would calzaghe be as underrated if he was american...

He would be sliced to pieces for such a pathetic resume.

 

He wouldn't be the same fighter, he would be 40-6-0

with no perfect record. Don't get why ya think he's so good!!!

 

great post. you've single-handedly softened my stance on him. you're right, its not fair to judge Joe's mid career by his status at the end of his career. he only really hit the big time after kessler and by that stage i think he took a justified fight with hopkins, then just cashed in against jones. i'll say it again, great post.

 

The problem with the Calzaghe debate is there is very little sensible middle ground.

I don't think he was a bum, I think he was a terrific fighter. To me, pre Lacy he was basically an unknown regional fighter. The exploits after that..... Kessler, Hopkins, Jones are not enough to catapult him into the stratusphere of ATG.

One big knock on the guy was his supposed unwillingness to take on stiff challenges, and early on it seems appropriate, as evidenced by these comments.....

"I could probably give Jones a tough fight,probably the best fight he's ever had',said Calzaghe,'But I know my capabilities and unless I got paid the crown jewels,I wouldn't want to risk it.'

from www.THISISLONDON.co.uk/SPORT/ARTICLE-5499540-DETAILS/I+AM+THE+BEST,+SAYS+HONEST+JOE+/ARTICLE.DO.

Or the DAILY MIRROR,June 1,1999:

"I'm not chasing after Roy Jones.Be honest,Roy is a good fighter and I don't want tough fights.I just want big money."

It shows a certain mindset.

He was a talented fighter who went largely unchallenged for a long portion of his career. To me, any attempt to try and make that portion more than it is is revisionist history. He was not a bum, he was a terrific fighter and he deserves recognition as one of the best smw of all time. But it should stop there.

 

:rofl:rofl

 

:rofl I know you're not counting that Jones wins as something spectacular?? Jones was shot to **** when he fought Calzaghe...come on man!

 

Calzaghe's style was as awkward as Prime RJJ
Maybe not as impressive, but definitely as difficult to face.

 

Firstly, you're framing his wins against guys like Thornberry and Sheika as if they are somehow meaningful. atsch I hate to be disrespectful, but those guys were bums, when we are talking about the kind of level that Calzaghe was at. Neither have ever held a title, neither were they ranked inside the Top Ten, and 2 years before he fought Calzaghe, Sheika lost to a guy with a 28-44-7 record. Yeah, world class, indeed. And it's not just them two, there are about a dozen guys on Calzaghe's record that you just think "what the **** was that about?"

Secondly, you're giving credit to Calzaghe for staying at 168 for most of his career, when the division was baron and there were virtually no big fights. Its pretty obvious what any fighter with more than a smidgen of self belief and ambition would have done in these circumstances.

Thirdly, it's a nice, comfortable, easy way out to claim that Hopkins and Jones were ducking an obscure WBO belt holder from Wales, who could never find his passport, and then taking on easy challenges like an undefeated Tito Trinidad or fighting for a Heavyweight Championship belt!

 

Pretty much sums it up.

 

LOL, had Calzaghe been an American fighter his record would now be 30-15-2, because he would have had to fight real meaningful fights and not allowed to hide out in Wales under his blankie.

 

Agreed. Just look at the abuse Pavlik took for doing it only 3 times.

 

There were alot more challenges Joe chose not take on. Omar Sheika, the best the division has to offer? Sheika was never more than a middleweight journeyman. Joe wasn't even willing to fight Clinton Woods who ceaselessly called him out. At least Woods challenged himself against the best that would agree to meet him. Joe took on a course of b level guys with the cards stacked in his favor for his entire prime and wasted his career.

 

I think Jones was as bad for not making that fight happen earlier.Both pricks for that one.