Calzaghe aside- who is the GOAT at 168?

very cowardzaghe of him to keep fishing the lower divisions for unproven weaklings.

it'd been ok if joe was defending a brit title or even comonwelath. but not worth world level - this is why jioe has only made 4 or 5 actual defences, sohes level with froch in terms of them.

 

What fighter at LHW, around the time, do you think he should have opted for instead?

Calzaghe made it crystal clear he was in it for the money. Since he had already put a beating on Chris Eubank and Jeff Lacy, both world level wins, he must have realized the big money fights were in reach.

He has been critized a lot for beating up mandatories in Wales, but it was always a given that he would step up his game sooner or later. Going after Bernard Hopkins at the time when he did seems like a good choice: an American technichian with a tremendous will to win, who was one of the biggest names in boxing.

Had it happened, I think it could have been one of the coolest fights at SMW during the era. Hopkins didn't spoil as much back then, and when Calzaghe fought at world level his fights tended to be very watchable.

Most people favour Calzaghe to win in a closer to prime match up, but I'm not sure about that. Hopkins was a lot more rugged and I don't think Calzaghe could have outboxed him like he did with Mikkel Kessler. He would have needed to fight it out at close range with stamina and heart, like he did with Eubank. I don't think it's possible to make a clear cut prediction of the outcome. Not for me, anyway.

 

he ducked woods for a career high payday:deal

what noteable wins did lacy have other than one or to over the hill fighters before or since :think

 

What does it matter? It was a unification fight, probably the biggest fight in the division at the time and Lacy was known in America.

 

oh it matters if your classing it as a world class win the fighter as to be world class
which lacy never was nor came to be

 

I'd rather see Calzaghe vs Hopkins than Calzaghe vs Woods. Hopkins is a more interesting fighter.

Lacys shortcomings isn't anything new. But he was considered as one of the best SMW's in the world at the time. Calzaghe slapping the **** out of Lacy established him as a fighter who could compete and win at a world level and win in a dominating fashion.

 

not till years later he simply refused to take the fight and it would have been his highest payday at that point in time remember [its about the money man ]

bute was way more recognized than lacy was or will ever be
champ six years nearly as apposed to jeffs barely two

 

bute >>>lacy easily

 

NO WAY was it the biggest at the time.

Kessler was the man at the time by unifying the 2 biggest titles against beyer - that was the biggest SMW fight of the time.
Joe calzaghe /lacy was just the side show.

but its definitely joes best performance, even though not a proper big fight.

 

course he was considered top three or four. that's hardly someone that warrants a "super fight" status....most people (if they aren't joe calzaghe clones) defend against someone who is top four every time they defend a title.

but yeajh joes absolute best is abuot on par with regular normal world title fights for others.

 

Bute was actually a good fighter, and he showed some guts getting on the road. Too bad his chin didn't hold up against the toughest comp. Lacys main assets were power, heart and chin. But that will only take a fighter so far. I lean toward rating Bute higher.

Still, the comparasion between Bute and Lacy is pointless. Lacy vs Calzaghe was a unification fight and one of the biggest fights that could have been made at the weight. Many (mostly Americans) felt Lacy would bring too much sheer violence into the ring for Calzaghe to handle. It was a world level win, and it's not like it's going to change because you're posting nonsense at an Internet message board.

 

Not so sure about that. Lacy was American and hyped. Kesser was a better fighter but probably less hyped.

Even if it were true, saving the biggest/best till last is an equally good strategy anyway.

 

I think it's acceptable to call a unification fight against a highly ranked, highly rated world title holder a "world level win".

 

lol

he agrees bute > lacy then classes it nonsense :rofl

joe could and should have fought bute smw/lhw instead of dropping the belt to fight manfredo lmw/mw

 

so was shawn fooking porter

it means sh iteeeee