Joe Calzaghe's hopes of a big-money unification fight with Bernard Hopkins have been put on the back burner with the news that 'The Executioner' will fight Morrade Hakkar of France.

The little-known Hakkar is the number one challenger for the WBC Middleweight crown.

No date has been set for the mandatory defence.

Don King has won the right to promote the fight, with a deal netting Hopkins 75% of the purse to the challenger's 25%.

Calzaghe, the WBO Super Middleweight champion, has been looking for the career-defining fights against the best fighters out there, and Hopkins - the WBC, WBA and IBF Middleweight champ - certainly fits the bill.

"Although I've been champion for five years and I've beaten some good fighters, I've never beaten a great fighter," said Calzaghe.

"I believe Hopkins would be perfect for me. He's 37-years-old now and I know what to expect from him.

"I believe I've got the style and the tools to beat him. That would elevate me to being one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world."

There has also been talk of matching Calzaghe against Harry Simon of Namibia, Eric Lucas of Canada and the peerless Roy Jones of the USA.

For now, though, the interminable politics of the boxing world are leaving him in limbo.

The Welshman has a firm belief in his own ability, but he will have to wait a little longer to prove it.