Joe Calzaghe and the reasons why he has such a divided fanbase

tbh I dont think he was referring to joe as a boxer because joe is undoubtably a formidable package, especially against oldsters lacking his stamina advantage.

I think he meant Joe's street cred in terms of owning a worthless title for 10 years.

 

Meh. He gots a lot of credit for beating Eubank, despite his not being prime. The others are all solid wins. But again, they were not titlists when be beat em. I don't know if anyone has a problem with him fighting them, but they were the best at the weight during a weak era.

Froch gets the "warrior" tag because he takes all comers, goes on the road, and has done it in a relatively short period of time....2008-present. It has been 1 big tight after another, with the exception of Yusuf Mack.

Calzaghe gets criticism because he went quite a long time with no big fights, against less then top opponents. When the highlights are Mitchell and Brewer, etc, as opposed to just run of the mill, it kind of paints a picture.

 

No I really think he was referring to Joe as a boxer and person ..I mean this is Toney we are talking about ..

 

you have it I think yes.

this guy will be spouting cuss on his funeral day.

 

James was always disrespectful ,that will never change even in the end

 

It looked like he was doing his best Roy jones impression to me.

 

He was overrated a bit but so good compared to some present bums.

 

ROFLMAO what a load of crap....

There is no way in hell Calzaghe LEGITIMATELY beat Hopkins biggest robbery since Dick Turpin

Everybody has beaten Roy Jones now haven't they? Calzaghe wouldn't live with prime Jones jr

Oh yeah Calzaghe beat Lacy BUT You forget that Joe tried to back out of the fight claiming "injury" Enzo kicked his cowardly ass & made him fight

Calzaghe is the only boxer Ive seen that cannot throw a legitimate scoring punch

 

Not even his jab? CRETIN

 

Thing is though these aren't the high lights, they're just part of the picture, Hopkins, Eubank, Lacy, Reid and Kessler are the high lights. Also remember with Froch you are going back to 2008 here, Froch didn't turn pro until he was 25 and has never been the most active.

I don't see how this era is any stronger than the one Calzaghe fought in either, point being in the fact that Bika who was in his prime in that era has only now won a title.

 

They were the highlights of his wbo title reign, and amongst his best wins overall. Clearly behind the ones you mentioned, but again Eubank and Hopkins, while good wins, are not the same as those guys in their prime.

Froch doesn't have a 9 year gap where his best wins were against guys like Brewer, is what I'm saying. He may have started late, but once he hit the prime time, got his title, he has been a sturdy champion, taking challenge fight after challenging fight, often going into his enemy's den to do it. Whether that be by necessity, or circumstance or a desire to prove himself, he's done it. He got the big fights he was after. He's earned the warrior mantle.

Bika is now a titlist 7 or 8 years after he fought Calzaghe, when he was largely unknown. his skills have actually been improving. He's an odd character, in and out of the ring, and hard to get a handle on. After a long wait and a handful of tries he finally won a belt. But I can't say that because he managed a SD win against Marco Antonio Periban for a vacant title that it is indicative of anything. Anything at all.
Guys like Bika will come in and out of the rankings all the time. Might snag a title here and there for a while. He almost lost it 1st time out. To me, it doesn't mean anything regarding the eras. I base my judgement on watching the fighters, andthe division has been attracting more and better fighters as time has gone on, no?

 

I mean Bika was an IBF defence wasnt it? Stands to reason it wasnt a bad defence, and if I remember right it was Joes first, and only non wbo defence, his sole defence of a world level title.

Bika might be a bit basic but hes spirited and hits like a hammer. No wonder Joe fell down. But our man got back up to win.