Joe Calzaghe and Britains top 168 lbers

Boxing Monthly has an article this month titles Britains top 10 SMWs. The fighters are -

1. Joe Calzaghe
2. Chris Eubank
3. Nigel Benn
4. Carl Froch
5. Steve Collins
6. Richie Woodhall
7. Robin Reid
8. Glen Catley
9. Brian Magee
10. James Cook

Now I think Collins may be Eire not British but thats the list and I could be wrong. Still looking at the list, look at the shocking facts. #1 Calzaghe beat #2 Eubank, #6 Woodhall, #7 Reid and beat #8 Catley as an amateur. All good fighters and SMW world champs.
More shocking is that #3 Benn, #4 Froch and #9 Magee all lost to Calzaghe victims.
Collins retired when due to face Calzaghe and Calzaghe was scheduled to fight Magee at one time but Mario Veits team refused to allow Calzaghe to defend his world title, so the fight got s****ped.

They note that there will be advocates arguing that Ray Close, David Starie and Henry Wharton deserve to be included, yet consider that Calzaghe beat Starie and Close lost to a Calzaghe victim and Wharton lost to 2 Calzaghe victims.

Seems clear who #1 is

Right now Calzaghe has been gone from the SMW division for a while yet if you look at arguably Wards 3 best SMW world title victories in Kessler, Froch and Bika, 2 are Calzaghe victims.
If you look at Butes world title wins over Magee and Brinkley, both had lost previously to Reid

 

I agree.
For overall work at SMW I would put Eubank above Collins and possibly Benn also, but I cant see how Froch is above Collins. Collins 2 wins over Eubank and 2 wins over Benn are greater than any of Frochs wins

 

Thats a bit unfair. Eubank was still undefeated and Benn had only lost a SD to Malinga, when before that he had looked good and Malinga went on to win a world title at SMW again

 

I struggle to seperate the 2 really. I think Woodhall gets a little underated at times, as does Reid. Its a toss up really
Woodhall beat Malinga WBC SMW champ, beat Catley who became WBC SMW champ, beat Nardiello former WBC champ and still world rated. Woodhall also beat Branco who was a world class SMW who beat Reid, but that was at MW and before Branco became WBA LHW champ. If Reid had of been given the decision over Ottke which I felt he deserved, his stock would have gone right up, but Reid still has a good resume in his own right, in beating WBC SMW champ Nardiello away, beating Cherifi who became WBC MW champ and his win over B Magee now WBA SMW int champ. Reids win over Pretaurious was a good win, but not great.
Reids losses to Malinga and Branco dont help considering Woodhall beat both. As said its a toss up.
I think Reid underachieved and could have done more. Reid just didnt do anything against Malinga, a fight he could have clearly won and after losing to Calzaghe, just didnt do anything against Branco who Woodhall had stopped. Reid was never the same after the Calzaghe fight and never seemed to work as hard or do as much again, though I think he won the Ottke fight, which does deserve credit.

 

Collins first fight with Eubank was close, but I dont really think he was lucky. The fight could have gone either way.
Benn may have been past his best, but until a SD loss to Malinga had looked fine, so I dont buy that he was past his best. Malinga had given Benn a good arguement previously and won by a SD and was a fighter who would win a world title again off of an undefeated R Reid. I dont know if Benn was as mentally up for Collins with the McClellan tragedy having happened only the year before though

 

Reid looked better against Calzaghe than Woodhall, but I wonder if that was also due to Woodhall being at the end of his career.
If Reid had of got the decision against Ottke, he would have a great argument as being in 2nd place having won WBC WBA IBF titles and Ottkes name on his resume