Calzaghe amongst the best ever? - disregarding legacy for a moment...

China hands apart, ability wise he is the complete package for a boxer.

Some people will never recognise this though, simply because they don't WANT to believe it. :nut

 

How can R. Jones be a top 20 if he never fought Calzaghe? If the guys have not fought each other then they are both guilty of missing this opportunity.

 

CHJ you really are taking the 'JC is Jesus Christ' joke too far now. Remember the golden rule, less is more...

 

I agree with you 100%!

 

How do you disregard legacy and consider ranking someone amongst the best ever?

That's like asking someone to give a speech without talking.

 

Well said. You forget to mention that Jones totally outclassed and dominated much better competition than Calzaghe. Its a small point but its worth mentioning.

Listen everyone needs to stop comparing Calzaghe to Jones. Its not fair on Calzaghe. no-one is gonna top jones for a long long time.

 

I think its foolish in the first place to narrow down a top twenty fighters - lets say that Joe is an excellent fighter and on a par with many other excellent fighters in history.

No fighter was invincible though and on any given day the best fighters at their own weight could beat each other.

Joe's a good all round package - great skills, great chin, good stamina and work ethic, and a boxing brain, so no one would dominate him too easily.

But placing great fighters in a list is a bit of a fools game.

 

The thing that sells me on Joe is that he fought great fighters on both ends of his career (Eubank and Reid earlier; Kessler later) and maintained his unbeaten record all the while. He changed to more of a light-hitting style because of his fragile hands, and he still won. He's incredibly competitive, extremely fast and has an excellent chin.

Is he a top-20 guy all-time? I don't know, and I would lean towards saying he's not. But he has to be seriously considered. He is the king of the SMW's, and has been for a decade.

And if you made him fight in a contest to get himself included in the top 20 all-time, I would not bet against him.

Much respect to Joe. Enjoy him while he's still around.

 

He's one of the best fighters I've ever seen in all my years following the sport and watching it on film. But top 20 in terms of talent? Probably not.

 

LOL holyfield was a natural cruiserweight and maybe the best cruiserweight of all time who went onto win the heavyweight title, i think p4p he is up there with alot of people.:roll: