Not only was Joe an average fighter at best,he was a bad guy too. I mean a real low life and not in the tongue in cheek way that some guys are. Joe was an arrogant idiot. It's amazing though. He admitted to cherrypicking and admitted to only fighting for money yet his fans act as if he never said it. His autobiography is filled with it! Joe said his son was scared about the Roy Jones fight so Joe Said "Don't worry son,Jones isn't that good anymore."
I'm angry that Slappy Joe tricked all of you and I am angry that he disgraced my favorite sport. Frank ****** set Slappy Joe up real nice. Gave him all the cocaine and easy fights in the world! BERNARD HOPKINS + ROY JONES = COMBINED AGE OF 84 YEARS!! ROY JONES = BEYOND SHOT TO PIECES JOE COWARD-SLAPPY= WORST FIGHTER IN BOXING HISTORY HIS OPPOSITION WAS FAST FOOD WORKERS + OLD MEN Name ANY single PRIME fighter Calzaghe faced. His record is a joke, even worse than Ottke's ANY half decent fighter would beat the **** out of him, he knew it, so he avoided them all. UK FIGHTERS=****
There are a few standout reasons I like Calzaghe - He was a ballsy fighter, he was prepared to have a tare up with anybody, he never looked to hold, break up the action or run, he was all about putting it all on the line in the centre of the ring. - Real champions flourish in the face of adversity and this was Calzaghes biggest strength imo, when it really mattered, when he was staring defeat in the eye Calzaghe was always a fighter that found that extra gear, that could find a way to win. The 4 times Calzaghe got knocked down, he never tried to hold on or survive the round, he got straight back up and fought fire with fire, whenever Calzaghe had hand trouble in fights, he found a way to win. - adaptability is a huge facet of boxing and Calzaghe was one of those fighters with a high ring IQ who could work an opponent out during fights, changing from slugger in his early career to volume puncher on his later career after continous hand problems. He worked Kessler out mid-fight and adapted, he worked Hopkins out after 3 rounds, he worked how to get past Reid despite a ****ed up hand. Many fighters in history are found out in the ring when Plan A wasn't working and couldn't adapt to plan B. Maybe Calzaghe's outstanding amateur career as a 3 weight ABA champion stood in good stead with regards to this adaptability.
Some prime fighters Calzaghe faced: Kessler, Lacy, Sheika, Bika, Veit, Starie. Kessler generally considered a good world level super middleweight, Lacy, Bika and Sheika considered decent contender level fighters (though Lacy is now derided as a hypejob he was a decent contender level fighter), 2/3 years post-prime Eubank was still tough enough to go life and death with a world champion from two divisions higher in two fights so he was still "halfway decent", Hopkins is still beating world level fighters today, Reid, Woodhall, Mitchell and Brewer were "halfway decent" as well, Starie, Veit and Thornberry were dominant domestic level fighters. All of them lost and none of them "beat the ****" out of him. And he's not tricked me at all. I have said many times on this website that he was a money fighter who didn't challenge himself and was prepared to fight stiffs for the majority of his career just to ensure he got a big payday without taking major risks. Still, that doesn't change the fact that your coming across as the biggest butthurt Calzaghe hater here.
Calzaghe stands alone really. Trained from the start by a musician in some run down shack in Wales to become the GOAT super-middleweight and a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Blessed with the natural talent, and greatness achieved through hard work and clean living - unlike other boxers who cheated with steroids. There was never gonna be any blueprint. 46-0 forever.
Agreed. Sadly I think calzaghe would have became an even better boxer if he had been trained by a real boxing coach in a real gym. I like enzo he's a funny guy but he had 0 experience training boxers or even boxing in general. With calzaghe's natural athleticism, insane hand speed and limitless cardio he would have been a nightmare if his punching technique was sharpened up. Imagine manny steward getting calzaghe when he was 18? Omg.
Hi Joe, Going off topic, I noticed last week that you mentioned Bartley Gorman in a thread. I've been fascinated by him for over ten years now. I'm hoping Shane Meadows does his biopic soon. What do you know about him, and where did you get that great photo of him and John Fury? I've never seen that before. Thanks!
one of the most embarrassing posts of all-time. michael smyth must be the greatest fighter of all-time because he took joe to school here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm7qcmu7UvQ