Bailey, He stayed at 168 for far too long. Between 97-2006, it was one of the weakest divisions in boxing. He should have been in the 175 mix much sooner than 2008. Below are various quotes from the free library, from Frank W, Enzo Calzaghe, and Joe himself, all from 2004. "Whatever happens, Joe will be definitely be fighting in the States this year. He needs that profile, so book your ticket for that one now." The 31-year-old Newbridge fighter - who has made 13 successful defences of the WBO super-middleweight crown he took from Chris Eubank in October 1997 - is desperate for a big year after having only one second-round stoppage win, against the American Byron Mitchell, since December 2002. "I still want to move up a weight, but I'm at a stage of my career where I don't want to fade away. I'd rather burn out than fade away, so I need to get in the ring with big fighters. I want to see if I am good enough. I know that I'm the best super-middleweight in the world, but I want to see if I'm one of the best pound-for-pound fighters also." "There's only one way I'm going to find that out - and that's fighting the top light-heavyweights in America. I'd rather have one or two really big fights than four or five against opponents who everyone expects me to beat. I want to be the underdog and test myself. Maybe being in a 50-50 fight or one that people expect me to get beat would bring out the best in me? I would be in that position I was up against Eubank. I want to have my back against the wall and with the heat on. That proposition excites me - I need that extra buzz and adrenalin rush to keep me strong and keep me fighting." "He didn't want to fight in America when he was younger and that was fine, but he may feel a bit differently if he is offered the chance now." "Moving up a weight was the only option for Joe if he wants a big pay-day and I believe he can get it if he wants it badly enough." "There is definitely a fight or two for me at light-heavy and that is where I'm going now. I'm finding it harder and harder to get motivated for fights like this and I need a challenge. I can take my speed up with me, and that would give me a big advantage over the other guys up there." "I have had a great time as the champion at super-middleweight, and now I want to be the champion at light-heavyweight." Now it's onward and upwards for Calzaghe. "It's been hard making 12st all this time, and after six years, there's nothing left to excite me at super-middle. I'm really looking forward to a new challenge." "Yeah, I did see the Johnson-Jones Jnr fight and Glencoffe was impressive, very impressive, but Roy Jones Jnr isn't all that any more. 'He only threw about 11 punches all fight, he was dreadful." "At the end of every fight, the only thing that really matters is that it's Joe's hand that is held up as the winner. Look at Robin Reid and Richie Woodhall. They've lost their titles, and from earning £150,000 a fight, they're now scrambling around lucky to pick up thirty grand. I don't know how Joe would cope if he had to go back to that. And if he lost, I know where I would be. Before every one of his fights I take out my P45 and make sure it's in order. Because if he was to lose I'd need it to sign on the dole queue!" Despite what was said, he didn't fight in America, or up at 175 until 2008. He was always going to do things, but he never did, until it was too late. Look at that quote of him saying how dreadful Roy was, and that he wasn't all that anymore, only to fight him 4 YEARS LATER! Ha! Look at the quote from Frank, saying that he wasn't interested in going to America when he was younger. Look at the quote from his Dad, Enzo. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on the above.
Why do Calzaghe fans continue with this lie? Jermain Taylor did better against Hopkins than Calzaghe did, and unlike Calzaghe, gave Hopkins a rematch after the first fight was close. Some people seem to have just erased this from their memory because it doesn't fit in with their Calzaghe cum guzzling agenda. Mind you, the Hopkins/Taylor fight took place a year before Calzaghe fought Lacy which was probably when most of these Calzaghe fanatics jumped on the bandwagon and therefore don't know anything about boxing from before this time.
How did Taylor do better when he was the one hurt and looking to survive to mae the finish. Forget that? Look at the official judging scoring and you can see that in one fight Calzaghe had a greater points lead that Taylor did in 2 fights with Hopkins. Calzaghe beat Hopkins when Hopkins was at full strength at LHW, sandwiched between Hopkins best wins of Tarver, Wright and Pavlik and not when drained at MW. This content is protected . I understand that Hopkins is an American legend that people want to see as an iconic figure. America love a reformist and Hopkins as a former armed robber turned world champ is just the story that wins Americas hearts but... This content is protected 1. Calzaghe landed more than 100 punches than Hopkins throughout the fight. 2. Contrary to what people want to believe, Calzaghe also made Hopkins miss more 3. All round punch percentages, Calzaghe finished ahead of Hopkins 4. Calzaghe outlanded Hopkins in every round 5. A Byrd who scored for Hopkins it appears has a history for bad scorecards. Type in Adalaide Byrd in Google and see what comes up for yourself, still here are some little things for you to look at a. A Byrd was the only judge out of the 3 scoring judges that had Mack ahead against Cloud b. The K Pavlik - A Lopez fight was scored 98-92, 99-91 by the other 2 judges, A Byrd scored it 95-95 c. A Byrd was one of the judges that had Morales a 4 point loser against Maidana d. In the S Aydin vs S Ouali fight, the other 2 judges scored clearly for Aydin. Byrd scored for Ouali e. The J Almaraz/C Tyler fight was scored a Maj-Dec all because of one judge, guess which? A Byrd f. The A DeMarco/J Reyes fight was a SD. Guess who the odd judge out was? A Byrd. g. The R Torres - M Arnaoutis fight was a close fight, a point either way to 2 judges but a wide result scored by Byrd h. In the A Pryor Jr/D Stanislavjevic SD, guess who the odd judge out was? You guessed it... A Byrd i. The W Ferguson/J Lopez SD, guess who the odd judge out was? You guessed it... A Byrd I think thats enough for you to get the picture with Byrd. Remember the other 2 judges scored clearly for Calzaghe 6. Calzaghe beat Hopkins in America, at a new weight with 3 American judges and Cortez as ref. 7. Calzaghe scored the single highest score card against Hopkins ever at that time 116-111. 8. The 2 judges that scored for Calzaghe agreed on 9 of the rounds 9. Calzaghe landed more on Hopkins than anyone ever. Now I know there will be a flood of people coming on here noting Hopkins scoring a flash KD in the first round, and I agree that Hopkins did win a few rounds even when he didnt land as often, but people are mad if they think Calzaghe won on workrate, Calzaghe won because he was able to land his left more often than Hopkins could land his right. Calzaghe finished the stronger and took away the moments Hopkins likes down the stretch. Other thoughts, If Hopkins thought he was winning, do you think he would have been looking for time out and would bother trying to get points deducted off of Calzaghe, of course he wouldnt, Hopkins knew he was losing. What I do note is that nobody seems to mind Hopkins lost to Taylor. In the first Hopkins/Taylor fight, Jermaine was badly hurt and Hopkins looked the stronger at the end, yet it seems to upset alot of these people that Calzaghe beat Hopkins. Appears very biased.
