Should Calzaghe ever be forgiven or excused for 2001-2006?

I agree I think the fight was stopped to early but I think JC would have won anyway because Byron was becoming sloppy and JC was starting to respect his power.

 

Where are all the Calzaghe fans to defend their Welsh Wizard? They must be sleeping.

 

Between 01-05.

Except for Beyer and Johnson

WHO?

 

Good post, and fair. B-Hops sure as hell didn't have somebody (relatively close by) in the same division making a run for top # of defenses at the same time as himself. He gets **** over the smaller guys but he is the only fighter to ever assemble ALL 4 major belts at once (Taylor held them to be the 2nd man, but that was by default of beating the MAN).

 

He wasted a lot of his prime which was sad, but in his weightclass there wasn't much out there and a lot of people ducked him even though his detractors claim otherwise

They did everything they could to fight Ottke, whose ass he would have kicked, and Hopkins nixed a fight by demanding a 100% pay increase at the last minute

Some of the blame ultimately lies on Calzaghe but I blame it more on Frank Warren, Joe's injuries, and the lack of willingness to fight him. Again Calzaghe haters won't admit this but a lot of American and mainland Euro guys were afraid of getting embarassed by a Euro who wasn't that well known outside the UK

 

You may be right in SMW, but like the other top fighters, you got to leave your weight division sometimes to get the big dogs. Win or lose, you usually get respect for that anyways. I mean my boy Pavlik against an ATG jumped 2 divisions only to get the **** stomped out of him, but he can't ever be said he didn't try.

 

God himself wouldnt make a fight in Germany against Ottke after the Reid fight.

Calzaghe and team made it clear they would fight him anywhere else(Not UK).

How is that, being fair, his fault.

The're were a few names known in the States that would have brought Calzaghe to attention, but no-more dangerous than the SMW's he faced, and he would get less money. Sound Familiar?


Most of the problems derives from his division being EUro dominated, like HW and MW is today. No-one in the States gives a ****, which equals no money. Sad but true.

 

Beyer is crap but he could have fought Otkke, Johnson, RJJ, BHOP, DM and Tarver but in his own mind he thought that accumulating numerous WBO defencese would be better for his legacy.

 

I agree with you bud on the leaving division.

But he cant get Roy or Hop in this time frame. So again, Who?.

Tarver or Johnson?

Does that make him suddenly beyond criticisim? Only if you think either beats him, and if you do, then it's not a Boxing question you are asking, but a popularity question. And Calzaghe will lose

 

:rofl I would love to see the look on Calzaghe face if he had got jobed in Germany by Otkke. Priceless!

 

Why do you say he could not get BHOP or RJJ between 01 and 05? Obviously he or someone else has to fight at a differnt weight but there is only one division between them.

 

What ? Calzaghe move up in division and face a prime fighter ??? noooo...... that means stopping killing himself to fight bums (not including Kessler) at a weight he was too big for.

 

There was a fight on the table between him and Hopkins that was all but agreed to and during the final stages of negotiations Hopkins suddenly demanded double the purse he had already agreed to, and it killed the fight

Jones never would've fought Calzaghe. He never took any risks unless it guaranteed him a huge payday, and unless the fight took place in the UK, Jones could make just as much beating up Ricky Frazier as he could fighting Calzaghe

The thing problem is that a lot of Americans expect international fighters to swallow their pride and come fight in the US for peanuts compared to what they make at home, yet they defend American boxers for not going to Europe even for proposed career high paydays. There are a lot of economic issues, and the pride attached to those issues can't be ignored

 

Calzaghe must be distraught at Kessler's inactivity. Through no fault of his own, that win is becoming less and less meaningful. And it was a quality win. But, if Kessler doesn't fight anyone after and had only a couple truly quality wins prior, that win really doesn't stack up over time.

 

I like JC but come on man...hopkis didn't have to travel the dude fought everyone there is to fight and won most fights...i think JC was promoted bad but he is a great champion...he showed that a few times since 2006...let it go