Jeff Lacy. The myth. And why Calzaghe is WAY short of being a legend.

wrong no atg with that name, atleast not the slappy figter I saw.

 

How do you look at it? I size them up comparatively based on skill, mindset, technicality, stamina. What do you base them on? Hyped names around AT THEIR TIME? :-(

 

Somewhere between 1 and 2. At the time, it seemed like Lacy would have been his toughest fight, so you have to give him credit for that, but in retrospect, it's probably only his fourth or fifth best win (#1 and #2 clearly being Kessler and Hopkins, in whatever order).

 

He IS one of the best super-middleweights of all-time but let's be honest... how many ppl actually stayed at super-mw? It was the short-stop between mw & light-heavyweight.

Also, just as cruiserweight isn't seen as all that prestigious between light-heavy & heavy... same goes for super-mw. Yes, it IS just another weight-class but it's never been laden with a plethora of greats.

Calzaghe was the best long-stay super-mw of his time.
Top 10 long-stay super-mw of all-time also, no doubt.

But is he an All-Time Great?
"undefeated" aside. Not really.

He doesn't make the t10 best of his OWN generation.... so explain to me how he makes the t100 of all-time?

There are good posts in another thread which I'd c/p when I'm a lil less busy.


oh and 'average' is a lil harsh. Good boxer. Very good. But "GREAT" is where I'd stop if we're not throwing that term around recklessly.

Be interesting to see how this calzaghe thread pans out.... -- o nvm, it won't be!... cuz it's becoming the same over & over again... rinse, wash, repeat.

seriously, move on, guys.

---

also, isn't it funny how as soon as he retires. within 12months, the super-mw division is stacked with a shitload of great challengers?

 

Folks, this is what happens when your ******* talks instead of your mouth.

 

Shutt yo ass up *****

 

You have a habit of getting on peoples tits.
I give you a week before your banned.

 

Calzaghe is nothing short than one of the best fighters of the last 25 years, bar none.

 

Lacy was never great, but Joe ruined him mentally and was never even close to the same as he was before

Again, not that he was ever anything special, but he was significantly worse after that fight because his confidence was shattered

I predicted Calzaghe to beat him easily because he is way too one dimensional to give Joe problems. Calzaghe, contrary to popular belief, did beat a lot of good opponents over the years, just because they weren't big names in the US doesn't mean they weren't good. He fought a lot of stiffs too, but his performances against Jones and Hopkins showed how good he was. People forget that Joe wasn't in his prime in either of those fights either. Jones has never been whitewashed like that by anyone, KO'd yes, shut out for the final 11 rounds no. And Joe managed to befuddle and frustrate Hopkins who has made a career out of doing just that to his opponents. Joe's win against Hopkins is sandwiched between two of Hopkins' best victories, so the people claiming Hopkins was shot when that fight happened are not being fair

 

If calzaghe was a true ATG no one would be arguing about it right? i mean no one would say ali or robinson werent ATG's

 

The only controversy you'll get is in your motives of making that statement, because it has no merit. Whether deserved or not, Calzaghe has been criticized this entire decade for playing it safe with opponents then coming off arrogant about fighters he wasn't fighting. This is why many people were hoping Lacy would decapitate him. All the **** Calzaghe has faced is the same as it was before he fought Lacy and anyone after.

 

It's pretty clear at this point that the only place in the world Calzaghe will ever be considered a great fighter en masse is in the UK. There's a reason for that, and it doesn't have anything to do with people disliking the guy.

 

True.

I remember Calzaghe getting quite a bit of criticism for his opposition leading up to the Lacy fight, with people suspecting Calzaghe would pull out (a hand injury delayed the Lacy fight).

Calzaghe just got more criticism after he became a bigger name since he was mentioned more, and also since he showed his talent in bigger events that people got frustrated with that they didn't get to see more if in his younger years, but the criticism was always there.

 

Is Toney an ATG? Few think so, many think not, but at least a lot of discussion.

Is Hopkins? A long but eventless reign at MW with only named opponents that were much smaller than himself. Then he beat Tarver which may be his biggest win (on the other hand Tarver was clearly on his way out as history has since shown) and then another smaller fighter came up to fight Hopkins. So basically smaller fighters is all he has except for Tarver (the C-actor) and Joe beat him when Joe was getting ready to retire.

 

We have a ridiculous amount of hypocrisy on this forum.

When Calzaghe was scheduled to fight Lacy, the general consensus was that Lacy would iron him out.

When Calzaghe destroyed Lacy over 12 rounds, the revisionists claimed Lacy was overrated and one-dimensional.

When Calzaghe dominated RJJ, the haters claimed RJJ was shot and that Calzaghe was taking advantage of an old man that he (Calzaghe) had said he would never fight because he was shot.

The haters also jumped on Calzaghe for showboating against RJJ.

Ever since RJJ dominated Lacy, we get nothing but "IS RJJ BACK?" and threads about how great RJJ is.

If Calzaghe gets little to no credit for beating an "overrated one-dimensional fighter" in Lacy (who had no losses, held the IBF and IBO SMW belts and was in his prime), how come RJJ is getting credit for beating (and showboating against) him 3 years later, with 2 losses to his name, a reconstructed shoulder, and no confidence.

Is it because RJJ is black and American? Can someone please be honest and answer these points?