IT looks as though new WBA world super-middleweight champion Tony Mundine could be my next opponent - but I'm not really that optimistic.

When fighters win a world title they usually want three or four easy fights to pick up a bit of money before taking on a credible opponent.

Mundine is a decent boxer with fast hands, but he's not in the same league as me and he knows I would knock him out and add his title to my WBO version.

He was knocked out by IBF champion Sven Ottke who is not known as a big puncher, so there's no way he would live with me.

Having said that, I have a lot of respect for him because he's an amazing character. He did not box as an amateur and has only been fighting for three years and has had 16 fights. He was a bit of a Rugby League star and that was his main sport.

But that's changed now he's beaten American Antwun Echols, who I was going to fight had he won.

Mundine went into the fight suffering from flu and a bit of an injury and apparently wasn't very confident, but he pulled it off so he has to be respected.

With another Australian, Danny Green, also doing well and with two other world super-middleweight champions from Germany, it's not all Americans dominating at my weight.

Green fought Marcus Beyer for the WBC version in Germany and had him down twice in the second and had him wobbling all over the place.

But he was disqualified in round four for a butt and they are now planning a rematch.

It's always hard to win in Germany and that was shown again last week when Sven Ottke held on to his version of the title with another split points decision win. He overcame Denmark's Mads Larsen, but he knows if he ventures out of Germany he would lose to anyone in the top ten.

That's why he'll never agree to fight me.

In Germany he just runs and runs and makes scoring difficult. He would be able to run but he couldn't hide against me, so for me that fight's a lost cause.

I'm sure Swansea's Enzo Maccarinelli will successfully defend his WBU world cruiserweight title in Newport on Saturday.

Opponent Andrei Kiarsten is Estonian so is likely to be a tough opponent, but Frank Warren is the best promoter in the world and wouldn't be putting Maccarinelli in with him for his first defence if he thought he might lose.

Enzo has a great deal of potential, but that means nothing when you get in the ring, so he'll have to be careful.

He's still in the learning stages of his career and still developing and my advice would be to keep busy and have four or five fights a year before going for one of the really big boys.

I feel so disappointed for Wales in not making the 2004 European Championship finals in Portugal as of right.

I told you in this column last week that Italy would struggle to win in Serbia and they did. They were very lucky to get a draw, which is the result I had a bet on.

So by only drawing 1-1 with Finland, Wales lost their best chance of getting through because they won't win the group now.

There's no way Italy will slip up against whipping boys Azerbaijan.

I know people are saying Wales would have taken a play-off place before the group games started, but after winning their first four, one point from nine is a poor return. Just two more points and they would have been in Portugal.

There are some very good teams in the play-offs such as Holland, Spain and England or Turkey and it would be sad if after all they have done, Wales were to go out, but I'm afraid that's now possible.

Until next week . . .

JOE CALZAGHE