Calzaghe Fans: "Joe was better than Hagler"

:rofl have you no shame?

 

How are tricks, Joe? Hope to see you at the next Team Elite bash. :deal

 

did Ward pick Froch? :huh if you mean when they fought, then no. that was part of the competition.

outside of the competition Ward wouldn't pick Froch. well, not in the UK anyway. only in the states with his ref allowing him to use his "special" tactics.

Ward/Bika was close. i had it 115-113 to Ward.

holding as part of your fight tactics is illegal. they're the rules. i don't make them.

Joe did hit with the inside of the glove from time to time. it wasn't a way to cheat someone, just him not turning his fist over properly when hitting.

i'm pretty sure it was $10 million for 3 fights with Joe earning him $3 million alone. another fighter included in one of the 3 fights was WBO champ Harry Simon. don't know who the other was that Showtime would have wanted.

if Hopkins wanted the big money fights, then Joe was clearly his man. whether he was known or not doesn't come into it. it was big money against the best Super Middle in the world. apart from the Trinidad and De La Hoya fights, Hopkins fought pretty much low key, even in his own country. saying that Joe made no sense for Hopkins after the Trinidad win holds no water considering some of the opposition he fought. they were small pay checks as well. Oscar netted him half of what he would have been payed for Joe.

when it was Bernard's side who came up with the numbers and hometown demands in the first place, only to turn them down when they were met, clearly shows me that Bernard didn't want it. he asked for double and priced himself out. it wasn't the 3 fight deal that Showtime wanted for Bernard that was the sticking point, it was the fact that THEY came up with the demands then reneged when they were met. Bernard gave a stupid price that wasn't possible. he was happy to fight a past their best Welter for $1.5 million, but not a fighter his size for double that? i'm not accepting that. we both know that the silly $6 million price tag was purposeful dodging on Hopkins part.

are you saying that they didn't fight Joe at that point in time because they "planned" to make more money 6 years later? that's crazy, things dramatically change within a 6 month period in boxing, let alone 6 years.

i've already pointed out why Bernard eventually fought Calzaghe. it was either retire and wait until Joe had gone, or fight him because it would have looked bad on Bernard's part if he didn't. Hopkins had an itch to fight, and to make money. he wouldn't have been able to continue his career without him looking like a coward. he ducked it first time round, doing so again would have resulted in him getting a bad reputation. he had no choice if he wanted to fight on.
he brought in the A team to give him his best possible chance... he failed.

Calzaghe had decided to step up back in 2001/2002 against Hopkins, but if the other guy doesn't want it, then who is there to step up to if they all turn the offers down?
the excuse that he needed to fight in the bigger fights was never an option for Joe when no one would give him the chance. you can't scalp the big names if they all make excuses as to why the fight doesn't happen.
that's why i have/had respect for Lacy. HE called out Joe and it was game on. he didn't do what all the other pussies and excuse makers did. he wanted to fight the best. he lost big to Joe, but at least he showed the courage to get in there with him and not make up baseless reasons for why not. that's real fighter.

if Joe was to blame for any of the fights not coming off, then i'd have no problem. but that isn't the case. all i saw was reasons to try and halt the inevitable loss they would have suffered. they had no balls. American fighters have ducked out against their main rivals far too many times now. it's something that they do.
we may even have another one in the shape of Garcia not wanting Matthysse. i'm sure though, that Matthysse will shoulder some of the blame where none exist. just the same old, same old.

 

just saying how it was/is. i don't make excuses for no one. :good

 

No I asking if Ward picked Froch to beat Bute....did I misunderstand?

WHy would Hopkins have to retire rather than fight Joe? There weren't any other options? Look bad? When has Bernard Hopkins ever worried about looking bad?

Ok. So, they all have no balls, except for guys like Brewer and Mitchell. But somehow the great ones don't. Except when they fight HW's or move up from MW to LHW and fight big punchers. JC fought in relative obscurity. Obscure division, obscure venues vs obscure fighters. He wasn't a rival to these guys at that time. Main rival?

The difference with Matthysse is that he has already stepped up. We're not sitting here, years later saying that he somehow missed out on the best fighters of his generation when it mattered. Thru their fear of losing, they all managed to avoid him, only to somehow find the courage fight him when he had proved himself dangerous vs world class fighters.

Come on man, it can't be THAT black and white to you, can it?

