Calderon plans on boxing, not brawling in Iribe fight

At 5 foot, 31/2 inches, Mexican Jesus Iribe fairly towers over 5-foot WBO light flyweight champion Ivan Calderon. In the 108-pound class, a natural size advantage really can make a difference, so it's not surprising that Iribe is hoping his southpaw opponent from Puerto Rico will stand and fight.

"I hope Calderon won't run," Iribe said. "I'm coming to put on a good show."

But Calderon (33-0-1, 6 KOs) has no intention of allowing himself to get baited by Iribe (17-6-4, 10 KOs) before their fight Saturday in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Calderon knows he's a slick boxer who lacks a knockout punch, and he blames a decision to try and be a harder puncher for the benefit of TV for causing him to suffer head butts that ended his past three bouts.

"I was trying to do a different fight, trying to give what HBO wanted, knockouts," Calderon said. "I got a head butt. When I try to do that kind of style, try to stand up to hit better, that's not my style. When I start moving, that's when my body starts getting in the action, and I give a lot of show.

"[Iribe] says I'm a runner, but I believe I'm a boxer," Calderon said. "I'm going to hit and don't get hit. I'm going to box real cute."

At 35, Calderon also is giving up 10 years in age to Iribe, but he's going for his 18th straight title defense at either 105 or 108 and will be tough to beat in front of a partisan crowd the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade.

"It's hard to maintain 17 title defenses because my opponents are always bigger than me," Calderon said. "Everybody that fights you wants to kill you. You've got to stay focused on what you really want. My people are asking me for more, for more. Every morning, I wake up and look outside. I see my car, I see my house, I say, 'I've got to work.' "

For Iribe, this will be his third title shot. He lost a lopsided 12-round decision to countryman Edgar Sosa for the WBC belt two years ago, and he lost a closer 12-round decision to IBF champion Brian Viloria last August. In that bout, Iribe suffered a broken right hand in the second round but fought gamely to the finish.

"He's a great fighter, a great champion," Iribe said. "He's a very difficult fighter, but I've studied him really well."