Objective boxing fans: Do you see Greatness in Joe Calzaghe?

He's an all time great. Not as good as British fans make him out to be, and not as great as Hopkins or Jones Jr. But he's maybe De La Hoya, Barrera, Morales level great.

 

Calzaghe was incapable of throwing a legitimate scoring punch
nothing but a hype job Forget him

 

Pavlik would have knocked Calzaghe out if they could drag him in the ringatsch

 

He may not have had an amazing chin, but it was a solid B+ chin with an A+ recovery. His workrate was phenomenal (which isn't really all that remarkable if you consider how little power he put behind his slaps), his conditioning impeccable and he really worked angles well. He had questionable stoppages but also had his moments of brilliance (Lacy, Eubank)

I wouldn't rate him as an ATG, but he is a first ballot HOF for a reason.

 

Lol no he isn't.

Damn, some people DKSAB.

 

And you are one of them :happy

Tell me all about how you don't have time to follow "domestic level fighters" who are major belt holders and top 5 in their division like James DeGale! :happy

 

Wasn't that just a joke? Like wasn't it Froch that called DeGale 'just domestic level' so he could duck him as mandatory or something?

...and some fans ran with it for lulz. Am I remembering that wrong?

 

You're not wrong but it doesn't apply in this case. This was DirtyDan calling DeGale domestic level because he hadn't heard of anyone he'd fought besides Groves when he boxrec'd him. Incidentally he hadn't ever heard of DeGale either until he got matched up against Dirrell and so he picked Dre because he'd never heard of DeGale. Then he has the gall to accuse other people of not knowing anything about boxing. A+ boxing knowledge and logic at work :good

 

Pavlik was taken to school by a shot-to-pieces Hopkins. Calzaghe would have slapped him silly.

 

I think it should have been fairly well established by now that Hopkins was not shot to pieces in 2008...

In fact, I'd challenge anyone to find a better 5 fight stretch for B Hop than this in his entire career...

Taylor II - Should have been a W
Tarver - W
Winky - W
Calzaghe - L (no shame there of course)
Pavlik - W

 

He was looking old in all of those fights except against the sloth-like speed of Pavlik.

 

:think

He looked great in those fights. Zaggers will make any man look old. Even when Zaggers is old himself.

 

Yeah, Floyd still looks great too, but he still looks old and past prime.

 

Some fighters get better with age and wisdom. Lennox looked his age against Holy. At the same time he also looked as good as he ever had. Same with Hopkins against Pavlik. To say he was "shot to pieces" is beyond ridiculous.

 

He was great