 

sorry. crossed wires... yeah, Ward picked Froch to beat Bute. Ward truly shot himself in the foot there. but hey, it's something he does on a regular basis these days.

Hopkins knew he couldn't beat Joe. he knew he could beat Pavlik, Tarver and winky. but not Joe. of course he wouldn't want to get into a ring against someone he knew he couldn't beat. fighters look to avoid a loss if they can, not go looking to put a blemish on their records. the more you win, the more fights you get. therefore fighters get paid. they lose stock in boxing when they lose. come on, surely you can see that?

there is a big difference about looking bad inside the ring due to boring tactics, than looking bad because you ducked a fight.
he's already come out and said he's not interested in fighting Ward whilst still claiming that no one can beat him. it's madness.
how long did Hopkins avoid a fight with Dawson due to the style not matching up with his? when he got in there, he lost. he knew he couldn't beat Dawson. the same applies to Calzaghe. :deal

doesn't matter how great a fighter is perceived to be or how bad they are perceived to be, that doesn't come into it when talking about courage.

Riddick Bowe was the Heavyweight champ of the world. still didn't stop him from being afraid to fight Lewis. Bowe knew also that he couldn't win so dropped the title.

courage isn't measured by moving up in weight. and where Bernard is concerned, he done so because he lost his title. why didn't he stop off and beat the best Super Middle in the world whilst picking up a big fat check before he went for fighters in the Lightheavy division? because he knew that Tarver was more suited to him.

of course Calzaghe was a rival to Hopkins. who else would you say was his main rival? no one comes to mind? just easy pickings the way Bernard likes it. when they play to his tune, he loves it. when they don't he dodges them.

unless you actually believe that Hopkins felt he could beat Dawson when they met? not once did he feel he could, IMO. the only reason they fought was due to Dawson being the number 1 for the WBC. Bernard has a choice to fight and lose the title, or drop it and look foolish. the man claims to be a tough street wise former convict from Philly. can't go around bitching out of fights all the time can you?

are you saying that Matthysse has proven more than Joe had at the time of wanting the fight? hell no. Lucas has some good solid wins, but not better than Joe had. Lucas is just more known than Joe was due to fighting in America. that doesn't mean he'd beaten better fighters though.

are you saying that fighters wouldn't avoid Matthysse if they could? :huh it's going on right now! the big fight between Garcia and Lucas may not happen due to Garcia not fancying his chances. he'd love for his promoter to make his excuses for him. he isn't looking forward to meeting Lucas in a ring. if you think that, that's crazy. he doesn't want to get wreaked. that is what would happen if they fight. and Garcia knows that. so stay tuned on that one.

what are you going to say if that fight doesn't happen? would you claim that no duck had taken place? :think

it's not about black and white, it's about seeing through all the bull**** that people put in the way to why things don't happen. i just see things for what they are. not what they try to convince me of.

if two people want things to happen, then they will. but if one is messing about and stalling, then **** doesn't get done. it's as simple as that.

making fights isn't rocket science. i know some think it is due to the amount of crap that goes on, but it really isn't. fighters prefer some over others. if they feel they can win, then it gets done. if they don't, then just watch all the excuse that come out of peoples mouths. :good

 

I don't make any excuses for them. I have no reason to excuse them. I'm not "a fan" of any of the guys mentioned here, but they had the bargaining power. They had the status in the sport and they had proven themselves on the biggest stages. They didn't need Joe Calzaghe to make their records solid. They were solid. They also didn't run from him like he was some boogeyman who they couldn't possibly beat. They didn't fight him because.... who the hell was he? Where they made their money, here in the US, nobody knew who the hell he was. And they wouldn't for years. And THAT was his fault. If he wanted Jones......move up, fight in the US. Fight some common opponents. Fight for a regular title. In other words......make your bones. His actions speak louder than anyone's words. Was it ALL his fault they didn't fight?......no. Some of it? Of course.

As for Hopkins. Again, over here, back then, nobody other than diehards knew who Calzaghe was. Trinidad was far, far more highly anticipated. But a rivalry? And why stop over at SMW? It didn't have nearly the profile it has now. It didn't have the prestige, nor the earning power that LHW or MW had.

