hopkins wasn't gonna risk a calzaghe fight or a jones fight for a de la hoya payday. :nono de la hoya was the big meal ticket and hopkins got it. :yep i think de la hoya was the reason we never saw them 2 fights back then.
Calzaghe lost the last little bit of respect I had for him , when he claimed that in beating an obviously ailing Bernard Hopkins that he'd actually WHUPPED & KILLED a LIVING LEGEND !!!! Yet when Nard offers to fight the rematch in Joe's backyard Wales. What does Slappy do????? He retires Bernard Hopkins is a real Living Legend ,, Joe Calzaghe is merely a Wanna be
Quite a few thought Joe was going to win, including Lennox lewis, James Toney and Bernard Hopkins. With Roy's speed and power, you can never count him out. Before the fight, I stated that Joe would win and that I wouldn't put much weight in the victory as Roy was past it. I also stated with near certainty, that prime Roy would have defeated Joe. But it would have been a good close fight with Roy taking it somewhere between 7-5 and 9-3. The fight will undoubtedly carry more weight with future generations than it deserves. But it was the clear best choice for both men and both should have cashed out and hung them up. One did. The other ? Who knows why he's still around.
Not to mention how they still bust a nut off that forearm shot. can you imagine that **** live? i was watching that fight with a few roy fans and by the 6th rounds it was like dooms day had come. thing is people talk about how shot and old roy was. but **** cal was old and out of his prime aswell. they act like that was a prime Cal that jones and B-hop knocked down. and had B-hop not schooled KP we would still be hearing about how old b-hop was that night.
:rofl im a fan off both but if you couldn't see that B-hop was getting out worked and that he wasn't going to win a rematch then you got issues.
They were old. Not just agewise, mind you. Ring wise. Hopkins did go on to beat up Pavlik, but the guy is 4-3 in last 7 fights, Jones 5-5 in his last 10. Would you call that prime or even close? I know Cal was 36, but he hadnt faced much adversity nor been in the wars or the rigors of moving up and down in weight. In essence, he was fresher. It is a tribute to his adaptability that he was able to alter his style to the onset of age, but to me, it's a shame he retired when he did. There was so much left he could have done. Win or lose.
talking about a man hiding didn't B-hop decline joe in the past. so who was really hiding. fight was all but done then he ask for more moeny and this is a fact. b-hop always knew Cal was a bad match up for him he waited till call got in his mid yo lat 30's to get the fight made. and know that was not a prime Joe Hop fought. he a easily declined . he's been out of his prime since 03. he had already started slipping in the Lacy fight.
come on not to sound racist but white peopel don't age so well. :yep and Cal had brittle hands. his reflexes ,speed and punching power had declind quite a bit. since even b4 the lacy fight . and if you look at the difference in his body appearence between 168 and 175 you'll see that 175 was never really his true weight and he only moved there because his body at his age would no longer make 168. at 168 he was tight and cut at 175 he has no real definition and seems almost soft and saggy. Cal has continued to win despit e not being in his prime and by the way when were americans ever elite at 168 beside jsut recently. and any that were cal wiped the out. come on you guys are acting like he's Ottke. joe wins are al legit and he's a great fighter and the greatest 168lber at this moment of All Time
But you can't have it both ways. If JC was old and past it, what does it make these guys who were older, had tougher fights and had far greater weight gains/loss during their careers. Jones went to HW ffs. Gained like 40 or 50 lbs and went right back down to lhw. Its silly and he was never the same after it, but he did it. He was also only 6-5 after the move back down. All this after starting at MW. Hopkins was a MW until Tarver, the guy is a physical marvel, but he has gone from MW to LHW and is now 45 years old. He could have retired 10 years ago and been considered a HOF'er. But he hasn't been in his prime for years. He needs things to go right for him to win now. He dominated Pavlik, he lost to Taylor 2x and Calzaghe. On some nights he has it, and some nights he doesnt. JC only moved up 1 weight class, that's 7lbs. Its not on the same level , and he had done it earlier in his career as well. Not to say it doesn't merit praise. It does, but it's what fighters generally do. You mention Sven Ottke, and a lot of people will put him in the same boat simply because the guy refused to challenge himself or come out of his comfort zone of success for a long, long time. I don't think Calzaghe is as bad as all that, but there is a sliver of truth to the criticism. I do think he is the top SMW, although it is a generally unproven division. In fairness, JC dominated the division, but it was an unusually weak division. Bigger fights were there to be made at other classes if they were really wanted. I do agree that JC gets too much **** on ESB, but I also say he gets too much praise from his diehards. I think his career is a tale of 2 careers. One, a series of successes in relative obscurity, taking no risks. The other, beginning with Lacy, wins over Bika, Kessler and the other 2. To me Lacy, Bika and Kessler are his 3 best wins (in no order). Despite this, his numbers and defenses and reign as SMW champ are noteworthy. One more thing, I keep hearing how it was Warren who refused to let JC fight the big fights. But, someone posted quotes from Warren on how he couldnt get Calzaghe to come to America to fight, as he kept finding excuses to get on the plane. Educate me on this, I really don't know what to believe.