Joe Calzaghe's dream of a super-middleweight unification fight are in the balance after a mixed night of fortunes in Cardiff.

Calaghe sustained a hand injury in the course of his shut-out points win over Kenyan Evans Ashira. He claimed a 120-108 (twice) 120-107 verdict to retain his WBO super-middleweight title for the 17th time but of greater concern was obvious discomfort in Calzaghe's left hand which threatens a planned November super fight with IBF champion Jeff Lacy.

Despite benefiting from his promoter Don King's ringside support, the 35-year-old Ashira had never expected to provide a serious challenge to Calzaghe's unification dream.

He had campaigned at middleweight for all of his previous 24 fights and lost in two rounds to the little-known Maselino Masoe in May last year.

Nevertheless at just 5ft 7ins he threatened to pose a few problems for the much taller champion who had good reason to hope to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.

After a frustrating time in 2004, Calzaghe had exploded back into top form in May this year when he travelled to Germany and blew away his mandatory challenger Mario Veit in the sixth round.

With his messy divorce proceedings finally behind him Calzaghe had looked fully focused and confident in the build-up to his latest defence on home soil, insisting talk of the imminent Lacy battle would not distract him.

His night was supposed to be all about shaking off any accumulated ring-rust to prepare for his career-defining fight with Lacy - and if he looked good on his terrestrial television return all the better.

That dramatic return looked on the cards in the opening minute as Calzaghe backed Ashira into his corner with a series of clubbing left hooks which had the challenger trying frantically to cover up.

And a short right hand towards the end of the round clearly wobbled Ashira who did well simply to make it back to his corner in one piece.

The awkward challenger was constantly ducking and moving but still finding it hard to avoid Calzaghe's constant stream of flicking jabs and accurate right hands, and ended the second with a cut around his left eye. Calzaghe's work became increasingly messy as he struggled to put away his surprisingly durable foe, who succeeded in silencing the crowd as he dragged the frustrated champion into the second half of the fight.

And he was making ominous signs to his corner about apparent discomfort in his left hand as he made his way back to his corner at the end of the sixth.

Calzaghe's history of hand problems had weighed on the minds of many who believed a shoe-horned 17th defence of his title was not a risk worth taking with so much resting on the outcome.
Lacy's camp had virtually agreed to visit London on November 5 for the match-up to decide the best super-middleweight in the world.

Now Calzaghe faces an anxious wait for the diagnosis which could scupper any short-term unification plans. Calzaghe was disappointed and frustrated his injury prevented him from displaying his true talent. "I thought I was going to stop him early. If my left hand was there I could have kept the pace but unfortunately the left hand went and I had to out-box him," he said. "I had to jab my way to victory after four rounds. If my left hand was OK I think he would have pulled out or I would have knocked him out in four or five rounds.

"Thankfully I have got a good jab but it is frustrating because I am an aggressive fighter. "I'll have it (the hand) checked out tomorrow. It's in a lot of pain but I don't know if it is broken." Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren admitted the November fight against Lacy was virtually a non-starter in light of the injury.

"I very much doubt that it is going to go on. He is never going to be ready for that so we'll try to rearrange it for next year," he told ITV1. "It is frustrating for Joe but these things happen in boxing. "It is a great shame. We'll do the fight early next year, maybe February." King was full of praise after witnessing Calzaghe first hand. "He is a great champion and a great competitor. He re-adjusted after his hand went and I think he is a great fighter and a great champion," he said.

"He showed his courage and was tenacious and steadfast in spite of his hand injury and I think that is what champions are made of."