The examples of actual ducks, like Bowe, are exactly that. Actual ducks. But you do see how easy they are to spot? They aren't hidden amongst a 3 fight deal, requiring signing with a rival network, subject to interpretation from the masses. They're clear to see.

Should Garcia not fight Matthysse is it automatically a duck? WHat if they can't come to terms? What if Garcia, or Matthysse is in line for a Mayweather fight? Did Bradley duck Khan? To fight Manny Pacquiao? There are lots of reasons fights don't happen.

Matthysse has proven himself on the WORLD stage. He has fought all over versus top opponents. He stepped up. Not just defending a singular, obscure belt confined to a certain geographical region, he went out and got it the fights he wanted.

Martinez did it. Khan did it. Hatton did it. Froch did it. Darchinyan did it. Lots of fighters did it. Let's see what happens with Cleverly, but he may do it. What are your thoughts on Chris John?

Calzaghe is accused of pulling out of fights due to phantom injuries. Is that to be believed on its face? They say he was afraid to step up, wouldn't fly. Got hurt. Had to be talked into actually going thru with the fights. He said he didn't want tough fights, knew his limitations, would take the crown jewels, and all that. Was he a coward? No, of course not.

 

Owning -

 

Im not sure who slapped harder, Leonard or Joe but yes.. Super Joe woimuld def slap up Hagler. Period

 

The examples of actual ducks, like Bowe, are exactly that. Actual ducks. But you do see how easy they are to spot? They aren't hidden amongst a 3 fight deal, requiring signing with a rival network, subject to interpretation from the masses. They're clear to see.

Should Garcia not fight Matthysse is it automatically a duck? WHat if they can't come to terms? What if Garcia, or Matthysse is in line for a Mayweather fight? Did Bradley duck Khan? To fight Manny Pacquiao? There are lots of reasons fights don't happen.

Matthysse has proven himself on the WORLD stage. He has fought all over versus top opponents. He stepped up. Not just defending a singular, obscure belt confined to a certain geographical region, he went out and got it the fights he wanted.

Martinez did it. Khan did it. Hatton did it. Froch did it. Darchinyan did it. Lots of fighters did it. Let's see what happens with Cleverly, but he may do it. What are your thoughts on Chris John?

Calzaghe is accused of pulling out of fights due to phantom injuries. Is that to be believed on its face? They say he was afraid to step up, wouldn't fly. Got hurt. Had to be talked into actually going thru with the fights. He said he didn't want tough fights, knew his limitations, would take the crown jewels, and all that. Was he a coward? No, of course not.[/QUOTE]

didn't matter if Joe was known or unknown in America. if the fight gets you your biggest pay check, then you take the fight. what do you think Hopkins was thinking? get a huge pay check against some (supposedly) unknown fighter and beat him easily. or avoid this guy because he knew he COULDN'T beat him and make excuses that he wasn't KNOWN enough?

Hopkins was happy to get in there with guys who were not only unknown, but complete turkeys as well...

Daniels
Hakkar
Allen
Joppy


all these fights happened in the time period that the Calzaghe fight was being discussed. crowds were happy to watch Bernard fight these guys who were unknown AND unproven. but they weren't interested in Hopkins fighting the Super Middle champ who was exciting, undefeated and had a handful of good wins? sorry, i'm not buying that in any way shape or form. it doesn't even begin to make any sense.
the pay check that Hopkins got for those fights were also pathetic.

this is about Hopkins and Joe, not Jones. but i will make comment on that... why should every one shut up shop for the Americans all the time? why should everyone bend over backwards with no guarantees in place? Joe made more money in the UK than he would have fighting in the states. why fight for a pittance in front of a couple of hundred people against the same guys when you can fight at home and get paid? boxing does happen in the rest of the world you know. fighters build fan basis at home. you don't shut up shop unless it makes sense. it made no sense for Joe at the time. and as i've said, there were no guarantees. that arrogant way of thinking just doesn't cut the mustard. boxing fans watch fighters from all over the world with no problems, but the Americans go on like their some serious invalids who can't watch these fighters unless they fight in the states. it's also pure ignorance.

