Calzaghe's glorious title fights vs The Future @ 168

The B-hop win should be rated much higher today. The guy is still kicking ass.

 

Calzaghe's win over a 31-year-old Eubank is better than Bute's entire resume. The win over prime Robin Reid is also good.

Bute has only beaten Bika and Andrade (after getting knocked out by him). Not as good.

 

You also missed out the great Evans Ashira. Fought at Light Middleweight, moved up to Middleweight and got KO'd in two rounds by some nobody. Then, in his one and only ever fight at Super middleweight, got a World title shot against Joe "The legend Killer" Calzaghe. After losing a points decision to super Joe, Ashira went straight back to fighting 6 rounders against club fighters at 154lbs.

 

This...:good

W over Eubank on ur resume= whole of bute's resume

Stupid thread closed

 

Actually i feel Bika has gotten better then he was against Bute.

 

Calzaghe's greatest win is over Hopkins, who has shown that he was far from washed up when Calzaghe beat him three years ago. In fact, Hopkins has been pfp top-5 ever since.

 

:rofl:rofl

 

Calzaghe is an all-time great (and I still hate him for the Jones Jr. fight). He was the first to defeat Kessler and Lacy. He beat Bika as well. Then he went to America for the 1st time and beat Hopkins (a win that has gotten better since). Even the one-sided win over the shell of Jones Jr. is noteworthy.

I think Calzaghe vs Froch would be the most exciting with Calzaghe winning a close decision and Ward vs Calzaghe would be a technical, somewhat boring fight that Ward may not be ready for yet. I don't think Ward is in his prime yet.

 

Joe's record is actually misleading if not abysmal.

It is hardly impressive relative to what great fighters have accomplished in the ring - anyone who is honest and has witnessed his entire career knows how manufactured, contrived, and irrelevant is that "zero".

Bute may well be the current era's honored graduate (summa cum laude) and valedictorian of the Joe Calzaghe school of fight matchmaking: fight no one unless they are old, fight no one unless it is at home, fight only under your own sole promotion to insure the obvious benefits that inure (leaning judges, handpicked refs, dishonest docs, corrupt and influenced belt officials and sanctioning body administrators, disparate facilities, accommodations, and ancillary provisions, etc., etc.) and never take a challenge if the opponent is talented, near prime, and fighting on a level playing field.

As for some prior comments made ...

Joe won the first four rounds versus CE and about 2 after that. The fight was a near draw. Joe faded quickly after the good start and caught the same punch repeatedly with his FACE from a well worn FAR past peak short notice weight-cutting affected sub Eubank. Joe was shook as the 12th ended. That performance was well overrated all things considered.

As for the Reid fight I should put up a video of highlights. Reid landed nearly ALL the hard punches in the entire fight. This one was a narrow Reid victory. Joe in the post fight never mentions ANY hand injury and none was EVER evident. I don't know where this fiction ever came from but it is likely due to Joe lamely and unconvincingly saying in search of a defense or explanation for his crappy performance in the post fight interview that early in his camp for this fight he had an elbow problem that HAD bothered him (many weeks earlier). Joe knew he looked exactly as he is - a fighter really on the same general level as a Robin Reid (and both guys were physically limited and unimpressive relative to elite and really great athletes). The condition of his hand was never a factor in his getting caught by Reid's bigger punches to the grill.

As for the Hopkins fight the man was over 43 years of age. Expecting perfect consistency out of an athlete of that age is absurd. Additionally, everyone in the US knows that boxing has long been in decline and BHOPs' accomplishments would be far tempered if young great athletes were pursuing the sport. I have one home in Vegas and if anyone else made the trip out here they should be able to attest that Joe was dismal at the Thomas & Mack. Joe looked mediocre and less talented athletically relative to a 43 year old athlete (and yes BHOP looked old, soft, and tired). The prevailing comments when we hit the casinos the rest of night from the patrons at the gaming tables can be summarized as the following: who was that white guy he wasn't much good, Hopkins is still fighting?, Hopkins should retire he looks old in the ring, and that fight was absolutely horrible.


The real comparative for guys like Calzaghe or Bute is to take note of what great fighters and ambitious athletes have done even in this lackluster and weak era of the last generation or so. De la Hoya fought many tough opponents and challenged himself to move from 135 all the way to 154. Little Shane Mosley fought many tough and larger opponents than himself and competed from 135 up to 154. Felix Trinidad fought many tough opponents and challenged himself from 140 to 160. Ronald Wright fought twenty out of fifty-seven fights outside the US, rarely had the promotion, and never ducked a challenge. Erik Morales fought many many tough opponents and competed from 122 to 140. Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manual Marquez, Joel Casamayor all challenged themselves to move up multiple divisions and fight the best. Manny Pacquiao's story is well known and a testament to putting one's talent EVEN up against the offset of physically larger athletic opposition. Even Mayweather - while hardly a large welterweight at 5'8" - has at least moved up from 130 to 147 (Calz only ever ventured to move up 4% in weight twice to meet two old LHWs when everyone knows he had to eat like a mouse for fifteen years to make 168. We don't talk about Bute moving up because everyone is still waiting for him to face a real opponent for the very first time at 168.).

Certainly others can put up their own examples of great fighters moving up multiple divisions to find greater challenges (such as RJJ or Toney - one (RJJ) moved up for the challenge solely and lack of competition from athletes more similar in size to him and the other (JT) due to his eating habits - both had the talent to move up and give hell to larger athletes - and proved it, etc., etc.). Older fans will certainly recall SRLs move up to try and add higher weight class belts to his collection as a precursor to the more recent fighters noted above..


Obviously Calzaghe and Bute fall into the opposite end of the spectrum (the lowest or bottom) of the type of ambition, confidence, and search for athletic competition that defines truly great athletes and historical athletic accomplishment.

 

he still destroyed omar shika after sheika beat glen johnson... know that name?

 

Eubank was totally done at SMW, let's not pretend otherwise, please!

Eubank was shot, the likes of Collins were publicly stating that too at the time pre fight.

The win over Eubank has little, if any more credibility, than Calzaghe's win over Jones.

 

"You also missed out the great Evans Ashira. Fought at Light Middleweight, moved up to Middleweight and got KO'd in two rounds by some nobody. Then, in his one and only ever fight at Super middleweight, got a World title shot against Joe "The legend Killer" Calzaghe. After losing a points decision to super Joe, Ashira went straight back to fighting 6 rounders against club fighters at 154lbs"

You mean the guy who destroyed Lacy in the amateurs..?

Ashira was a tuneup for Lacy btw.