Rate Joe Calzaghe's career

Well saying it is not much of an achievement would be a bit hard on him eh? Winning golden gloves is a hell of an achievement for example come on now. Being the most dominant 168 pounder ever is a MONSTER achievement, even if it is only 21 years old. For the next 21 years people will gauge how good a super middle is by comparing them to Calzaghe.
i also think he could have success with a lot of the ATG LT. Heavies, to me he actually looked better at 175.

 

Agreed, that's why I didn't use the organization's rankings to determine that. Here's the list of fighters who were considered top 10 at the time Calzaghe fought them:

Eubank, Mitchell, Kessler, Lacy, Sheika, Manfredo (borderline, I wouldn't argue if he were excluded but he was in the Ring's top 10 for the final 2006 rankings), Bika, Hopkins, Brewer, Woodhall, Jones, and Reid. That's an even dozen, and a few more (Starie, Veit) would've fit between 10-20 at the time they fought.

I'll gladly admit that he's in no way got the resume of the decade or anything of that sort, but I like to play devil's advocate on the topic because I think his resume is better than some would have people believe. It's not spectacular, but it's hardly bad.

 

Better than any current american........

 

To say he's "average" is just plain ignorant.

But for a guy with so many fights and so many title defences over a long career,,, his resume just plain SUCKS ASS!!!

Lacy was a complete one dimentional hype job... = great performance by Joe, but not a significant win by any stretch.

Hopkins (regardless of what he did to Pavlik) was 43 yrs old!!! and fought most of his career down at 160. And still made it close... and if he faught the way he did vs Pavlik he might well have beaten Joe that night. Joe managed to get the SD win, but looked like shite doing it... = not a great victory.

Jones was about 25% of his prime self by then, and still managed to put Joe on his ass, and go the distance... = zero credit for that win what-so-ever.

So who's left? Kessler... That was an impressive win for sure... but MK is still unproven vs elite competition... = so even that win can't be seen as all that huge a deal at this point.

Where's the BIG wins on this guy's resume???

 

He didn't avoid tough fights, I see it that not many people wanted a piece of Calzaghe until he beat Lacy. Under Frank Warren it's not easy to get BIG fights and fighters from America AVOIDED him.

And as for "average fighter" what the **** have those people been smoking, so going 46-0 and a champion for over 10 years beating everyone he faced, and winning world titles and unifying in different weight classes is average then I'd like to see what makes a "good fighter"

It's a shame his hands were brittle because he was a banger before he started getting hand injuries and combined with his speed he would have easily knocked out the likes of Lacy/Jones Jnr possibly even Kessler.

 

Dawson would win that fight!

 

Pretty good fighter. Not supremely talented. Decent speed, agility, and heart. Okay chin. Never had to face any real adversity and was the beneficiary of favorable conditions in nearly every fight. Extremely overrated by his fans most particularly on ESB. In the recent era, stands at the very back of the line of the best from 160-175. If he had been thrown into the fire and had to fight real good fighters in their prime he would never gotten to this point without a half dozen losses and a much shorter career in all likelihood (favorable schedule worked to his advantage and allowed for his longevity). Not nearly as skilled, talented, and athletic as the ATGs. But, he did what few others have (gone undefeated) and that counts for something. Probably top 10-20 from the UK all time but I might place him even higher (bottom 10 .. maybe .. real maybe) for plying his trade in an integrated era as opposed to some of the highly considered UK fighters of much earlier eras who really only fought other white fighters (exclusively). Don't really give a **** about his personality. It is too bad he didn't make a legitimate stand at LHW (just like BHOP really hasn't - due to his age) to prove the depth of his perceived merit or disprove his abundant doubters/disbelievers. But, that fits his career MO and isn't a surprise. Never believed he would step up and fight a young man like Chad Dawson and always believed that GJ had become a better LHW than SMW and Joe never wanted any part of his toughness. Same thing for not rematching ancient BHOP (when many would be willing to promote and watch such fighters with legacy go at it again before leaving the scene forever). Later Joe, don't come back.

 

Dawson has a shakier chin than Calzaghe and less ring smarts to go with it, and Joes handspeed is better than Dawsons, not to say general ring dictatorship and adaptability, besides it's pretty much agreed that Dawson got a joke decision against Glen Johnson.

Every American fan always claims whoever Joe is facing will lose ever since he busted up Lacy, they hyped up Kessler, then got behind Hopkins then even said Roy Jones would do the same.

Will they ever learn?

 

Prime for prime he UDs 1 guy in your avater & KOs the other guy.

As a fan of Calzaghe, I wish he had cracked America sooner, some big fights fell thru that were not his fault, like the Hopkins one.

I think Jones might outpoint JC in their primes but he would have been tested like no other before tested him, Id always fancy Joe to beat Hopkins at any stage tho it would always be close, he is definitely a fighter of the highest quality tho the coming to America very late thing will always be held against him by some.... there is truth to this but guys that dont like him act like Joe has just raped their gran when discussing his early career.

ATG fighter that, like most fighters, could have added to his legacy but should still be happy, very happy with his lifes achievements.

:good

 

Great fighter ... one of the best european fighters ever ...

retired undefeated ... former undisputed/recognized/ring magazine/linear super middleweight champion. Arguable the best super middleweight in that division's history.

I say that he's an all-time great ... he's top 100 for sure among a long list of great champions.

 

Why you ask, you have a thing for Native Americans?

 

Joe Calzaghe held a record number of championship defenses in his division and successfully moved up to lightheavyweight thereafter. He is definitely a great fighter and deservedly so.

However I still do not think he beat Bernard Hopkins.

 

hmmm well ottke got to mitchell first and got a bit of a dodgy decision if i remember correctly and then ottke had 2 belts Ottke didn't want to fight Joe atall, and Joe called him out after every fight.

WBC, Joe beat Woodall and Reid just after they lost it but everyone kept losing after about 1 or 2 fights so they never really had a chance to unify, everyone wanted a few fights before unification. None of them were really too good until Kessler got the belt anyway.

I agree he didn't fight the best all the time and didn't get the belts quick enough but he was a class fighter who could adapt to anything and left it all in the ring.