LEGENDARY boxer Joe Calzaghe is willing to swap his gloves for his pads and train his protégé Nathan Cleverly.

The undefeated two-weight world champion whose 46-0 record is the best ever for a British boxer, hasn’t fought in over five years since ending his career at Madison Square Garden in New York, beating Roy Jones Jr.

However, Calzaghe is ready to commit to a new role in the sport helping to train his former Team Calzaghe stablemate.

And Calzaghe’s father and former cornerman Enzo Calzaghe is also calling on Cefn Fforest fighter Cleverly to return to his Newbridge roots.

Cleverly trained with Calzaghe throughout his formative years before switching to work with his father Vince around the time of Joe’s acrimonious split with promoter Frank Warren in 2009.

He went on to win British, European, Commonwealth and eventually world title honours at light heavyweight before losing his title to Sergey Kovalev.

In 2014, Cleverly switched to cruiserweight, but he’s now at a crossroads after losing to domestic rival Tony Bellew and is considering both a change of weight category and possibly training regime.

Cleverly currently trains with Darren Wilson but is considering his options and has already met with legendary American Freddie Roach at his Los Angeles Wildcard Gym.

However, the Calzaghes are willing to get involved if Nathan opts to work closer to his Blackwood home.

“I’ve been milling around, I’ve dabbled in a few things and I can still squeeze into my Team Calzaghe top after five years away from the sport, I’m in good shape, but I do miss boxing,” Calzaghe told the Argus.

“If Nathan wants my help, he’s got it, of course he has.

“I was disappointed in the Bellew fight, I wasn’t involved in the training camp but he’s clearly at the wrong weight, putting muscle on took away his greatest asset which was work rate and he acknowledged he was tired after six rounds.

“He ran out of steam, it was his first proper fight at cruiser and realistically he first needs to drop down in weight and then he will establish himself against as a world class fighter, which he is.

“He’s still young and in his two losses (to Kovalev and Bellew) he hasn’t been hurt badly and Bellew was there for the beating, I don’t rate him at all, easy as it is to look on the outside.

“I’d love to work with Nathan. I wouldn’t want to be his full time trainer, but I’d love to work more with him and I honestly think it might help, but it is Nathan’s decision to make.

“He’s going to have to work hard to get back, I haven’t spoken with him but he didn’t show the real him in his last fight.

“He had no energy and Nathan is such a relentless boxer, he can throw 1000 punches in a fight, so we know the extra muscle has slowed him down. It’s taken away his speed and his work rate and he needs to move back down.

“I didn’t peak until I was in my 30s and I think Nathan can be the same. He’s a friend and I’ll help him as much as I can.”

Enzo Calzaghe added to Joe’s sentiments.

“Nathan is welcome in our gym anytime he likes and if I was going to list one name to get him back to the top, it would be my own name,” he told the Argus.

“I’ve known Nathan since he was a kid and I understand him. I can see into his soul and I want to see him back at the top.”