No he never because Hopkins turned the fight down in 2002. This has been mentioned a 1000 times by several posters. Why are you and the other Calzaghe haters finding it so difficult grasp? Go on youtube and watch the two press conferences for Calzaghe/Hopkins: London press conference - part 4 Las Vegas press conference , - also part 4, I think. Hopkins admits the fight tried to be made years previously, but is not sure whose fault it was for not taking place. In fact he sounds very desperate in his excuses. He tells us " it's all water under the bridge" and "the right time to fight is now." I think that if Calzaghe was to blame, Hopkins would take great pleasure in pointing that fact out. Don't you?
I hear yah brother, it makes me laugh when people say a prime Lewis would beat a prime Tyson ahahahah!!
Froch is only fighting the 'best' because of the Super-Six. Most of the other fighters have done the same. Also, Froch had to fight his last five opponents or he would have been penalised: Pascal was the WBC's next ranked contender. Taylor was his madatory The others were in the S6 and he had to fight them largely on Showtimes' terms. Do remember how Froch cried after losing to Kessler and threatened to quit the S6? I quarantee you, had he lost to AA he would have pulled out by now. For all Froch's so called greatness he is yet to beat a reigning champ. Arabrahm is the only prime fighter he's fought.
And tell me, did this involve Joe going to the States for the fight? Or did Hopkins have to come to the UK? Which is what I'm referring to. I'm not denying that Hopkins priced himself out, but can you blame him? He was, P4P, one of the best fighters in the world, and here he was being asked by a very-little regarded European to go to his backyard for a fight? The same thing happened with Roy Jones. What I'm saying is, that in order to make that step to real greatness, one must commit themselves to the US at the right time. Hatton did it in his quest to beat May and Pac, Lennox did it when he beat countless top HWs, Froch did it in his first WBC defence, and Khans doing it now in his bid to unify a talented division. The onus has always been on the lesser-known fighter to go to the world-stage, not force the world-stage to him.
Haye is not elite imo. I would say Oscar Dela Hoya without a doubt. Floyd Mayweather is the root cause of most of his problems, infact accepts it, provided you buy a ticket, he apparently says he doesn't care.
I dont think Calzaghe does get disrespected that much when you consider all the variables. If Calzaghe had! the career many thought he should of done to attain the status he has now, and was still getting **** on, then! there would probably be a case to answer for imo. Fact is, Joe's unbeaten record, questionable resume in some peoples eyes, leaves so much room for interpretation, that he either gets vastly underrated, or vastly overrated, so I'd say those opinions plateu somewhere in the middle, that Joe has done allright for himself in terms of reputation based on the resume he has, cause when push comes to shove, no matter your opinion, its hard to argue against an undefeated record, therefore I would say overall, he is rated higher because of who he did not fight, rather than who he did. As I've said before, some fighters appear greater than they are because what they did'nt do, who they did'nt fight, Calzaghe is a case in point imo. If the guy has never lost, its hard to reference fights that he has lost, fights that you could use to marginalize his record, which is what some like to do to with great fighters who have losses, despite the fact they have losses cause they took on the best (Mosley) When you look at Mosley's career, you get a true reflection of the fighters level, his capabilities, cause he simply fought the best, irrespective of style disadvantages. Can we say Joe Calzaghe, Floyd Mayweather, Marciano's record are a true reflection of them as fighters? Were they that! much better than all there other fighters who couldn't stay unbeaten, or is there more to it? Dont you find it ironic though? the aforementioned were all undefeated, yet all have a ? about who they fought, who they did'nt fight.
IMO Mosley gets too much respect, the dude has been caught a number of times using steriods, his resume has to be questioned as you don't know when he was on it and when he wasn't!!
Thats fair I guess. If he had not taken roids though, you take the general point I was making though? maybe I should of referenced another fighter, but....
Haye wasnt the unified champion. He didnt fight Steve Cunningham who was bigger treate than Mormexk or Macca. Who gets the most undeserved crap? I think its Calzaghe.
The Hopkins fight would have been in the US as Showtime were itching to get Joe to the States. Believe it or not, I think Frank and Joe felt it was the perfect opportunity. Also, Joe intended to fight Charles Brewer IN AMERICA, 2002, but Showtime could not facilitate the broadcast. According to an article at the BBC all their equipment was being used to cover the Winter Olympics. That would have been a good oppertunity to fight in the US. Brewer was a tough foe and the experience would have given Joe the hunger to fight in America more often. As for Froch and Khan. Taylor was Froch's mandatory but would only fight him in the US. But fair play to Froch for travelling to fight a marquee name. Unfortunately, Joe never had a 'big-name' as his mandatory - cue: remarks about WBO belt. Due to his olympic success Khan was a superstar at an early age. His head was turned by the bright lights of stardom very quicky. But for me the main reason was him working with an American trainer in LA. He trained in America before his last 4 UK fights and this would have taken away the fear of fighting their. Khan would have certainly devolped a desire to fight there because of this. Also Freddy would have encouraged Khan to switch to Golden Boy and fight in the States. So I think that Calzaghe was unlucky in many ways as he never had the same opportunities & good fortune as others. But I do agree he could have made more effort to create more opportunities for himself. For me Joe should have had 5/6 more fights. If he had done so, 2/3 would have been in the US against the likes of Dawson.
Shouldn't disrespect any professional fighter unless you're willing to lace them up and do it yourself. They put their physical well-being on the line every time they fight. Ok to be fans, and even dislike certain attitudes/personalities of these fighters. But you should ALWAYS respect them. Just in my opinion. That being said: Mayweather gets disrespected the most. The names people call him are completely unnecessary and childish. A professional fighter should never be called a "coward, *****, etc." by some jackass sitting on the couch. Total bull****. If he's such a ***** and a coward, go lace them up, find him in Vegas, talk your ****, and get in the ring for some competitive sparring. Otherwise you should shut the **** up.