Amazing Joe Calzaghe Documentary

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Perkin Warbeck, Dec 11, 2020.



  1. Shempz

    Shempz Active Member Full Member

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    Like a boxing equivalent of Ledley King.
     
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  2. Loudon

    Loudon VIP Member Full Member

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    You've been peddling this nonsense for years.

    Showtime wanted Joe to fight in the U.S. in order for him to gain more exposure.

    You know this.

    He could have gone to LHW and targeted better fighters with a huge network backing him.

    Calling for Roy to go to Wales and to drop back to SMW to contest a WBO belt was cringeworthy.

    We all know that he was content defending his WBO belt. He's bragged on numerous occasions of his number of title defences.

    He knew that he couldn't fight Roy back then unless he moved up to LHW and that there was public demand for a fight.
     
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  3. BritInvasion

    BritInvasion keepin on keepin on Full Member

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    Bernard Hopkins walked away from a career high pay day of $3m to fight Calzaghe in USA. Hopkins highest payday to date at that time was $2.5m.

    "A teleconference was set up in my office in New York for July 30th, 2002, and on the call was myself, Don King who was in the room, Frank Warren and Bernard Hopkins' lawyer, Arnold Joseph. Along with Arnold was a woman named Linda Carter, who was there on behalf of Bernard. We asked Arnold if Bernard wanted to fight Joe Calzaghe and we asked him how much money would he want if he did. The response we got was $3million and the fight would have to take place in the United States. After a little scratching of the head, we said 'Okay, done.' Frank Warren agreed on the spot, Don King agreed and we agreed so as far as we were concerned all parties were singing off the one hymm sheet. Arnold excused himself with Linda and I can only assume it was to call Bernard. Either that day or the next day, they came with a new demand: $6million, double the sum that had been agreed, the deal blew up.....he had then and still has no desire to fight Joe Calzaghe, that much is pretty clear.

    Joe gets criticised sometimes for not having fought the big-name Americans, but in this case the fault has never rested with him."

    - Jay Larkin, then Showtime TV Network's Senior Vice-President of Sports and Event Programming.
     
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  4. J Jones

    J Jones Well-Known Member Full Member

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    You're right, my bad.
     
  5. Loudon

    Loudon VIP Member Full Member

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    Ha!

    That’s what Hopkins has tried to convince himself.

    Poetic justice for me.

    How sad that he couldn’t even give the guy credit.
     
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  6. Aussie Invader

    Aussie Invader Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    no, kessler was a good fighter.
    but when that's the best fighter in his prime you have on your resume during your entire career, and you retire undefeated, is speaks volumes.
     
  7. Aussie Invader

    Aussie Invader Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    common denominator : the lesser known fighters stayed well away from the US.

    ottke, eubank, sturm, michaelewski, abraham (at MW), calzaghe.
    this isn't a coincidence.
     
  8. Aussie Invader

    Aussie Invader Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    but the fact that he 'got there' only once jones and hopkins were past prime, dethroned and losing as many as they were winning, is not a coincidence.
    that would be like me saying that danny green 'got there' when he KO'd roy jones.
    it's the CONTEXT of when these wins happened which made them meaningless (not so much calzaghe v hopkins as hopkins was still a very good fighter).
     
  9. J Jones

    J Jones Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I hope Hopkins has gotten over it with time.
     
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  10. Aussie Invader

    Aussie Invader Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    the reason why big fights are made by going to the US is because having a US profile makes the fight more marketable and enticing to the networks. calzaghe hadn't fought for 1 minute on US soil, the beercan fan didn't know who he was.

    so if sven ottke offered hopkins the exact same deal you just mentioned, does it make more sense to you that the fight wouldn't get made?
     
  11. Boomstick

    Boomstick Active Member Full Member

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    I don’t mean got to America. By “ got there”, I mean began fighting quality opponents.
     
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  12. ShovelHook

    ShovelHook Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Collins fought and trained in Boston most of his career. He was ducked.
     
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  13. lepinthehood

    lepinthehood When I'm drinking you leave me well alone Full Member

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    precisely. lol
     
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  14. ShovelHook

    ShovelHook Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    No one wanted any of that Irish brawn after he destroyed Benn and Eubank. He was apparently immensely strong according to those who faced him, freakishly so. Probably could have roughhoused Jones a good bit as he also had that iron chin.
     
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  15. BritInvasion

    BritInvasion keepin on keepin on Full Member

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    It makes absolute sense because the network offered him a career high pay day.

    Let's be absolutely clear, his previous win was against Carl Daniels and instead of a career high payday against Calzaghe, he fought the mighty Morrade Hakkar for one third of the purse he walked away from versus Calzaghe.

    Calzaghe and team wanted Hopkins in 2002, and agreed a deal with him. Hopkins walked away from it, to fight a nobody. Calzaghe wanted it, Hopkins didn't.

    Incidentally, a contemporary report on that choice of bout:
    "What’s with Hopkins? It looks like the Trinidad fight was Hopkins’ 15 minutes of fame. Since Sept. 29th, 2001, Bernard has yet to fight any top rate fighters. Hell, he’s only fought twice now since 2001. Hopkins was supposedly going to fight the unheralded Erland Betare. But, as fate would have it, instead of Betare, we got a man who even Betare has beaten, the Frenchman by way of Algeria, Morrade Hakkar."