Nathan Cleverly, Modern day Joe Calzaghe?

What about Toney, Prime RJJ, Prime Eubank even...his early championship resume does have a long list of unknowns...

Anyone that retires with a perfect record does invite questions about the calibre of oponents he faced....

 

Too much of an age difference with Eubank. He was young and inexperienced when he fought past prime Eubank. Similar thing with Toney plus they were never really in the same division. Toney got big. Prime RJJ - Again never really in the same division, Calzaghe was too much of an unknown to get a fight with him on decent terms so it's only really worth doing if you are convinced you will definitely win which wasn't very likely. Not many people can beat a prime RJJ. Calzaghe also had injury problems which didn't help and was a high risk, low reward opponent for many which is probably why fighters skipped SMW and went straight to LHW

There weren't really any big names in his division. When guys did appear like Lacy and Kessler he fought them and he tried to fight Hopkins sooner.

 

What did Calzaghe step up too? He would of never fought a bogeyman like Kovalev. He ducked the big names all his career..What he did is fight the Krasniqis and Shawn Hawks of his era for 20 straight fights....Clev has the guts and belief in himself that Joe never had......

 

If Calzaghe fought Kovalev people would just call him some Russian cab driver hypejob who never fought anyone. Hopkins was a lot higher ranked p4p when Joe fought him than Kovalev is now. Lacy probably had a better resume than Kovalev and Kessler was more experienced and more proven than Kovalev and apart from Joe was rated the best guy in he division.

 

If Cleverly beat Kovalev he would of got all the praise in the world. Lacy was a hypejob , Kovalev is not....

 

Good post.:good

 

Exhibit A

 

Dawson , Traver and even Johnson were regarded better LHWs than Hopkins back then.

 

:good

 

When were the fights available? They were all different weight divisions, what he did do is beat the fighter that beat them, which is even better

 

You really have no idea atsch
Toney was a CW before Calzaghe won his first SMW title
Jones was a different weight division and they were going to fight before Jones changed his plan.
Calzaghe did beat Eubank, in his first world title fight, and why wasnt Eubank prime (he was only 31 when Calzaghe beat him, which is younger than Kessler when he lost to Ward) and if you feel he wasnt when was he going to have been able to fight him sooner.
Who are the unknowns you mention?

 

Cleverly isn't a slapper like Calzaghe. He doesn't seem to have much power though either.

Calzaghe was good. He is over rated though. He lost to an old Hopkins and got the controversial decision. He didn't really have any real opponents at 168. Kessler was above average, Lacy was way over rated. Calzaghe didn't have the stones to try and challenge himself. He ducked Glen Johnson two or three times, as soon as Johnson moves on, Calzaghe is suddenly healed and scheduled to fight some bum.

Calzaghe would have likely lasted longer against Kovalev though.

 

Calzaghe clearly beat Hopkins, lets not try and rewrite history to suit.
As for Johnson, you are not correct.
Calzaghe had to fight the winner of Johnson/Sheika and Johnson lost. Forget that?
Calzaghe was ringside agreeing to fight Johnson if he beat C Woods and guess what? Johnson lost again.
Lets not try and make out Calzaghe was worried about Johnson, he had his fight with Sheika delayed 3 times due to injury, delayed the Lacy fight due to injury and delayed his last fight with Jones due to injury.


They would have fought in 2004 if Johnson had waited instead of fighting Jones. Johnson told Dan Goosen to forget about Joe. Yet he came running back to Calzaghe when Joe became a superstar after whooping Lacy.

BBC Tuesday, 8 June, 2004

But Johnson is adamant Calzaghe has lost his chance, saying: "The fight is off. I'm not interested in fighting Joe Calzaghe any more.Johnson refused to wait for the fight to be rescheduled on 04,fact.

Calzaghe agreed to fight Johnson in September 06 on the condition that Johnson beat Woods in their 3rd fight. However Johnson lost and missed his chance. Calzaghe was ringside for this fight - some scared ducker hey. Why do people leave out this information when discussing this issue?

and I have a hard time believing Calzaghe would duck an old journeyman like Johnson to fight a younger, much more dangerous Mikkel Kessler!!! and yes Calzaghe WAS injury prone. he was notorious for hand problems.....Many of his fights including Lacy had to be rescheduled. He still ended up fighting them. He wanted to reschedule the Johnson fight but like i saidJ ohnson said he was "done" with Calzaghe.

everybody was beating johnson before he popped up on the hbo screen and knockout that HBO fighter jones jr

also not once throughout calzaghes SMW reign was johnson ranked in the ringmag SMW top 10

 

Johnson was supposed to fight Calzaghe in 2000. What happened? Johnson got beat by Shieka and Shieka got the shot at Calzaghe instead.

Johnson was supposed to fight Calzaghe in 2004. What happened? Calzaghe had a legitimate injury and asked for a postponement, for the fight to be rearranged for a later date, but Johnson declared that he would never have anything to do with Calzaghe ever again because he wanted to fight Roy Jones instead.

Johnson was supposed to fight Calzaghe in 2006/2007. What happened? With the fight all but signed and sealed Johnson only had to pass the final hurdle of his rubbermatch with Clinton Woods, but he lost.

So, the fact of the matter is, Johnson is far from blameless where the matter of responsibility for a fight between him and Calzaghe never happening is concerned.

 

Difference is Calslappy never stepped up.