Joe Calzaghe cheesed his way to "greatness"

Joe Calzaghe had a well-documented history of **hand injuries** and other issues that led to several fight cancellations or postponements throughout his career, particularly in the early to mid-2000s. These were often attributed to chronic hand/wrist problems that plagued him for years, sometimes causing him to fight one-handed or pull out of bouts.

### Confirmed Cancellations/Withdrawals Involving Calzaghe
- **2004**: A scheduled light heavyweight title fight against **Glen Johnson** was cancelled due to a **back injury** (and personal issues). This was the first of two pullouts against Johnson.
- **2005**: A unification bout against **Jeff Lacy** (originally set for November 2005) was postponed after Calzaghe broke his hand in a prior fight against Evans Ashira. It was rescheduled and fought in March 2006.
- **2006**: A rematch or second attempt at a fight with **Glen Johnson** was cancelled due to a **hand injury** (re-aggravated during training).

### Additional Context
Calzaghe's promoter at the time, **Frank Warren**, publicly criticized him for multiple pullouts (often nicknamed "No Show Joe" by some in the industry), estimating several instances over the years, though exact counts beyond the above are not precisely documented in reliable sources. Other fights were discussed or nearly agreed upon but never materialized (e.g., potential bouts with Roy Jones Jr. in his prime or Bernard Hopkins earlier), but these were more about negotiations than Calzaghe withdrawing.

No other major cancellations in the early 2000s (pre-2005) are prominently recorded beyond the Johnson one. His hand issues were recurring, leading to adaptations in his style (e.g., more "slapping" punches to protect his hands).

Overall, reliable sources confirm **at least 2-3** instances where Calzaghe pulled out or caused a cancellation in the early 2000s, primarily due to injuries rather than avoidance.

 

What?

 

Calzaghe isn't the best boxer from England.

Jimmy Wilde, Ted Kid Lewis, Lennox Lewis, rate above him.

 

Calzaghe and Wilde aren't from England. Welsh boys.

 

I'm a huge Calzaghe fan but I agree, he was too much of a homebody and wanted to stay in his comfort zone a bit too much.

But I also think it's not his fault his division was just unfashionable and boxing in general for 168-175 lbs didn't have much money in his era.

 

He should have moved to LHW much earlier.

 

British.

 

You cite Roy Jones having beaten Trinidad, presumably as a marker of credibility but, in fairness, context is important here. This was a Trinidad who had retired, unretired, retired again and hadn't fought for 3 years. It was a fun fight, but nothing more. Jones was absolutely finished at top level by 2008 - and Calzaghe knew it. RJJ hadn't beaten a top contender since 2003, yet Joe wanted the value associated with the name, instead of pushing himself against a legit live opponent like Pavlik or Dawson. But that end fight kind of summed up how his whole career was largely manouvred IMO. I've always said one of Joe's best attributes was timing... not just in the ring but when to take certain fights as well.

 

Oh ok
Got you

I don't consider Lennox Lewis British but rather Canadian

 

Great post.

Joe deserves huge criticism for lots of his comments and actions. Yet it seems that people aren’t aware of them, or they give him a pass.

This guy openly said that Roy was shot, and that fighting him would be pointless.

He wrote that in his autobiography.

He then said that Tarver, Dawson and Pavlik didn’t excite him, and had done absolutely nothing to warrant a fight with him.

That came from a guy who once fought 3 non world level fighters in a row when he was a WBO champion, as well as rematching a guy who’d he’d already beaten in a round.

A man who fought a dozen non world level guys put forward by the WBO. Guys who’d never even fought at world level before.

What a joke.

He should definitely have fought Pavlik instead of Roy.

 

Veit never won a belt because there were too long standing champions active in his prime. Otter ducked Calzaghe and back then it wasn’t so easy to pick up straps.

 

Does he have a better resume than Crawford?

 

Why does everyone have to travel to America?

Joe was a World Champion and therefore entitled to have Home Advantage.

Or is Home Advantage only allowed for American World Champions?

Plenty of great American fighters refused to cross the Pond.

 

Again, Veit wasn’t really good enough to win a belt.

Again, he literally spent over 90% of his career fighting at European level.

How could he have hoped to have won a belt at world level, when he barely fought at world level?

The only world level wins he had, were over an end of career Brewer, and against Brahmer.

But Brahmer knocked him out in their return, as did Denis Inkin.

Joe also knocked him out in a single round.

You can only get world level opportunities if you’re actively fighting at that level.

 

That would make for a good debate.