Calzaghe or Hamed - who has the better legacy?

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After Benn and Eubank faded from the scene, Hamed was the biggest and most popular name in British boxing. From about '95/96 up until retirement he was the main man.

It is true that most Americans will only remeber him for losing to Barrera, but that says less about him and more about them. If that is how someone views Hamed than they are nothing more than casual fans of the sport.

I avoid talking about the prison sentence, it has nothing to do with boxing, and there are plenty of boxers who have done a lot worse things or at least things that are comprable. I'm not going to see that guy is a great human being or law abiding citizen, but we all make mistakes and he has paid his debt to society.

 

You misunderstood what I wrote. My point was; if you have only seen one Hamed fight (I.e the Barrera fight) and your opinions of his career and his skills are based solely on that one fight, then that is a very flawed way in which to form an opinion.

 

I understand the perspective on Hamed/Ingle. I personally just think that the love of the sport, the desire to compete, drained away fairly quickly after the Kevin Kelley fight. Even if Ingle had stuck around longer, I doubt that would have changed the mentality or approach of Hamed; who had cleaned out the division, was super famous, and had loads of money - he was just done, he had had enough. I also don't buy something which you hinted at, the "it's a shame" mentality with regards to Naz; he had a great career, loved by a lot of people, good legacy and a place in history. I think there are a few "what if's" but not many "it's a shame", if you get what I'm saying. :yep

 

I think when you talk about legacy, you also have to also talk about fame and popularity and impact on the sport. In those three areas, Hamed is miles ahead of Calzaghe, who is only mildly popular amongst boxing fans, and barely known outside of those circles. Compare that with Hamed, in the late 1990's, who was known by everyone, even people who had never watched a boxing match in their lives. News of Hamed's fights were broadcast all over the world, he was HUGE in Japan for example.

 

Calzaghe's "two victories over American legends" are such a sham. Ok, he got the win over Hopkins, but it was hardly a good performance or a convincing victory (for either man, in fact). And Jones was shot five years ago, it was so blatantly obvious that Roy's reflexes were absolutely dead, his stamina was horrible, the win means little in my book. Calzaghe's wins over Jones and Hopkins, look good in the record books, but they aren't representative of his career as a whole. And the Jones Jr. fight does NOTHING for Calzaghe's legacy, except perhaps damage it by exposing Calzaghe as a cynical fraud.