On so many forums and boards he seems to be hated on. Joe was wbo champion for over 10 years more than 21 defences and he was rated top ten p4p fighter from 2006-2008 retired undefeated .so why the hate?
I was a big fan early on in his career after he beat Eubank, Reid etc. But at some point he just settled being happy to defend his WBO at home and his opposition was either poor or he was fighting Ottke's leftovers. For a guy as clearly as gifted as Calzaghe it was frustrating to watch him waste his talent and I think a lot of boxing fans saw him as a guy that would never step up and fulfill his potential. Then he had the 2 fights with faded versions of Hopkins and RJJ. Can't really blame him for cashing out before retirement but that's always going to garner some negative opinions on a fighter.
it took him a while win a recognised title, later than all his British SMW counterparts who were capable of getting it earlier. Should have tried earlier, not been afraid of getting losses on his record, he would be higher rated with some bigger wins and braver losses. Other than being behind froch and co in that, wasnt a good guy with women and drugs, and was a bit wierd showboating against old men, lost a lot of respect doing what few other boxers would be twisted enough to do. Respect for what he did though.
He suffers the same fate that..believe it or not..Roy Jones does with a lot of people..Joe,just like Roy,had a lot of natural talent that could have..and should have taken him high up in the game..if he'd dared himself early on in his career..i still don't think he could have beaten a prime Roy Jones..Hopkins would have been 50-50 due to Joe' speed/workrate...But the undeniable talent was there..we all saw it..and then nothing for almost 10 yrs..Roy Jones spent many years fighting nobodies as well..whch is why he catches that flack too..difference being Roy fought far better competition early on in his career..and crusied the rest of his career till the Tarver fights..when he really lost his physical abilities. But I will admit that..nobody..and I mean nobody would have an easy time with Joe Calzaghe..not even the great Roy Jones..his speed and workrate alone would make sure of it. He's just not as good as some of his fans around here claim..far from it.
but they were beat other times when they were in their 40s as all 40somethings are. Particuarly Jones! I think the issue is the manner of the fight, some showboating over depleted opponents that Joe wouldnt dare pull off when they were younger, pretty tasteless, and joe claiming beating 2 40somethings was his career highlight...something noone in history has ever tried to claim. Actually Manuel Charr might have.
I would of said Calzaghes career highlights was beating a undefeated Kessler (who Ward reffered to as his toughest opponent) and beating Eubank (who had only lost to one person prior) to become World Champion.
He was a very good fighter yes a great fighter but for some reason he seemed for a lot of his career to be overprotected which was not necessary considering his ability. I personally respected him but was not a fan of his. He was not like James Toney, Andre Ward, Bernard Hopkins beating the top guys at their peak consistently. It is for this reason Carl Froch who in my opinion is less gifted but more beloved by a lot of fans.
true, the two key fights, one proved joe was above national level and one proved he was world class. the 2 step ups in his career, his first and last title fights.
Cuz he is not an American. Rather and asking why hate him ask where the hate comes from. Same with Joshua now or GGG or Uysk or Lomachenko. Im sure you will find hate from all corners of the world cuz people are wierd in every corner of the world but you will find the main bulk of it is from America. I hope not all Americans take offense at that as there are loads of level headed American Boxing fans but some are so nationalistic not only will they defend and stand by an American fighter they will also go on the attack towards anybody who is a threat to their American Boxers and Calzaghe was a very big threat.
Great ring IQ very mentally tough a true ATG who would be great in any era. I wish he hadn't retired when he did I thought he had atleast 1 or 2 good fights left in him.
Whilst Herol is alive he'll continue to be remembered. I wonder when the last day that he didn't mention Calzaghe was.
It's not hate, just an acknowledgement that at least half of his championship career was a waste. Anyone with twenty-odd world title fights to their name is going to have some filler on their record. But Calzaghe must have more filler on his championship record than any other supposedly 'great' fighter with a comparable number of fights or years at title level. For what it's worth, I don't consider him an all-time great. More an all-time very good. In chronological order, his half-dozen best wins are probably Eubank, Reid, Lacy, Bika, Kessler and Hopkins (not the stuff of legend, but still very respectable). The first two took place in 1997-1999, and the last four from 2006-2008. There's a seven-year gap in there which is quite frankly a joke for anyone aiming for the great category. Fair enough, he kept winning, and gets credit for that. But Super-Middle was dead, whereas at 175 there were the likes of Jones, Michalczewski, Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Tarver etc. He spent years bemoaning his struggles in making Super-Middle, yet didn't test the waters at Light-Heavy when there were many more lucrative and testing fights up there. One win against a Michalczewski or a Reggie Johnson would have been worth more than a bundle of wins combined against the Pudwills, Staries, Veits, Salems and Woodhalls of this world. I also think he gets a lot of the benefit of the doubt from his hardcore fans. A myth has grown that the likes of Jones saw Calzaghe as a bogeyman to be avoided at the time, and that the whole boxing world was desperate to see Calzaghe in the ring with the aforementioned names. Both are a load of cobblers. Jones was considered the best fighter in the world for a few years either side of the turn of the century - Calzaghe was nowhere near this status at the time. Take a look at Calzaghe struggling his way to a turgid points win against David Starie on Tyson's undercard in Glasgow in early 2000; during the fight, commentator Ian Darke concedes that, given Calzaghe's recent level of opposition, low profile and unconvincing performance on the night, the idea of his facing Roy Jones is "a joke", and he had it about right. Incredible, also, that Calzaghe actually admits outright in his 2006 autobiography that he'd never been interested in facing Jones in his prime, unless they'd paid him, 'the Crown Jewells' because he 'knew his limitations', and that he has no intention of fighting him now, as Roy is clearly washed up and it would mean nothing - and yet Calzaghe fanatics expect great praise for him beating on Jones' charred remains two years after that? His win over Jones is about as significant as Berbick's over Ali, and it says much about how paltry Calzaghe's record is (in comparative terms) that his win over Jones is seen as a career highlight or testament to his greatness. Before anyone gets too upset, I'm not a Calzaghe 'hater' (blurgh, hate using that term). Far from it. He was a very, very good fighter; excellent speed, great engine and conditioning, could take a good punch, packed decent power himself before his hand problems became chronic and was also brave when it came to throwing big shots in open exchanges. But that's precisely why his career is so annoying to look at, and underwhelming from my point of view. He had the ability to kick on and become a pound-for-pound operator a good few years before he finally did. Had he shown a little bit more ambition, I wouldn't so begrudge his money-grab against Jones, the revisionism of his fans, the underwhelming WBO defences every now and then etc. Instead, I feel a lot of the retrospective appraisals of his career are very disingenuous and skewed, because there's a kind of insecurity which underpins how his biggest fans view him.
Calzaghe was the most technically gifted boxer of his era, an absolute joy to watch and someone who triumphed in the face of adversity, and he did it all being trained by his late father in a shed in Newbridge, Wales. There'll never be another story like it in the sport, he ruined his hands and yet stayed on top until the very end.
