever done when he defends his WBO super middleweight title against Peter Manfredo Jr. on April 7.

If Calzaghe (42-0, 31 knockouts) defends the belt against Manfredo -- and he is an overwhelming favorite to do so -- he would become the first Brit ever to make 20 successful defenses, and would tie Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes for the fourth-best streak all time.

Only heavyweight Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight Dariusz Michalczewski (23) and super middleweight Sven Ottke (21) would be ahead of him.

But despite the numerous defenses and lengthy reign -- he's been the WBO champion since Oct. 11, 1997 -- he's all but unknown in the United States. That's largely due to defenses against the likes of Tocker Pudwill, Mger Mkrtchian and Kabary Salem.

"I'm not apologizing for anyone I've fought, but I've been chasing the big names for years," Calzaghe said. "For whatever reason, it hasn't happened for me."

He got a bit of the acclaim he was looking for when he routed previously unbeaten Jeff Lacy on March 4, 2006, in a WBO-IBF unification bout.

But it still wasn't enough to get him in against a big name such as Hopkins, Winky Wright or middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.

And the desire to land that kind of a bout, rather than staying at 168 pounds and trying to surpass Louis' mark, will bring him to the United States later this year in the hope of a high-profile fight. He's fought all 42 of his fights in Europe, with all but three of those in the United Kingdom.

So determined is he to prove he's one of the world's elite fighters that he's willing to surrender his belt and move to light heavyweight.

"It seems like some of these guys hear my name and they immediately go in a different direction," Calzaghe said. "It's a bit maddening, to be honest. Sooner or later, though, I think something is going to have to give. That's the plan, anyway."

• HEAVY MESS -- The status of Oleg Maskaev's next defense of the WBC heavyweight title remains uncertain.

He is obligated to fight mandatory challenger Samuel Peter of Las Vegas, but his representatives have been involved in protracted negotiations with Peter's handlers to get Peter to step aside and allow Maskaev to defend the belt against former champion Vitali Klitschko.

Klitschko is coming out of retirement and wants to fight for the belt immediately. Maskaev wants that because a fight with Klitschko means more money. Peter's side has agreed to a step-aside fee, but the deal has gotten hung up over other terms.

On Friday, Klitschko adviser Shelly Finkel said "I think we're OK with Peter," and said a Maskaev-Klitschko title fight could be finalized Monday if a Russian businessman who is going to sponsor the fight wires the money to his account.

The fight, Finkel said, would be June 2 in Moscow, and could be part of a doubleheader with a WBO title fight between champion Shannon Briggs and Sultan Ibragimov.

But Peter promoter Dino Duva said he is tired of dickering with Finkel and Maskaev promoter Dennis Rappaport, and added that he is going to talk to the WBC and demand the bout for Peter.

"The WBC has sat on the sidelines and let us talk, hoping they wouldn't get sued," Duva said. "But Sam's gotten jerked around too long. Every time we're told we have a deal, then at the last minute, they look for reasons to stall and to change the language."

• FORBES UPBEAT -- Despite being on the short end of a decision widely regarded as horrific, former Las Vegan Steve Forbes said he's come to grips with his loss March 17 to Demetrius Hopkins.

The fans at Mandalay Bay, Forbes' corner and most of the media thought Forbes had won a wide decision, but the judges gave Hopkins a wide unanimous decision in an important super lightweight bout.

"I've watched it 15 times, probably, and I absolutely don't know what else you need to do to win a fight," Forbes said.

Forbes said he thought his body work was taking a toll on Hopkins, and added that he thought he was getting close to stopping Hopkins in the second half of the bout.

He said that despite losing, he's still in demand and figures to get another big fight.

"I think I proved I can compete at this weight," said Forbes, a former super featherweight champion. "I thought I proved that on 'The Contender,' going up to 150, but I think anyone who doubted me because of my size doesn't feel that way now.

"HBO told me they liked what they saw and how I fought, and I think there are a couple of pretty good opportunities out there for me."

• WLAD REMATCH -- Finkel said he's closing in on a deal for IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko to defend his belt against Lamon Brewster, who in 2004 lifted the WBO belt from Klitschko in a stunning upset at Mandalay Bay.

Brewster hasn't fought in more than a year because of an eye injury suffered in a title-fight loss to Sergei Liakhovich, but he's healthy and Finkel said it's the bout Wladimir Klitschko wants most, other than a unification against WBA champion Nikolai Valuev.

Finkel said the bout would likely be this summer in Germany.

• I PAID -- Las Vegan Diego Corrales, who fights Joshua Clottey on April 7 in his welterweight debut, denied on a conference call Tuesday that he owes former trainer Joe Goossen $110,000 in training fees, as Goossen has alleged.

Goossen said Corrales has paid him only $10,000 of the $120,000 he was owed for an Oct. 7 bout with Joel Casamayor at Mandalay Bay. Corrales denied it and said "I have the check to prove it."

Goossen, though, still plans to sue. He also trained Corrales for two fights that did not occur because of an injury and then because Jose Luis Castillo failed to make weight.

• TIDBITS -- Rocky Juarez is expected to meet Jose Hernandez in a super featherweight bout on May 5 at the MGM Grand on the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather undercard. ... Promoter Don King met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday and presented the pontiff with a championship belt. ... Former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver will fight Elvir Muriqi on April 22 on ABC.