If Calzaghe was American.....

If he was american and achieved the same he`d probably be the best thing since sliced bread according to some, no doubt! But its not that simple.. You cant just take a fighter from another country and make him american. To many things might be totally diffirent from Wales

 

Right on point. Concise too.

Here's the long polite version from one who lives in America's fight capital - Vegas.

Then you certainly don't know anything about fighting. Obviously you have an inability to assess what Hopkins brings to the table - specifically - the real aggressive version from the mid to late 90s. Clearly you also missed Joe getting dropped by heavy hands Salem. You missed him struggling with fleet of foot David Starie. Apparently you didn't see him struggle evenly with god of war Robin Reid. Maybe it was too late at night and you missed him getting dropped by two 40+ year olds? And, did you also miss his rather pedestrian performances versus Brewer and Bika? Thank goodness for a quick hometown hook on Mitchell and another bogus ref stoppage on a cut with Sheika. Thank goodness Lacy and Kessler were both willing to come to visit reluctant stay-at-home Joe. Good thing a twice stone cold KO'd RJJ was available at career end for picking rather than meeting his conqueror - the old but durable LHW Glen Johnson (or the most unimaginable - a young Chad Dawson).

If Joe was American he'd be in the Sheika ball park - more or less. A decent athlete in a nothing division who would have been forced to face adversity without dictating the terms and conditions. He wouldn't have (easily) made much money - and he would have inevitably been forced - if he was going to be accorded any material level of popular success - to face at least a few guys (not win one and you're done for the next ten years) at the level of that past prime version of CE from '97 (to actually earn whatever success he could possibly obtain).

It wouldn't have been enough to look good for 4 rounds and then struggle with a worn Eubank for 8 - who had cut weight on short notice (and excluding four tune up bums mixed in between actually ended his career with 5 straight losses) - catching punches with his face and getting staggered in the last seconds of the 12th to gain a title. No resting on that laurel and taking a couple soft touches for the next year and a half - if not 3, 6, or 10 years. No big pay days or popular success by having only a few meaningful fights in a near decade.

Similarly, more recently, Pavlik (since you mentioned him) was forced to take physical and hard fights with Miranda then two with Taylor and finally ancient BHOP. The end result is that mixed with some successes is a price paid in punches landed by his opponents. Kelly started early (18 years old) so he will likely end his career in his early 30s (if he is lucky - he might be effectively done - a saving grace may be that US boxing competition is so minimal from long and abject neglect). He is already showing the result of facing better competition. You can be absolutely certain Joe would have had his career shortened - as he simply doesn't move his head well, isn't particularly agile, and is not hard to hit by decent athletes. Landed punches take a toll. If 40+ year olds can drop you - you need not wonder what a prime version of a good athlete would do.

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Roy Jones Jr. was comparatively impossible to hit clean. Once he started taking punches he has never been the same. Joe's pristine condition at career end is a testament to LOUSY competition - not any iron jaw.

Most can understand that if Joe had had to catch punches with his grill instead of fighting such athletically limited opposition at his leisure for a decade - his chin would have inevitably cracked and he never could have been near mint in his mid-30s.

An athlete will always looks good if he only faces inferior opposition. It is the guys that can touch you and make you miss that would test your mettle. For any with some momentary lapse of judgment, seeing Joe flail with two hands like a spastic against a more coordinated and talented (albeit exhausted) 43 year old tells quite a lot. Joe's imaginary American career would have been one of relative obscurity - because the sport has been in a long decline and SMW is nearly the weakest of the lot - or he would have moved to LHW and become our Clinton Woods - maybe more - but not much more.

That is the harsh reality. The US population is still 2/3 white. Joe would have been supported and admired (as Pavlik recently was also given a larger hand than many US boxers) if he could have demonstrated he was exceptional. He never would have been accorded a substantive amount of acclaim for struggling with such obviously mediocre competition, KO-ing absolutely no one, and performing in an athletically average or slightly better than average level - GENEROUSLY attributed - in winning a bunch of decisions. He also wouldn't have had the same six refs (that were also regularly judging his fights throughout his career) providing him quick stoppages whenever they could or it actually mattered.


