Imagine if Joe's father was like Roger Mayweather and told the truth. He'd be like; "My son only fought English bums and waited until Jones was KO'ed and Hopkins had gotten older to face them". LOL. The English would respond that he had dementia.
I've said this before: How are Joe Calzaghe and a retired mortician alike? Both made their living off the corpses of people.
what was his amateur record like? with his style one would think he would have won several gold medals and went undefeated. i used to think he was something special before i had a chance to view his fights. i am not impressed with his feather fisted punching style.
His best wins are against OLD MEN. Wouldn't go near RJJ until he was absolutely shot, and don't get me started about Hopkins. People say look what Hopkins has done, it's an awesome win for Joe, umm no. Hopkins has done well, but it's because he carefully chooses his opponents, he does NOT fight any volume fighters anymore. That's right, this man's best wins are over a shot RJJ, and Grandpa Hopkins (both of whom still managed to plant him on his ass, and many scored the fight for Hopkins.) Oh, and have you ever seen the match of his against the great Robin Reid? :rofl
Oh, thanks for mentioning that. Look at this video and how his hometown referees jump in and stop the fights at the first possible moment they can for him atsch. Literally he is slapping away missing everywhere, as soon as one little slap connects, BOOM STOPPAGE! Look at these supposed "knockouts" of his, just pathetic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACgTJhEdj5M
Good, not great. Hack? Ridiculous. The guy had 21 title defenses, that kind of consistency takes at the very least being quite good. Overrated on here and obsessed on here? Yes. I don't get the obsession with him.
21 title defenses, which mostly consisted of hiding out in Wales fighting cab drivers, defending his rather useless WBO belt? Watch the video I posted above, does that look legitimate to you? He fought bums, with referees who were in there to stop the fights at the first possible second they could for him to win. Seriously, watch my video I just posted, I'm not making this up, there is definitive proof.
Much like his professional one in that he never really took on any serious, defining challenges. He won lots of ABA's and had a good record, but it was only regional and fringe National level at best, he never tested himself against the best on the International stage (sound familiar?). Carl Froch, for example, with his Bronze medal at the World Amateur Championships, was a far more successful and distinguished amateur than Calzaghe.
I disagree... There are some who comepletely overrate him, but as a whole on ESB I think he is actually a bit underrated. He was a fighter with great skills and a first ballot hall of famer. When he was younger, he was more of a wreckless fighter with good power in both hands.. After his hands started to go, he developed a bit of a slick European style with insane stamina that was very effective and carried him a long way... He still had a bit left in the tank when he retired IMO. Would I have loved to see him in some more big fights? well yeah, the same can be said for Roy Jones... But its boxing, and thats the way it is.