fighers react differently to weight gain. and Cal you can see he was never a true LHW. B-hop didn't eat meat to make MW and Jones never belonged at Hw which is why he moved down rather then face A Lewis or a Klit bro.
Joe alwasy tried to get the fights. thing is joe was loyal to FW and didn't realize until the end that FW was Holding him down other found out quicker, Hatton, Khan, Hammed.
:goodVERY underrated fighter here in America out of pure jealousy...GREAT fighter indeed. Lots of hatred for spanking some asses in here:yep... and lots of funky excuses from sore losers!!!! RESPECT 4 Calzaghe!!:nod
He had done it for several fights earlier in his career, and it is only 7 lbs difference. Not a big deal. Hardly the same tax on the body. Agreed. In hindsite, the HW title is a nice little trinket, but it certainly doesn't seem like it was worth it in light of his decline.
Thats the JC side, but Warren apparently has been quoted as saying that he could not get Calzaghe to come to the US. Im asking because I legitimately don't know the story and would like to find out.
The amazing internet.... here is a link to an interview with Warren. It's interesting. http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f53/frank-warrens-article-joe-calzaghe-852984/
Well, Warren has every reason to lie about Calzaghe right now, and most of us never believe anything he says anyway, soooooo....I don't know. Might be true, might not. In my opinion, Calzaghe should have pulled a Khan on Warren a few years earlier and signed with an American company instead of promoting himself. He would have made more money, got bigger fights, and become a real legend. He waited too long to make the split because he always thought a unification bout was right around the corner, and it never was. He did really well considering the circumstances and the hands he was dealt (get it, hands?? I crack myself up...).
The thread poster is done to discredit Calzaghes achievements but only to make it sound different and to get other people bashing Calzaghes achievements, Im sure hes someone who cant stand the fact Calzaghe beat Hopkins, for some reason that seems to bug alot of people although they will claim its the scoring, yet nobody seemed to make as big a deal when Taylor scored two wins over Hopkins, and none of the above is mentioned
That's because Taylor was a black boy. Hopkins would never let a white boy beat him. He would NEVER let a white boy beat him. Some people get cocky and say "Well look at that, a white boy beat him in his very next fight." But they're wrong. Hopkins did not "let" Calzaghe beat him. He lost because Calzaghe fought better than him. There was no "letting." Therefore, Hopkins statement stands--he would never let a white boy beat him. Personally, I'm willing to go one further. I would never let a white boy, a black boy, or a mexican boy beat me. Asians either. I might let a white, black, mexican, or asian girl beat me, but only because I don't like to hit girls. But anyways, I digress. Calzaghe is awesome.
The problem with Calzaghe is he never lost and because he never lost people will try to shoot holes in his legacy. The man was a very good fighter. Like him or not. Most unbeaten boxers are hated on. See Floyd Mayweather. Most fighters never get the respect they deserve until they have returned from a defeat and continue to win afterward. I have to give Calzaghe his respect. For years I would see him as the WBO SMW champion but never watched him fight. Then I figured out that anyone that can hold onto a title for 10+ years has to be good. I for one didn't think Jeff Lacy was going to beat him. I watched the Hopkins fight and as a Hopkins fan I have to admit the best Hopkins did was a draw. I didn't think Hopkins beat him. The Roy Jones fight was a farce no true boxing fan thought Roy was going to win that. I really wanted to see Calzaghe lose but he never did so props to him. he was smart enough to walk away on top.
He declined the fight because Joe Calzaghe was a nobody at the time. If you're actually implying that a guy who went through prison and faced and challenged nearly every top fighter of his era...well, you're just being ridiculous.
Actually, the funny thing is you're wrong. Read back in the thread--Hopkins took another fight for less than the 3million he was offered for Calzaghe. It wasn't about the money, it was about Hopkins wanting more to face such a dangerous guy. Hopkins knew exactly who Calzaghe was...