Calzaghe went 10 years (97-06) without a big fight...WHY??

Calzaghe not money hungry?

You've got to be having a laugh with that line.

It was his sole motivation - certainly not fame or status.

Warren had a dificult time selling Calzaghe to the masses because he was a very introvert and miserable person in his 20's. Wheras Ricky Hatton was at dinner shows and TV appearances up and down the country marketing himself properly.

Joe pulled out of several TV and press situations.

"No show Joe" was not a nickname coined on an internet forum, it's an industry fact.

Hence the reason he fought a lot of bums in Wales.

The Welsh were sold this product, in a similar fashion to how Amir Khan has been sold to the Asian community.

That's why Calzaghe was not fighting regular in England. Other than a couple of Sheffield undercards and a couple of Telewest appearances, the rest was filled up with Cardiff Ice rink fights.

 

:good

 

I seem to remember him fighting in a castle once.

 

Calzaghe was an excellent skillful boxer.... it is not always the fighters fault about who they put them in with.....it is the promoter and matchmaker who make that decision.....If JC would have fought RJ Jnr and B-Hop a lot earlier in his career it would have been bad timing as he was not ready back then, there is also the matter of getting himself financially secured, so rolling the dice back then was probably not an option......:think

For me hid best "Display" was against Lacy.... made him look amateur, handspeed, boxing skills and fitness.... simple as that....The best "Performance" was against Kessler, he used all three of the above and had to go to Plan B from the 5th Round.... showed he could think, adapt his fight plan against a very durable operator...:happy

I dont think if JC would have not got the decision against B Hop there would have been many arguements... it was a close fight with plenty of spoiling at times... he got it by a whisker... would it have been the same result 6 years earlier... who knows, I am a big Calzaghe fan, but I don't think he would have beat Hopkins at the time he beat Mitchell IMHO...:-(

He boxed and beat RJ Jnr very easy, not much room for debate with that, but back in the day...... RJ Jnr would have stopped JC between 7-9 Rounds.....:yep

But they were big fights....

That is my balanced and unbiased view...:good

 

Honestly the memories on this forum are fantastically short. I can list a dozen fights Joe could have involved himself in as well as mooted fights that failed to materialise. In every case the problem was always Joe who was more than content to defend his WBO belt on home turf.

 

Joe never lacked any confidence. He was simply making a very easy living off the WBO. As is the case with SN marquee fighters why break a solid recipe thats fiscally successful?

 

thumbsup:thumbsup Excellent there are some fans who remember then.

 

Maybe for sometime He didnt want the Big fights. There was a Divorce Happening

 

These many fights at the Cardiff Ice rink myth; how many did he actually fight at that arena? :huh

Also, someone please name me the supposedly big fights that were on offer aplenty at 168 before Lacy came along. (Remember Hopkins pulled out of their fight at the last minute).

I can only think of Glen Johnson. I'm sure Jones was already at 175 before Calzaghe was an established world champion although I could be wrong.

 

If you read the Calzaghe v Sports Network court papers you'll see that Calzaghe specifically made Warren put a clause in their final contract that every effort would be made at setting up unification and elite level fights.

JC was definitely frustrated at the no mark fights.

 

Well I am new here and would love to know which fights could have happened that didn't.

 

Without doubt didnt want to risk his 0 going.

If you look at Carl Froch and the potential lists of fighters he going to face with the super six tourney......then its makes Joe Calzaghe look like a nervous wreck with the way his opponents were selected over the long barren spell.

Greatness in boxing is a highly debated subject......for me though we need to have less of he is great or he is the best ever.

When you look at the history 168 division it was possibly the weakest division in terms of talent around. The 168 is stuck in no mans land and only recently with this tournement and the addition of other fighters does it look like it has top notch talent.

Joe legacy is built on being a very good fighter who yet again was at the right place and right time............for me very much on the level of Ricky Hatton........but becuase Joe style could change according to the situation allowed him to change plans ala Kessler.

Very good fighter........who beat Kessler (potential HOF), a very dangerous and up an coming Jeff Lacy and past there best Eubank, Hopkins and Jones.

So you cant dismiss it.......he has some nice wins in reality and on paper...

 

You are wrong.... Who were Manny Pacuiaos big name opponents at super bantam? Who were Durans big name opponents at lightweight? Who were De La Hoya's at super feather? Who were mayweathers big name opponents at lightweight? For someone who struggled so desperately to make super middle he spent a lot of time avoiding the then more active light heavy division.

He could have fought Montell Griffin, James Toney, Virgil Hill, Roy Jones Jnr passed his prime but still in good form, David Telesco, Lou Del Valle, Henry Maske, Graciano Rochigianni, Glenn Johnson, Tarver, Johnson, Ronald Wright, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, Sven Ottke, Chad dawson, Tomasz Adamek, Athur Abraham, Clinton Woods, Crawford Ashley, Henry Wharton, Glenn Catley, Thoebela, Marcus Beyer, Malinga, Nardiello, prime Hopkins, Keith Holmes, William Joppy, Felix Trinidad..... I could go on and on... The divsions weren't as empty as made out. This is just off the top of my head.

Instead we got:-

Eubank- late notice, past it and weight drained.
Sobot- 19-11 when he retired with no credible wins
Giminez- 10 years past his best and at his best not in the top 20.
Reid- a debateable win against a man coming off the loss to Malinga and indifferent performance against Cherifi (a vulnerable middle)
Thornberry- stopped by Henry Wharton
David Starie-Coming off two flat performances against Mark baker and an unknown (stopped by Dean Francis)
Sheika- beaten by Tony Booth
Woodhall- coming off four poor performances- with a susceptability to southpaws.
Viet- mandatory no decent wins
Mcintyre- american nobody
Brrewer- totally past his best, stopped in three two fights earliar by Antwun Echols.
Jiminez- mexican nobody shut out by domestic class Brian Magee in his next fight.
Mrkthchyen- Russian nobody
Salem- Came into the fight off a loss to viet
Veit- see above.... lol
Ashira- battered by Howard Eastman at middle
Lacy- performed badly lost subsequent fights to Taylor and looked ****.
Bika- Fair win, perhaps a good first defence for a proper champion. Calzaghe limped home.
Manfredo- He lost the contender final.
Kessler- close fight fair defence.... Kessler yet to prove himself anything more then a belt holder.
Hopkins- Coming off two losses to Jermain Taylor and wins over a weight drained Tarver and a blown up light middle in Winky. Calzaghe wins debatably.
Jones jnr- Declared shot five years earlier when losing to Johnson and Tarver by brutal KO.

So thats your 26 defences....... about three of them against credible, world class opposition in form.....

Someone go through that list of opponents and tell me i'm wrong....

We're going to miss him now he's gone......

Sure we are. D

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He wanted to cash in for his retirement after having a laugh for most of his career.

 

Kessler will dominate boxing now and he was a class below past prime Calzaghe.

Kessler is the P4P number one now Guzman is old and Calzaghe is retired.

He is the P4P number one, whether people realise it yet or not.

Maybe they will with hindsight, the fact is the above three lines are truth.