Is Joe Calzaghe an ATG?

anyone over 40. btw, if you're having to even ask the question if he's an atg or not, the answer is no.

 

No.

He didn't savage RJJ, lol, well in ways sure, but that's not the fairest ways to describe their fight.

Then again, if your asking should he be considered in the discussion of whether he is a ATG I would say for sure, he was one of the best.

To me Joe was great, just not a ATG.

 

He was clearly the best supermiddleweight in the world for about 6 years. I don't want to discuss semantics here on what defines an ATG. But he was the best fighter at his weight for 6 years.
You think he would only beat guys over 40, and that's a view that you have as well as I have mine that he could be competitive against anyone.. but that he dominated his division for years, that he really did.

 

he openly avoided the 2 best of his division until they were faded and instead made defence after defence against decent but limited opposition. he did this for years.
reminds me a bit of sven ottke who had a similar approach.
has got some good wins though in Kessler and lacy who was rated at the time but id rank him shy of all time great status

 

I think Calzaghe was very good, but an ATG?

I don't know, I guess I have a higher criteria when it comes to all-time great.

I've never made a list but my guess is that an ATG list would be the top, say, 40 or 50 fighters ever.

 

Agreed. When most people think ATG they like to envision the Robinson, Ali, Leonard variety. But a fighter doesn't always need that kind of charisma nor to be top 10 p4p in order to achieve greatness. For whatever its worth, Joe Calzaghe was the greatest super middleweight of all time and one of the few world champions to retire unbeaten. His resume isn't exactly loaded with stellar scalps but its not a record of tomato cans either. A truly remarkable career.

 

close, so its debatable. his diehard fans voted to their belief, but the neutrals feel he isn't because of the terrible resume (2 good defences in 10 years).

 

absolutely an ATG at 168, he is one case of the father-son match-up that worked well. I can only imagine how great he could have been had he had a finisher trainer like a Dundee or Stewart or Freddie Roach to help out with some little things. I CURRENTLY HAVE HIM AS THE #1 SUPER-MIDDLEWEIGHT EVER, Ward is moving up if he ever get his promotional stuff in order

 

yes so opinion is still divided, his diehard fans say yeah but neutrals say no.

therefore we cannot say he is an atg even close to consensus.

so far only one ATG been in SMW< that's Jones. Because the division has been new, no one at ATG level has really stayed in it long term, by definition to achieve ATGness they HAD to leave for more substantial challenges.

 

I'm a massive Calzaghe fan and I say no.

 

yes indeed part of the problem is that smw is relatively new and has been unchallenging, meaning staying in its comfort zone emans you don't get to become an ATG.

Ergo, one needed to leave SMW to become ATG ie Jones. arguably possibly Toney though probably not.

 

if Joe was indeed a MW or LHW, then he wouldtn even be HoF with 21 defences. No way would he manage 21 defences outside the watered down smw division of the 90s and early 00s, he would not get away with fighting a fifteen subdomestics as defences there.


In LHW or MW Joe Calzaghe would have made tops about five defences.

 

Eubank fought plenty of sub-par defences.

Calzaghe also did go to light heavyweight, where he won The Ring/lineal title.

I agree he wouldn't have been a great light heavyweight champ in a great era (such as mid-to-late '70s) but he could've beaten the likes of Woods and Glencoffe Johnson IMO.

 

No Calzaghe is not top 100 all time and probably lower