my thoughts on joe calzaghe

couldn't agree more... in fact the reason as to why he never left wales is because he doesn't have the explosive style to be a ppv hit world wide. he's got a huge and loyal fan base in the UK, but to be a worldwide sensation you need knockout ability. not just knockouts but devastating performances... like pacquiao.

I would even rate the career of a lesser fighter like naseem hamed as better than calzaghe's. this guy was a knockout artist. brought excitement to sport. he stepped up to face a legend in marco antonio barrera and lost. but at least he was where the action was, and forcing the fights with the best out there. he fought a prime legend. there's no real shame in losing against a legend.

 

I'm American, and Calzaghe is my favorite fighter. I think that he's not given enough credit for his skill or for the quality of opponents he faced. More importantly, I agree that people who denigrate him and his resume do not hold other boxers to the same standards. Look at Hopkins, who has plenty of big names on his resume, but only fights guys who are considerably smaller than him or past their prime. Look at Jones, who fought absolute nobodies, and then began losing once he finally stepped up. These are great fighters, but because Joe isn't American he gets pushed to the side. Grow up, it's boxing, not international warfare.

Here's a basic analysis of Calzaghe's resume:

After he got a title in 1997, he fought mainly B and C level competition until 2006, though to be fair, the whole division at the time was B or C level compared to Calzaghe. What matters, though, is that he consistently beat them. A few of the better guys he beat during that time were:

Charles Brewer (lost SD to Ottke twice)
David Starie (beat Clinton Woods)
Byron Mitchell (lost SD to Ottke)
Omar Sheika (beat Glen Johnson)

After beating Lacy in 2006, Calzaghe took on Bika, Manfredo, and Kessler before moving up to light heavyweight.

Bika (Draw with Markus Beyer, currently ranked #5 SMW)
Manfredo (there was some sort of deal to fight Jermain Taylor after the fight.)
Kessler (Beat Mundine, Lucas, Beyer, and Andrade)

He's beaten Eubank, Hopkins, and Jones; legends, though they were all old. (Hopkins, as we've seen, isn't necessarily past his best. The Pavlik fight was sensational, and Hopkins is still in the RING top 5 p4p list.)

Everyone makes a big deal about Calzaghe not fighting the best in their primes, but here's why he didn't:

Collins, 1997--Collins pulls out, allowing Calzaghe and Eubank to fight for his vacated title.

Jones, 1997-2002--By the time Calzaghe even had a title, Jones was a light-heavyweight champ, with no intentions of fighting some random Welsh title-holder. Prime Calzaghe vs. prime Jones could never happen, as their primes came at different times. Besides, Jones didn't go after big-name fighters until 2002 (Clinton Woods). By 2004, he had lost to Johnson, which marked the end of his prime. Between 1997 and 2002, Jones had been defending his titles against nobodies, with no goal in sight. Calzaghe was struggling to unify his division and make a name for himself so that guys like Jones would fight him.

Ottke, 1998-2004--Calzaghe constantly chased Ottke for a unification, but Ottke was not interested. Look at their records; Calzaghe began fighting everyone who fought Ottke, in an effort to shame him into a fight.

Hopkins, 2002--Hopkins pulls out due to money issues.

Johnson, 2004--(at light-heavyweight) Canceled because of a Calzaghe back injury, Johnson declined rescheduling.

Johnson, 2006--Canceled due to a Calzaghe hand injury.

Pavlik, 2009--If Pavlik had defeated Hopkins, Calzaghe would definitely have fought him. But by the time Calzaghe beat Jones, Pavlik had already been schooled by Hopkins, taking away the legitimacy of a potential fight.

You can't put any of the blame on Calzaghe for who he didn't fight. Either uncontrollable circumstances got in the way, other fighters wanted no part of him, or both.

 

Calzaghe is one of the most polarizing fighters on ESB and the guy is retired FFS. It seems the lines are generally drawn along UK/ American sides, with some give and take from both sides. Personally, I think the guy gets bashed a bit too much by some but loved on a bit too much by others. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. He was a terrific fighter, who never lost, but never took on top competition(regardless of whose fault it may have been, theirs/his). While I think his resume has taken a hit recently (Kessler being dominated by a young Ward), I don't put any stock whatsoever in Jones. First, Jones was way past his prime when he fought JC, and even more so when he fought Green. If I'm not giving him substantial credit for the Jones win, I can't hold any subsequent Jones losses against his resume. The win over Hopkins is interesting because Hopkins went on to beat Pavlik...which was unexpected by most. While a split decision over a 43 yr old isn't generally something to wear as a badge of honor, he did come to the US to do it and did have to show some fortitude, get up off the canvas and win. The Kessler win was a good one for JC, and Lacy, although since proven to be overhyped, was a real good win at the time. His legacy will always remain incomplete to me, because we never had the opportunity to see him measured against the best. Who knows what would have happened if he had. Overall, I think Calzaghe's resume falls short of what would be needed to be considered an ATG, he is certainly an accomplished fighter with nothing to be ashamed of.

 

mate i'm aussie and i can't stand cal. i do give him respect for not losing but i'd much prefer to watch a myriad of other fighters ahead of this guy. a prime RJJ was simply a joy to watch. Seeing b-hop prove his critics wrong time and time again was inspirational. pacman's explosive power and devastating style was awesome.

I'd rate the following contemporary fighters as having better career than JC:

Pacquiao
Maywether
RJJ
B-hop
Eric Morales
Marco Antonio Barera
Miguel cotto
ODLH
shane Moseley
Tito Trinidad
Juan Manuel Marquez
Lennox Lewis
Mike Tyson

that's just off the top of my head, there are probably others. All these guys had magnificent careers fighting the big fights in vegas. i had not even seen cal fight before b-hop.

you want to be a great? well fight where the action is at - not at home all the time. that's why this bloke doesn't get the respect afforded to the above guys.

 

:good Well put!!

 

I agree. He had the potential to achieve so much more, but didn't and as a fan that frustrates me!! As for the three opponents you mentioned, I totally agree with you. Imo would have beat Pavlik and Johnson comfortably, Dawson would have been a tough fight and how about a re-match with B-hop? Joe said he had nothing to prove, he had already defeated Bernard but a re-match would have removed any doubt because I believe that Joe would have won the re-match! Had Calzaghe took any or all of those fights and won them it would have left his many critics with little or nothing to say regarding him!

 

Viet was a good match going in, he was huge and had an unbeaten record, I consider that a good win..it was unfortunate he had to beat him twice though.

Bika is a solid contender and could ttrouble most guys.

Mitchel was a 2 time world title holder and Brewer was a former IBF champ.

As for the rest, they were hopeless and underserving of title shots.