Eubank vs Calzaghe 1997 revisted

Eubank was not in his prime but was certainly not a shell either.I went to the fight,it was the first big fight night i went to,Eubank put in a good show for the fans he took the fight at short notice,it was supposed to be Collins.Had Eubank had more time to prepare for Joe i think he would have won it.

 

This was the beginning of Joe beating up on once great fighters who were past their prime.

 

Eubank was past his best - but was still a good win for young Joe Calzaghe.

 

eubank had only lost to one man before calzaghe and they were in 2 very close fights with collins.

it wasn't a peak eubank but it was still a good version of eubank and by no means a shot eubank.

eubank went into that fight as the favourite so it was a very good win for calzaghe.

 

Yes he was clearly past his best coming off two pointless 10 rounder fights.

 

Joe fought less than 5 significant fights in his entire career. Way to lay it on the line!
Go do another line.

 

Its no problem beating up on faded fighters. Its a problem fighting two or three competitive fights in an entire career, Pac, Mayweather, Duran, Ray Leonard, and dozens of other champions accomplished more in 4-5 fight stretches than Joe did in over 40 fights.

 

Agreed, but I would say it was a good win. Splitting hairs.

He might not have been shot, but he was getting there. He lost 5 of his last 9 bouts. The Calzaghe fight was the 3rd of that group of 5, and Eubank never won another fight.

 

Eubank had been in semi-retirement for TWO YEARS before he fought Joe Calzaghe. He had had 2 fights in 2 years, both exhibitions against journeymen in far-flung parts of the world. He was no longer ranked by Ring magazine. After the Calzaghe fight, he didn't go up 1 weight class, he blew up 20 pounds to cruiserweight, missing out light-heavy completely.

Eubank was, as much as anyone else ever has been, well well past his prime. He may not have been shot because he still produced a gritty performance, but the circumstances clearly prove he was nowhere remotely even close to his best. For one thing, he was rustier than the Titanic, and that's before you even consider the weight issue and the short notice.

Anyone saying he wasn't past-prime is a ****ing joke.

 

You also didnt mention that he only lost in world title fights and his 2 last fights were at CW in world title fights losing closely first time and being TKOd by injury in his last fight when ahead on points against a world champ.
There was a time when G Johnson only won 2 fights in 9, if he had of retired then everyone would have said he was shot and he lost all those fights at the end of his career, but he is now one of the top LHWs, so I dont go with the he lost 5 of his last 9 when the only clear wins were the one Calzaghe scored and the TKO injury loss when ahead

 

I think it is safe to say Eubank was not in his prime. But the same could be said for Joe.

 

but not nearly to the same degree. neither jones nor hopkins were prime for their first fight but they were both close enough.

joe was pretty close to prime while eubank was a fair distance away from his

 

yes but eubank was very cometitive in all those fights, its not as though he folded like a lawn chair in them. collins, calzaghe and thompson are all good fighters as well.

 

If Glen Johnson had retired then, everyone would have had the right to say he was shot. Who could have argued, and on what grounds. But, the guy worked his way back to the upper echelon of his division(albeit a weak division atm), which is why he garners so much respect despite have so many losses on his ledger. It's quite unusual what he did.

As for Eubank, there may have been moral victories in being competitive in losses, and it may indicate he wasn't totally shot, but it seems he was well down the path to it.

 

What, losing by close decision 2 divisions higher after flooring a world champ and being TKOd due to injury in a return when ahead. VK lost to Lewis by injury TKO when ahead, the indicator of how shot someone is, is often measured by if the fighter is losing the majority of the fight, and in Eubanks case he wasnt