also, Joe was shown a handful of times on Showtime, if the Americans can't be bothered to watch him, then that's not Joe's fault, it's the so called boxing fans in America. they should have known how good he was by watching the fights they did have.
it's also strange that Calzaghe vs Lacy was a big fight for Showtime in America against the same supposedly unknown Calzaghe. was it because they all thought that Lacy was going to win so therefore had interest because it suited them? i think so very much. whatever suits the Americans at any given time to benefit themselves. we should create a brand new word that describes the Americans fit for purpose, because the word HYPOCRITE doesn't do it justice enough. :deal

the Trinidad fight was big in the states, but Hopkins was merely the B side to Tito's A side. no one really knew Bernard either. that was his coming out party. Tito was the favorite going in with the bookmakers as well as the crowd that were there to watch Tito, not Hopkins. the only other big fights for Hopkins around this time were Oscar and Taylor. he was the B side there as well.

what did the MW and LHW have at the time that made it have more earning power than the SMW division? a few fights and that was it. the SMW division had a handful of big money earners as well if the fights could be made. i disagree with what you're saying regarding this point.

i've already pointed out that the 3 fight deal wasn't the sticking point due to the evidence of Hopkins and his team asking for $3 million for the fight, then reneging on the deal when those demands were met. they turned around and asked for double. this is a separate issue to the 3 fight deal. :deal

so if Garcia and Matthysse can't come to any arrangements, that isn't a duck? they could offer a deal that has to be refused just to make sure they keep Danny nice and safe. i can't believe these kind of tactics and excuses to why fights don't happen are being bought by you? they go into negotiations for this purpose. not to make the fight, but to give an excuse to protect a certain fighter. having then being honest about being afraid of certain fighters isn't going to do well for their image is it? they have ways to cover it up. :deal

Bradley was the one, along with his father, who kept on calling Khan out. they were calling him a ***** and everything. don't you remember that? Khan offered Bradley 50-50 to see who was the man at Light Welter. Bradley refused after all he said like a right donkey. he then fought a shot Casamayor instead. he could have fought Khan if he thought that he would win, then pick up a bigger check in the Pac fight because he would have been the champ at the lower weight. he ducked like a moron.
have you seen that gif that was going around of Khan confronting Bradley where Bradley bowed his head as Khan was calling him a coward? Bradley didn't look too tough then did he? he knew what time it was... it was time to duck. :deal

Matthysse fought on the world stage because he fought in America? what do you call it then when fights take place in other countries? the half world stage or something? i really will never get my head around such thinking.

Khan, Hatton and Froch didn't need to fight in the states to become stars. they were, and are, stars without America. Tszyu vs Hatton was a huge fight. Hatton was a big star without going to the states at that point. he needed to fight in America for the Pac and Mayweather fights because it made business sense to fight there. not to become a star.

Martinez is different as i've said, because they don't have a big boxing scene in Argentina. he needs to fight elsewhere.

Chris John is a good fighter but overrated by some. he needs to fight better fighters. if that makes sense to fight in the states, then fight there. if he can get the fights at home, then fight at home. he's not really calling anybody out so seems happy doing what he's doing. if that's what he wants, then cool. it's up to him at the end of the day.

Joe has had some serious hand injury's, why would anyone think they were Phantom?

Joe wasn't afraid to step up by the fact that it was HIM that tried to get Jones and Hopkins in the ring. they made great offers that were turned down. no counter offers were made to Joe's camp. nothing else Joe could do to get the fighters in the ring. what was he supposed to do? go to America, wait until dark, creep into their homes as they slept, then kidnap them and force them into the ring? you either want to fight or you don't.

Joe WAS afraid of flying. and? he was prepared to fly if it made sense to. he would have gone to the states to fight Jones and Hopkins at any time. just like when he flew to the states to fight them when he did.
he flew over to the states to promote the Brewer fight because Showtime asked him to. if he had to, he did.
of course he'd go another route if he could. just like when he fought in Europe, he took a train that added many hours to his journey when flying would have been much quicker.

had to be talked into going through with fights? you're talking about the Lacy fight aren't you?

