I really never give Joe any compliments because I just wanted him to lose. Every single Tactics I could muster for an opponent to beat this man . He always came up with something to nullify my solution. He problably the only person I can think of of having a multiple fighting techniques meaning he could totally switch up in blink of an eye in the ring. I am sure this guy was alittle bit of a psycho . You could see that by his eyes. Anyway have to admit he was a great fighter.
Perhaps although it says something that Froch tomorow will have a better resume than him tomorow in probably less than half the amount of fights. Thats obviously the major criticism of Calaghe. I see fighters with lots of will who are willing to walk thrugh Calaghe's punches would give him trouble. Glen Johson would always be a tough stylistic nightmare for Calzaghe. Imagine how a Carlos Monzon would deal with him, if were talking greats, as well. Scary Stuff
No, you're mixed up. An argument could be made that Froch has better names. (It's not an argument I'd buy, but a weak case could be made.) Resume includes names and wins. After tomorrow night, Carl will have two or three losses on his resume, including a loss to a worse Kessler than Calzaghe beat clearly. Taylor, AA, Dirrell, Pascal vs Kessler, Hopkins, Eubank and Lacy ?
Calzaghe let himself and his fans down by staying at home,and only deciding to travel in his twilight years in order to put some dollars in the bank. I'm not a fan,but credit where its due,nobody would have embarrassed him,and he'd be a handfull for any fighter at 168lb's.
Good point made about Kessler. I do think that Calzaghe is clearly a better fighter than Froch. Only trouble is those names you mentioned apart from Kessler all have massive question marks. Hopkins was old and it was a close fight against an old man and many thought he lost it anyway. People always point to what Hopkins has done since but if it wasn't for his age it wouldn't be that impressive. Pavlik is a poor fighter and he was out of his weight class, Pascal lost to Froch! and then Hopkins lost to Dawson... Eubank was old by the time they fought... Lacy was never a good fighter just an over rated American.
True but then Taylor was already Knocked out by a poor fighter Pavlik and was unproven at SMW. Pascal was unproven at super middle same with Arthur, Johnson is old and if he didnt fade could have won. Got a gift against unproven Dirrell lost against a faded one eyed Kessler and lost almost every round to Ward. Infact if he beats Bute he would be the first reigning champ Frotch has beaten.
I don't think Calzaghe had much Ring IQ, he was just very loose and very natural and very flexible - he went in without a Plan A, let alone a Plan B, C or D. He admits this. Adapting came naturally to him. Actually, he was a natural brawler and mauler more than anything.
He was always adaptable. A few fighters have troubled Joe early, but none really gave him much trouble late in a fight. He could adapt to his opponent's style.
It also must be said that he didn't adapt very well against Eubank, Reid, Woodhall, Brewer or Salem - he just kept wading in the same. He only ever really adapted in two of his last three fights out of 46.
Depends just what is mean by ring IQ. He was one of the most adaptable boxers ive seen in the ring in recent years, especially once the bones in his hands started to let him down. But before they did he wanted to go toe to toe even when it wasnt the best idea so maybe his ring smarts wernt so good.
I am one of the biggest ******* haters of Joe but this post makes alot of sense...:good I dont like most of his style but He had some very good talent on him... And that leads me why I hate him. He could have fought so much better opponents in his career, dared to be great fighting the best, win or lose. That is what is all about lads.:deal But Joe choosed to fight just absolute horrible opposition most of his career and holding that paper belt for almost decade...
add me to the list of all-time calzaghe haters but in all the crap i've written about joe, i never said he couldn't fight. joe could adapt in the ring but a lot of that had to do with punch output. if he ever got in trouble or if a fight was close, he just ended up outworking his opponent. joe had a higher gear he could go to but too bad this was mostly vs overmatched or once great/old opponents.
Ottke refused to fight Joe in Germany. Hopkins turned down a career high payday to fight Joe in Vegas in 2002. Jones moved up to HW by the time a fight between him and joe was feasible. So who should joe have fought? Remember, the likes of Tocker Pudwill was a replacement for Steve Collins