A Joe Calzaghe related question to ALL Americans

A lot of fighters get exposure on ESPN in their early career, and then graduate to HBO or Showtime, and from there to PPV. I have HBO, but not Showtime. I'm only willing to spend a certain amount for cable, and HBO has the better boxing.

 

Oh, for goodness sake. Who, after seeing him demolish the tough-chinned
powerful punching, undefeated Omar Sheika YEARS ago didn't know Joe
Calzaghe was something special? This is supposed to be a boxing website
where true, diehard boxing fans post educated opinions on international,
global boxing events and results. E.S.B. is still the best boxing website
out there but for a lot of AMERICAN posters IGNORANCE IS BLISS.

 

I started watching Calzaghe around the year 2000 and they showed the whole fights. In his fights against Veit, Mitchel and Brewer, he showed very good skills and speed and I was impressed. At the time, I got Showtime and HBO just to watch the fights. I knew Calzaghe had the skills to beat Lacy but I wasn't sure if he could actually pull it off but his performance against Lacy was brilliant. I have been a Calzaghe fan but the fights he took against Bika and Manfredo soured me a little on him, he should have been looking to fight only the best. Froch will get a lot of exposure but I haven't been too impressed with him from what I've seen so far.

 

1. I did and always liked his determination ,tenacious attitude,workrate and desire to mix it up and not fight like a *****
2.I would mostly use the internet
3.Those networks only use who they consider to be more marketable
4.Hardcore fans use HBO,SHO,YOUTUBE,and anything they can


Calzaghe is a rare type of fighter and when that type of fighter does come along you will have detractors who are uncapable of grasping grreatness while its happening.It sometimes takes several years for some to see what others have already said

 

PrideofWales, I realize the topic has been posted for a while but I'll reply anyway. I have followed Calzaghe on showtime for several years before the Lacy fight. I don't remember every fight I saw but since the early 2000's I thought Showtime showed the majority of JC's fights. In my opinion he looked very good with his only problem being hand injuries probably because he put so much leather on his opponents. I thought he was best smw and has been for at least 5 or 6 years. I was only waiting for him to fight either abroad or against a fighter that I had followed for the majority of their career so I could assess his talent better. Then came the Lacy fight. Honestly, I had been waiting for someone with some movement and boxing skill to come along and derail the Lacy train. I was a fan of Lacy but it didn't take rocket scientist to see that when Lacy was put in with elite boxers he would have problems. As far as the Calzaghe side my only concern was his hand problems and would he have the power to keep off Lacy (I also think Calzaghe's power seemed better prior to the Hopkins fight where He didn't seem to have any power what so ever). But I have to admit I had no idea he would win every second of every round. That was impressive even considering I thought Lacy was limited. As far as other americans not being familiar with JC prior to the Lacy fight I would have to say they are either casual fans or new to boxing. I simply don't believe you are a die hard fan if you hadn't heard of JC prior to the Lacy fight. Ever read the Ring ratings or subscribe to the boxing networks? He has been around for years and I think a lot of the people on this site haven't followed boxing for years hence their comments. As far as HBO and Showtime HBO has been superior for years up untill about 2007. They have really put on some good shows in the past few years and in my eyes are equal to HBO. Sorry for the bad punctuation.

 

Pavlik comes to mind, and I just noticed this is a Boo Radley post. Were you thinkin' Pav. too??

 

There are 3 fights where many, maybe most Americans formed their opinion about Joe Calzaghe. The first was the Byron Mitchell fight. Calzaghe got knocked down clean in what, the first or second round. Then in the second round Mitchell ever so slightly falls back into the ropes and the ref stops the fight! I can't imagine any objective fight fan calling that a fair stoppage. So people saw Calzaghe as a protected fighter. The next fight was the Lacy fight. A legitimate Calzaghe win. Many Americans put down Lacy after that fight, but Calzaghe deserved credit for taking and winning the fight. Then there was the Manfredo fight. Calzaghe was going to win that fight, no doubt. But the stoppage struck many Americans as premature.

So Calzaghe got put down for not only always fighting at home, but he appeared to be getting unfair breaks from the local refs. Now he fights the better American fighters when they're way beyond their prime (regardless of the reason). So he comes across as pampered and his record loses its legitimacy with a lot of Americans.

 

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1. I thought he was a very good fighter but in a division at the time that wasn't all that deep and that he had a couple of dangerous habits of squaring up that would not work against elite fighters. In the Mitchell fight he got caught doing exactly that. I also thought the stoppage in the Mitchell fight premature.

2. Whole.

3. If you're a true fan of boxing Showtime is a must. You can't judge a fighter unless you know the other fighters that are competing. People who only watch the big fights and then try pass themselves off as knowledgeable are tiresome.

4. Absolutely more hardcore. Hardcore fans watch the critical unheralded fighters that serve as a measuring stick for evaluating the elite fighters.

I would add that to me the "even more hardcore" fans are the ones that attend their local and regional boxing cards. Support of these cards allow up and coming fighters and veteran trial horses to make a decent living. This increases the viability of the sport and keeps the competitiveness strong.

 

Watching the fighters as they come up, especially live, generates knowledge and more intense fan interest. This is why the Contender series boosted some careers.