Is Joe Calzaghe REALLY an ATG?

i just finished reading his book but he couldnt manage to get the big popular fights until his frank warren contract ran out, he always mentions the glory instead of the money, quite a good read, hatton is unlucky and lucky he was drafted by frank lucky cos it got him his title and unlucky becuase it stopped him going for what he wanted, so i dnt blame hatton for the calzaghe-esque mindset, just think it was a path he was forced to take

 

Agreed. And also, Ottke got countless gift decisions, never fought outside his homecountry and does not have Calzaghe's longivity.

 

meh.

skirting around the 90-110 area.

dreadful matchmaking earlier in his career, be it joe, warren's or the opponents fault it doesn't matter now but he's the ultimate what if?.

RJJ would have butchered him although he'd have gone down swinging.
hopkins would always have been an eyesore of a fight.
he'd have outworked ottke imo.

great fighter, underrated in the skills department imo off the back of the hopkins fight. an undeniably tough man in the ring with enough in his arsenal to pose questions to the very best at 160-168. so-so CV. kessler and hopkins are great scalps. lacy is a meh fighter, but the hype and utter destruction in the ring bump it up a few levels. eubank is a quality win consdering his lack of exposure up until that point. a group of good ex champs but an incredible amount of shite and the holding onto the WBO for dear life rightfully hurt him. some of his defences were simply embarrasing.

the whole glen johnson saga was a sham on his part, especially considering glen was tailor made for him.

HOF certainty.
ATG, probably not.

 

absolutely he is an all time great. I think had he stuck around and beaten Jermain Taylor and then moved up and beaten Dawson that would have given him a much higher ranking, He beat two older guys in Hopkins and Jones and that was great since they are great, but then beating two younger guys would have proven that his wins over the two older guys were not because they were older. I give him a lot of credit. I think younger guys might have been tough for him since he was older, although if he fought guys when he was younger he wins. He is an ATG no matter what. He left the game when he could have had significant wins and proven even more. But ATG he is. Absolutely. You do not have so many title defenses if you are not great.

 

I havent made an ATG list but I reckon I would find it EXTREMELY difficult to place 100 fighters above him, so i voted 76-100.

All the people that can categorically state he isn't top 100 then post some lists, If u know he isnt top 100 then to produce 100 greater fighters then Cal should be nice and easy for you

 

Prime Calzaghe vs a prime Roy Jones would have been a classic fight.

But people who say Prime Jones would have easily beaten Calzaghe are kidding themselves.

Calzaghe was a machine. Incredible endurance, always raised his game as needed to beat his opponents.

It would have all in most probability have been a classic and very close fight, and it's a matter of opinion of course, but personally i would have Calzaghe coming out on top. Jones arguably had the edge on power. In terms of speed, regardless what some might say, there isn't much to chose between them. Calzaghe had the better stamina over twelve rounds, lands more punches, and even though it's clearly a bone of contention for some, let's face it, Joe also had the better chin.

But either way, let's just stop all this propaganda bull**** that Jones would have unquestionably won. There's very little evidence to back this up. The overwhelming evidence says both men were incredibly hard to beat in their prime, and in the case of Calzaghe, even more so.

So, stop the bull**** and deal with the truth.

 

you are putting to much emphasis on the 0 record. didnt michelchski or something retire an undefeated champ and around the same weight joe was in. do we consider him an ATG or even a hofer. calzaghe never fought an elite fighter in his prime. look at chris john 40-0 or julio cesar chavez jr whois 60-0 records dont mean **** if you dont fight no one.

 

No he is not an all time great.He was a good fighter but not a great one

 

Tell me the 99 people you put in front of him then please.

 

yes, he is top 100 ATG and the best 168 pounder

 

I like HOF but not an all time great category, i would place Calzaghe somewhere between 50-100.

 

HOF maybe, ATG no...