Calzaghe got dropped by an almost 50 year old RJJ?

I think you underrate him a lot and the problems he posed opponents.

He had insane stamina, threw tons of shots from first bell to last, offering his opponent's very little respite (Charles Brewer said he was a very mentally draining puncher), great speed of hand and foot, threw ridiculously fast and unorthodox combinations that were nigh on impossible to read or prepare for, hit hard pre ****ed hands, was as light on his feet as featherweight with a great sense of distance and timing, very good athleticism and very fluid and coordinated in movement, could box at range or fight up close on the inside, a rock like chin in is prime and excellent powers of recovery, a huge heart and a fierce will to win, and despite his lack of muscles, he was also very physically strong (compare his physique to that of the vast majority of his opponents, most of whom were much more muscular and physically imposing than him and had obviously put a lot of time and effort into honing their physiques and improving their strength in the gym, whereas Joe was just naturally strong) and on top of all that he was a southpaw to boot. lol. He might not be as spectacular or as pleasing on the eye as a Roy Jones, but his combination of physical gifts and attributes combined to make a very potent and effective fighting machine, one that would've posed serious problems for anyone in or below his weight division at his best.

I really don't want to get into all this ATG crap. To be honest I find it all a bit pretentious. But, as I said before, he WAS a great fighter, not just merely very good. But let's not go there shall we. I've followed his entire career right from the early days and I've seen all the televised footage of his pro fights and a good 15-20 of his amateur ones too.

And it's nowhere near as ridiculous as you saying he was only PROBABLY good enough to win a medal at the Olympics.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that fighters who've tested positive for taking illegal PEDs don't deserve to be considered ATGs or inducted to the Hall of Fame either.

Blame Hopkins for that. At least Joe came to fight and, as per usual, try to put on the show for the fans (he even said beforehand that he hoped it would be an exciting fight for them), whereas Hopkins came to spoil and cheat and try to swindle his way to a decision.

I think many people (conveniently) overlook the role Hopkins' partner in crime Cortez played in that fight too. He allowed Hopkins get away with blue murder in there. He let him hold on like a limpet whenever Joe managed to track his backpedaling ass down and get himself into punching range, which is something that was very advantageous for Hopkins and very disadvantageous for Joe. Hopkins would've got hit way more had Cortez not allowed him to get away with that, just as hadn't allowed Hatton to get away with it against Floyd a few months earlier (he told Floyd to ''watch those elbows'' a thousand times but he didn't do **** about lol). He also let Hopkins lead with his head throughout the entire fight and land numerous vicious butts on Joe too, most of which he clearly saw (I know because I made a point of watching his facial expression change as Hopkins landed them). And let's not forget that it was Joe's FIRST fight at the new weight and his FIRST fight over in the US too.

What a lot of people don't realize about that fight is, had Calzaghe not conceded to all Hopkins' stipulations the fight never would of happened. Hopkins got to chose the weight the fight took place at. He flat out refused to fight Joe at a catch weight, which was odd as he didn't have a problem fighting Winky or Pavlik at one either side of facing Joe. He also refused to step on the scales for HBO's fight night weigh in too. He definitely looked like he had a good 10lbs on Joe come fight time.

Hopkins also got to choose the country the fight took place at too. Again, he'd flat out refused to fight Joe anywhere other than there, knowing full well that his task would be a hell of a lot easier if he had home advantage and an American referee in tow to pretend he couldn't see his flagrant cheating. I'm pretty sure he got to choose the venue too (apparently the air is thinner in Las Vegas, although don't quote me on that), which is something else that Joe would've had to adjust to too, whereas Hopkins knew exactly what to expect as he'd fought there (Vegas) nine time previously (I think). All these factors combined to make Joe's task a more difficult one and swing the balance in Hopkins' favour, and Hopkins knew full well in advance they would too.

You're comparing Taylor to Calzaghe? lol. Like I said, you greatly underrate Calzaghe and there's no point me wasting my time trying to convince you otherwise so let's just leave it at that.

Really? I thought they were bang on the money. He's of the opinion that athletes who take illegal PEDs and compete in a combat sports like boxing are reprehensible, whereas people like you don't seem to have a problem with it.

And he snorted a few lines of coke once he'd retired to help fill the void he found himself in after training like a lunatic for the best part of three decades. Big deal! (no pun intended). The only harm he was doing was to himself, whereas PED cheats who compete in combat sports increase the risk causing serious damage to their opponents, which is a pretty despicable thing to do in my eyes.

Don't really know why you posted that to honest? As you say, Joe was only three years into his reign at the time, and was coming off the back of a string of disappointing performances due to, as I've already explained in depth, being riddled with injuries for the previous two years.

Let's just leave it at that shall we. Like I said, you stick to your opinion and I'll stick to mine. I've been through all this countless times with people before and it's just a waste of time. :good

 

Yeah, it sure was. Ironically enough, the reason they wouldn't let anyone else wrap them for him (anyone else other than him or his father that is) was because he was worried that they might not do them properly and he'd end up injuring them. ''Properly'' in Enzo and Joe's world means the Calzaghe way. lol. I think that wrist injury he suffered in his teens had as huge effect on him and he though wrapping them his way would help protect it more. It must've been been absolutely devastating when the specialist told him that he wouldn't be able to box again, especially at that young age. One of his former opponents in the amateurs, a guy named Gareth Pugh, actually committed suicide because he was told the same. Apparently he had poor eyesight and it was diminishing to the point where he wouldn't have been able to pass the medical. That's what someone who used to know him I spoke to Youtube told me anyway.

To a certain extent, yes. However, I remember someone on here saying that he couldn't box before the deterioration of his hands forced him to adapt and change his style, which was utter shite. He was always a very good boxer. He used to box people's ears off in the amateurs, going right back to his junior days when he won all those school boy titles.