Joe had that warm up fight with Ashira just so he could get some rounds in to shake the rust before the Lacy fight. he broke his hand so the put the date back a couple of months. during camp for the new date date, Joe badly damaged his hand again. he was worried about having a big fight with him being injured and spoke about it. not because he was scared or anything, just that he wanted to be injury free for such an important fight. his father told him that if the fight doesn't happen now, he may never get the chance to fight Lacy again. that his career may never really take off. he convinced Joe to fight injured.

in the lead up to the fight, it was Lacy who was feeling the heat, not Joe. they were both supposed to go to the studios of a famous British soap to take pictures, but Lacy failed to turn up. Joe was as calm as ice. he was laughing without a care in the world. he made comments on Lacy not turning up because he thought that the pressure was getting to him (it was) then went home.

on fight night, Joe came to the ring like he was waiting for a bus. Lacy on the other hand looked as though he the weight of the world on his shoulders. he'd been looking sullen all week. everyone was making comments about it.

i'm not going over the crown jewels comments again. these are taken out of context. in fact, what people cast off as the same interview, is in fact two separate interviews.

 

Des, i had to delete some of your post, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to make a response in full.

 

Joe C would shart himself if The Marvelous so much as glared at him. How in the hell is Calzaghe gonna fight with warm yellow running down his legs?

 

You sunovabitch.:twisted:

 

Seems like you guys buy into all the local tabloid mentality. Everybody's ducking Joe, ducking this one, swerving that one. Oh no, it has nothing to do with business.

I guess that suits the agenda better than realizing it is business. Never dawns on you that somehow, despite all his herculean efforts to get the big fighters in the ring during his early years, (by doing nothing but sitting off to the side claiming to make offers that no one would dare accept) that they finally did decide to fight him when it made financial sense to them.

They suddenly weren't afraid of him anymore.

You know, because they were scared to death back when he was picking off the low hanging fruit and then, suddenly, he was so much easier to beat (they actually had a chance against him now!) after he had finally stepped up and beaten some actual quality fighters. That makes complete sense.

Hopkins was a long reigning champ and had unified at some point before Tito. He was very well known, if not particularly liked. Joppy was a fine MW. He turned down the whole 3 fight deal and stuck with HBO rather than go over to Showtime, unless I am mistaken. Can't see that as ducking one guy who was in the mix, who really wasn't known, and hadn't beaten anyone of note while fighting in a heavier division. Also, Hopkins made something like $10m for the DLH fight alone.

Those other guys mentioned came to the states in pursuit of the biggest fights out there. That's the way it works. It's not that Americans won't watch fights in other places; it's the fighters that matter. FMJ vs Hatton could have been in Papua New Guinea and the ratings would have been the same. Pacquiao could fight in the Phillipines in front of 100k people every fight. But that isn't the goal. It's about getting recognized by the largest audience. (And with that big TV and PPV deals.) And with recognition comes interest in a fight. Everybody knows it. The promoters know it. The fighters certainly know it. And the fans(most) know it. They're trying to appeal to the largest audience, which the US still is. You can call it ignorance all you want, I'm not the one who seemingly sees it all from a singularly narrow, partisan point of view.

Hatton, Khan and those guys(not Froch) may have been stars in their own country, and good for them, but that's obviously not where their ambitions ended. I wonder why? (They also got the big fights, and no-questions-asked respect, coincidence I guess)

Matthysse fought on the world stage by fighting world class fighters and appealing to the masses. He had to come to the US to do that consistently. Should he have gone to the UK instead?

There are too many moving parts for me to say that simply because Garcia and Matthysse don't fight next time out that it's a duck. There are too many things that can happen that can affect negotiations. Demands that may not be met, purse splits, a venue, etc. It may end up being a duck, who knows. But people are far, far to quick to make duck calls nowadays.

As for the Bradley thing........you can't jeopardize a holy grail type fight by taking on a dangerous opponent. I hate that aspect of the business, but I understand it. But it is what it is. (That itself is a whole other discussion)

You believe that SMW has the same prestige and/or gravitas as MW or LHW? When was the last time anybody called someone a lineal SMW champ? Does anyone care? They had to have a 2+ year tourney to try and drum up interest in the division. Joe did a lot for that division toward the end of the last decade, but it is still a secondary division. Those divisions are part of boxing tradition. They're landing spots. Not stepping stones.

My point is about all the other nonsense is that despite not wanting to fly, fighting in relative obscurity for a long, long time for a fringe belt, injuries, questionable quotes from him, his promoter who has a history of bull**** tactics, a dearth of quality fights for the vast majority of his prime, the fact that the big names actually did fight him when he brought something to the table, despite his clearly being the younger fresher fighter..... none of this serves to even make a dent?

I guess you'll do what you have to to convince yourself that the path of least resistance was the only path open to Joe.

Sorry for the harsh tone, but you started it.

 

i've explained why Bernard chose to eventually get into the ring with Joe.

an offer no one would dare accept? what, $3 million? the price tag that Bernard and his team asked for? strange that they asked for this amount only to deem it (as you say) an offer they would not dare accept. very strange.

Bernard unified one fight before Trinindad against Holmes. it was part of the tournament. before that he was basically fighting in obscurity. not complete obscurity, but he wasn't one of the main fighters.

out of the 4 fighters that i mentioned, Joppy was indeed a good fighter. the others were pointless.

Hopkins did stay with HBO. but he didn't have any sort of contract with them. why would Showtime waste their time with a fighter who was already signed to another company? Bernard was free to do as he pleased. but yeah, he fought on HBO.

you sure about those numbers regarding the Oscar fight?

i've already said about it not being relevant whether Calzaghe was known or not. the money was big, that's all that matters. it is PRIZE FIGHTING.

Americans are notorious for staying at home. if fighters could get the Yanks to leave their protective bubble, they would. they just don't waste their time by trying to get them over, so they go to the states. if the fights are there of course.

largest Audiences? in America? i hope you are joking? please tell me you're joking? 2 million people out of a country your size isn't even worth noting considering the huge numbers elsewhere. they're minimal when looking at it in a broader sense.
when it comes to certain fighters, the PPV in America makes sense to fight there. but not every fighter. and as i was saying regarding American fighters not wanting to leave their country, they won't do so even if it makes business sense elsewhere.

America isn't the world stage. and they don't even come close to having the biggest Audience. these are facts. not a narrow point of view.

i've already told you that it made sense for Hatton to fight in America for the Mayweather and Pac fights. i'm not arguing that.

but Khan could have actually fought at home in front of bigger crowds and made more money. the Americans wouldn't have traveled to the UK as i've said. so why bother wasting your time negotiating with fighters that won't leave their country? there is no point.

Froch wasn't shown on any of the right channels. if he was, then he'd of been the big star he is now. he's on SKY sports now. where he should have been from the start. that's why it's taken him all this time to be recognized.

why would Matthysse come to the UK when all the fighters that mattered where in the US? it's the same reason Khan went over. at least Khan comes from a big boxing country. Matthysse wouldn't have come close to getting anyone near to Argentina. i'm sure he'd prefer to fight in his home land if he had the option. but he doesn't. it has nothing to do with some "world stage" as your trying to claim. every fighter would love to fight out of their own country. but if you can't get the fighters over, then you can't. you have to do what you to to get the fights. he doesn't have the choice.

Garcia and his team will try everything in the book to try and dodge this fight. it has nothing to do with negotiations. if two fighters want to get it on, then they will come to an arrangement. if one doesn't, then it's IMPOSSIBLE for the fight to go ahead. wake up, man. the money is there. the fans want it. Matthysse wants it. it's Danny that is the problem here, not anything else. i've already said that making fights isn't rocket science. it's actually very easy. if both sides are willing.

Bradley shouldn't have opened his big mouth then should he. he was the one who started it. and besides, i thought this was a sport to prove yourself a champ? not looking at boxing as some sort of charity to make your bank balance big by taking easy touches. the promoters will throw **** out there to make an easy buck because the fans will swallow it up. Bradley had the chance to become the champ in the division against the money man in Khan. but you didn't see Khan bitching about it did you? he wanted to fight the best. same can't be said for Bradley.

the last time there was a lineal SMW champ?? Joe Calzaghe. now it's Andre Ward.

the SMW division is much better than the Middleweight and Lightheavy divisions. doesn't matter if those divisions are traditional. they either have the fights there, or they don't. so i don't understand that line of thinking.

Joe was willing to fly.

Joe was the THE Super Middle champ. forget what belt he had.

ALL fighters have questionable quotes. Joe WAS taken out of context.

ALL promoters have a history of bull**** tactics. that isn't exclusive to Wa55en.

Joe fought whoever would fight him. that's all he can do. nothing else was a possibility.

we've gone over this point too many times now. i think it's been exhausted. i'll stick to what i have. you stick to what you have.

did i sound harsh? didn't mean it to come over like that. don't think anything you posted was harsh either. so it's all cool with me.

i didn't know you were American? for some reason i thought you were Canadian? Lol i'm sure you said you were Canadian ages ago?