Forget America or asking yourself "If Calzaghe was American ...". No one over here has any idea who he is. None. He made no favorable impression in his two fights here in 2008. The video tape, those that were there to watch his career as it happened, and his (record) opposition will long exist to temper this imagined greatness you are apparently afflicted with momentarily. Don't worry - you'll get over it with time. There are more than a few things to like about Joe as a boxer. But, don't be absurd and over rate him. Good is not great. Stick with statements like "Joe was better than Ottke". Avoid ones like "I'm sure he'd beat Hopkins at any time in his career" - unless your name is Connor. For everyone else, that is absolutely ridiculous.:nut

 

Calzaghe most risky fight came in 2005, against a hypejob Jeff Lacy.
That is 12 years after his debut. Before that fight Calzaghe was fighting almost every fight on home turf against handpicked opposition and was the bookies favorite on pretty much every occasion.

If Robin Reid can take a Prime Calzaghe to a SD decision, and a way past it Hopkins can take a slightly younger Calzaghe who just came of a career best win to a SD. What makes any sane person think Calzaghe would have beaten a Prime Hopkins.

Hopkins was more technically skilled that Calzaghe, and towards the end of Hopkins career he stopped being aggressive.

A younger more aggressive BHop would have most certainly finished Calzaghe off once he had him floored.

Look at a green Hopkins
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga7C8p1FLGM[/ame]

and then some ***zaghis want to say Hopkins was in his prime when Calzaghe fought him. Calzaghe didnt want the rematch after he saw what Hopkins did to Pavlik.

 

man i aint trying to say that that BHop that whooped Mercado would have killed Calzaghe.

Im showing to these ***zaghis that BHop wasnt in his prime, the younger BHop was alot more aggressive.

Matter of fact if you want to see a better example because ure brain cant comprehend a simple example i used why dont you watch this instead.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maPgSnXhF6k[/ame]

Then watch the other parts and realise that Hopkins of the latter part of his career wasnt as aggressive as the Hopkins of the earlier part of his career.

 

If JC was American, Him, Jonesy And Bhop would have had no reasons not to fight each other earlier

....Unless JC got exposed beforehand.

 

Those guys you mentioned are known as journeymen, they are in more or less in every fighters early part of there career. And Hopkins 10th fight was againt a guy who was 4-8-0 at the time. what does that prove?

Calzaghe won his title in 1997, and first had a unification bout in 2005. 8 years after being champ.

Hopkins won his title in 1996, and first had a unification bout in 2001. 5 years after being champ.

Calzaghe had his next unification bout in 2007, 10 years after winning the WBO. Hopkins had his next in the same year 2001, 5 years after winning the IBF.

Hopkins fought Robert Allen in 1998, at that time Allen was ranked #7 in the Ring top 10 Middleweights.

Calzaghe was fighting the likes of Mario Veit who has never been in the Ring top 10 SMW. Tocker Pudwill, Branko Sobot......

The point is every fighter makes these voluntary defenses.

***zaghis want to big up Branko Sobot now, **** is wrong with these ***zaghis man.

 

Last I checked, Calzaghe retired as the #2 P4P fighter in the sport.

How is he disrespected again?

 

Unless you are alergic, then it wouldn't be so merry.

 

Calzaghe entered the Ring P4P top 10 in 2006, 9 years after winning the WBO.

After Mayweather vacated his #1 spot in the P4P rankings. Calzaghe reached his highest ever in the P4P ranks #3, behind Pacqiuao and Marquez.

 

Joe was never KOing fighters..nor was he ever on Hopkins level.:deal

 

dealyep

 

Nobody with respect for boxing had Joe #2 in the sport.

I don't see how you can hate Floyd and blow Joe Calzhagenut:nut

 

in 2002 bernard hopkins rejected a career high payday of $3m to fight joe calzaghe in america. in hopkins next fight, 9 months later, he picked up $750'000 to fight the legendary hakkar


























































:rofl

 

I think he would be looked at pretty much the same i he were American.He was a very good fighter,just not a great one.