TOP American Thomas Tate could be back on the agenda for WBO super-middleweight king Joe Calzaghe after he smashed right through Tocker Pudwill on Saturday.

It took the Newbridge hero just 39 seconds of the second round to blow Pudwill away at Newcastle's Telewest Arena.

And now two-time IBF super-middleweight challenger Tate could be reinstalled for a Cardiff showdown at the end of March before Calzaghe turns all his attentions to a unification battle with undisputed middleweight king Bernard Hopkins at the Millennium Stadium this summer.

Promoter Frank Warren was expected to reveal more details on the Tate bout today. The Houston hitter was originally scheduled to take on Calzaghe in Newcastle but was forced to pull out with a perforated ear drum.

A spokesman for Warren's management company confirmed today: "We definitely want to get something on in Cardiff for Joe in the New Year.

"Then we want to look at the Hopkins fight in the summer."

Despite Calzaghe's reservations at Friday's weigh-in at the Metro Centre in Gateshead, IBF super-middleweight rule Sven Ottke has also not been ruled out of the picture.

Promoter Frank Warren confirmed that he would be prepared to take his champion, who has now successfully defended his belt 13 times over the past five years, to Ottke's native Germany to fight.

That could potentially be a prospect - if the Tate fight falls through again.

There was more news for trainer Enzo Calzaghe's stable with Gavin Rees now likely to get a WBU super-featherweight world title shot at Wembley on February 15.

The Welshman, who chalked up his 18th straight victory by out-pointing Jimmy Beech on Saturday, is being lined up to take on Kevin Lear.

Although the horizon looks bright for both men, Calzaghe has repeated that he's prepared to re-think his career path and move to light-heavy - if things don't go his way.

"I get frustrated waiting for the big fights and I've always said that I want to be a two-division champion, I honestly think that if Roy Jones Jr does move up to challenge the bigger men the light-heavyweight division will be wide open and I think I'm good enough to dominate it," he said.

Calzaghe also revealed a change of gloves for the fight may have gone a little way to overcoming the problems he has faced since a teenager with damaged hands.

Pointing to a swollen knuckle on his left hand he said: "After the Miguel Jimenez (Calzaghe won on points in August) fight my hand was badly swollen, but this time I have had some specially made Everlast gloves.

"They're much comfier than previous ones, but at the end of the day I don't go into a fight worrying about my hands. I've had problems with them since I was 14, now I just get in there and get on with it."

Calzaghe also brushed off critics of his latest opponent Pudwill, saying: "I can only beat what's put in front of me, things weren't as clean as I would have liked but I got stuck in and did the business, Merry Christmas!"

After praising the Newcastle crowd who he said had been fantastic, Calzaghe added: "I was more than a little disappointed when he didn't get up, I was really up for it and I wanted to send him straight back down again.

"I know it was a bit messy early and he wasn't the best quality opponent in the world, but I walked straight through him, I steamrollered him really.

"I could feel the power and he was lucky that the bell sounded when it did in the first or I would have finished him then."