They had similar careers. They were both content to milk their WBO belts. Today, boxing has become more global. But back in the late 90's-early 00's, America was the home of boxing. Joe was killing himself to make SMW, in order to fight WBO guys for under a £1m in most fights, whilst more recognisable names fought in the U.S. at a more comfortable weight for him. Where was the gamble? He had Showtime's backing. They wanted him to fight in the U.S. to raise his profile. They could have sold him over there. He had the looks, the Italian heritage, a unique style etc. He wasn't interested pure and simple. Yet now we have people saying that he was avoided. By a handful of guys, yes. But not generally. He was simply unknown to the U.S. which meant there was no clamour for fights against the likes of Roy. (Not that Joe wanted to fight Roy anyway) I watched his whole career. And I was a fan until I got sick of him whining to the media that he was been overlooked and avoided etc by the world's best fighters. But what did he expect when he was fighting unknown C class guys that were put forward by the WBO, who were a organisation which were a laughing stock back then.
Tough fighter to beat. Any fighter with such good stamina and volume is a problem. Plus he's slick and durable enough.
He was overlooked due to being European though. He wasn't given an ample amount of respect Stateside and when you're a millionaire that can be enough. This isn't a justification it's a reason.
On paper the dude is to this moment underrated and a true great. That zero is huge with that quantity. You watch him, though, and it's like... "but how?" I will say that. Less skilled than he accomplished, I guess is a way of saying it.
I agree that non U.S. fighters are overlooked. But they're not after they've gotten exposure and proven how good they are. Joe didn't get the recognition until late into his career because he didn't get any exposure. And the reason he didn't get any exposure is because he wouldn't fight in the U.S. against the more recognisable names. He wouldn't travel like most non U.S. fighters do. He didn't pursue the more recognisable names up at LHW, despite having to starve himself in order to fight in a weak SMW division. Sure, you could say that some fans are ignorant etc. But when a guy is content to fight non descript WBO mandos in a weak division for an org that nobody respected, you can't expect people to take notice. Again, if you look at who he fought from Eubank to Lacy, you can see the exact reason he was overlooked. See below: Branko Sobot Juan Carlos Giminez Robin Reid Rick Thornberry David Starie Omar Sheika Richie Woodhall Mario Veit Will McIntyre Charles Brewer Miguel Angel Jiminez Tocker Pudwill Byron Mitchell Mger Mkrtchyan Kabary Salem Mario Veit Evans Ashira To the people who knew of him, his talent was never in doubt. But fighting the above guys whilst holding a lightly regarded belt which nobody respected, is the exact reason why he slipped under the radar and wasn't truly respected. It would laughable for any fighter to fight those guys and then claim to the media that they'd been avoided for years.
I think you can somewhat claim to be avoided when you know that the US champions are more than aware of who you are and show no interest despite knowing you're a decent fighter whilst being willing to take on much lesser fighters because they're happier to take a path of less resistance and more money. I'm not blaming anyone here but I'm just saying I'm not so sure a lot of the big name American fighters would have been itching to head over from Europe had they been born in the UK either.
Most fighters research who's in and around their weight class. It's their job to know. But again, look at who Joe fought. Look at who he fought for. Back then, the WBO were a laughing stock. The Ring magazine didn't acknowledge them. Their belt wasn't needed to become an undisputed champion. They moved a guy up their rankings after he'd died. They had zero respect. Look from a guy like Roy's perspective: He was the best fighter in the world and the unified LHW champion. Whereas Joe was an unknown fighter who fought in a different division, on a different continent, on a different network, and for an Org who wasn't respected. So why would a guy like Roy have pursued the fight? Why would his team have pursued the fight? Why would HBO have pursued the fight? There was no call for the fight, because nobody knew who Joe Calzaghe was in America. It's that simple. Joe's biggest win back then was over Eubank. Have you not looked at his resume that I posted? Please tell me how he was he avoided, when he was unknown to most people, he brought no money to the table, and he held a belt which nobody respected?