Ward makes calzaghe look stupid. He was a great domestic level fighter but he wasn't a word level talent. He avoided everybody
Bailey, Ha! The king of spin. You can list all the stats, it doesn't make a difference. Between beating Eubank in 97, until he beat Lacy and Kessler in 06 and 07, Joe's resume was terrible, to say how good he was. The 168 was alive in the mid 90's, and the last few years have also been good with the Super Six. But inbetween those times, the division was weak. Listing stats with rankings etc, won't change that fact. lacy and Kessler started making waves from around 2004 onwards. What about the period inbetween? You didn't ask me that question, it was to ChrisKim47, and when I saw it, I gave my opinion. He didn't duck anyone at 168, but he stayed there for too long. I've given you lots of quotes, which said things like, he was losing motivation, and wanted big money fights in America. He should have moved up to 175 sooner, ESPECIALLY when he was starving himself to make weight. So it's not that he ducked anyone specifically at 168, but he didn't put himself in the mix at 175, when the opportunity was there. I also suspect, that there's lots of people on here, that don't believe he was injured three times against johnson, and they've heard how he tried to pull out against Lacy at the last minute. I'd say there was a fair chance that he wouldn't have fancied fighting Ward. He could basically have TRIED to fight any top 20 fighter at 175, to introduce himself into the division. That was more than 2 years after those articles were written. At he time of those articles, Lacy had done nothing, and wasn't even thought of as an option. He had the talent to go to the U.S. and make a name for himself, but he didn't go until the end of his career. I don't understand why he starved himself to make 168, when he could have fought at 175, against better known fighters. Again, he could have tried to fight anyone to test the waters. It makes absolutely no difference that Tarver ended up losing to Hopkins in 2006. Joe couldn't see into the future back in early 2004. Lacy and Kessler had done nothing at the time of Joe's quote. As above. It was an interesting quote. Joe and Enzo were very close, and that quote from Enzo, shows us his mindset. With that sort of mindset, he wouldn't have wanted Joe to take big risks. What's Ward got to do with anything? In any case, Bute didn't enter the Super Six, and Ward had just won the tournament. All Joe's quotes from 2004 are full of contradictions. I was just highlighting that fact. Ha! If he wasn't all that at 35, in 2004, then what was he in 2008, at nearly 40? Comedy gold from Joe. He needed America if he wanted big money fights against the likes of Roy. Ward's current circumstances are completely different. Again, nobody is saying that he avoided anyone at 168. But it's clear to everyone but you, that he could have trodden a different path.
It's fun to watch Calslappy fans squirm as Ward EASILY surpasses him in greatness. With each Ward fight a piece of these pathetic nuthuggers' souls dies.
I guess it was pointless for Roy to fight G.Johnson then right? he already beat fighters who beat G.Johnson.:huh
bailey, I also think your obsession over Byrd is kind of scary.. you went into full stalker mode over a man that scored Calzaghe as the loser of a fight.. I bet half those fights you are bitching about you didn't even watch. :yep There is an odd judge out in EVERY SD in boxing history, in a career of judging fights, I am sure they are all odd men out several times. The fact is the fight was close and could have gone either way, so one of the judges thought Hopkins scored the more meaningful shots... so what? it ends there.. no need to go conspiracy theory. I just made myself laugh imagining how bat **** crazy you would have gone had Joe been on the other end of that SD.:rofl
Mind Reader, Don't even go there! Ha! He would have gone berserk! He would have gone on a mad rampage. It would have been Ted Bundy x 1000!
Ward is like a slicker version of Bika, Calzaghe wins a close ugly fight by being busier especially down the stretch. Anyone that thinks otherwise dksab Calzaghe would have lacy'd Froch.
