Calzaghe

He held and defended a WBO belt for 7 years.

People criticise his lack of ambition during that period and rightfully so.

He then beat the life out of Lacy, and has good wins over Bika and Kessler.

He could have achieved more in my view, had he stepped up earlier.

I don’t rate his win over Jones Jr, he was a shell of the man he was prior to stepping up to HW

 

Yeah Jones was past it, but he still had it in him to ridicule his opponents when he was winning, it was nice to see Joe slap him about for a few rounds. Me personally, he could've gone to America sooner, but there is no denying how talented he was. Great fighter

 

I don't think of him as hated now but I do think a lot of people were frustrated with him and Ottke at the time because they wouldn't fight each other or leave their countries to defend their titles. Of course Joe ended up crossing the pond to fight Jones and Hopkins and I believe is remembered fondly now that his career is over.

Ottke on the other hand is not thought highly of even though he was a very talented fighter and had 20 title defenses. He never fought outside of Germany and had a lack of power that didn't get too many people excited. If he would have some signature fights like Joe did he would probably be in the hall of fame by now.

 

Badly managed

bit of a knob when I met him in real life

fantastic boxer

 

I didn't like Calzaghe during the period that he fought no name fighters. But after he beat big name fighters like Lacy, Hopkins, and Jones, I respect him.

 

Ottke was nowhere near the same level as Joe and was soundly beaten by Robin Reid who was then robbed of the victory by the most bent ref I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching.

 

He was a good fighter whether loved or not is irrelevant. A desire to be liked is an admirable quality in a prostitute not in a world championship boxer who is to be feared, hated by many and respected by all. He could have achieved more but that is a different argument

 

He's an ATG and possibly the GOAT at 168 pounds. That being said, he was an ugly fighter to watch. His "punches" were more like slaps and karate chops and he was awarded a couple premature stoppages, especially his fight against Manfredo Jr. Probably the most hilariously bad stoppage I've ever seen in boxing.

He also gets too much credit in his close "win" against Hopkins. Those flurry slaps and karate chops just didn't impress me as much as Hopkins sharp, accurate punches.

 

I have never seen anyone call the Hopkins fight "good".

 

Him and Ottke are both shitbags for not facing each other thats why.

You can't claim to be the best unless you beat the best.

Any era that has two undefeated champions in the same weight class that don't fight is a dog**** era.

Also he waited until Hopkins and RJJ were both faded before he fought them.

Both were 3-2 in their last 5 fights before Joe Calzaghe.

 

I agree Ottke was a notch below Joe and Robin Ried should have one that fight. That was one of the most disgraceful fights I have ever seen and it really did a lot of damage to Ottke's reputation. He was not very well liked outside of Germany but he was a very good boxer in his prime and definitely a notch below Joe.

 

Ottke would not fight outside of Germany and after all of the gift decisions Ottke got in his home country I don't blame Joe for not fighting him there. He saw what happened to Ried and wanted no part of it.

From Ottke's perspective, he was a national hero in Germany and made a fortune fighting at home. He chose to make the money instead of the legacy and hall of fame and is judged correctly for that decision now.

He definitely fought a lesser version of Jones but Hopkins was still a very good fighter at that point. Bernard went on to continue to fight at a very high level against top competition many years after his fight with Joe.

 

To be the best, you've got to fight the best.

No excuses.