Sir Joe Calzaghe: All Time Great The Italian Dragon Of Hammersmith The Pride Of Wales

its consistent to say that fighters who have made their name in the US, get career-defining fights
and it's also consistent to say that frank war+en stalls the career of all his fighters once they have a belt

i've never criticized calzaghe's ability, only his willingness to test it
the Hopkins win is definitely points in calzaghe's corner, but the fact remains that calzaghe spent years calling out both jones and Hopkins, but never did anything to make those fights until they were both past prime and dethroned by younger challengers who were willing to stand up
calzaghe's always been an excellent fighter, but choosing to stay away from the US until the best fighters of his era were there for the taking (as he saw it) doesn't make him a great fighter

 

This sums up Joe Perfectly

 

Yes, I agree with you, and I can appreciate that it's not easy.

But Joe was the only Brit in many years, who never travelled to the U.S. when he was younger. By the time he went, he was 35.

But in the end he had a great career, and he retired with respect and recognition.

 

What exactly do you love about that?

That is one of the reasons he gets bashed on here.

There is nothing great about that clip.

Showboating against a near 40 year old fighter, who he would NEVER have fought while he was anywhere near his prime.

It was a an absolute joke mate.


He was asked about a potential fight with Tarver.

His reply was "I don't rate Tarver. He's done nothing apart from beat faded versions of Roy Jones."

Tarver beat Roy three and four years earlier than Joe.


He then wrote in his own autobiography that a fight with Roy would be pointless.


Then in Feb/March 2008, he was interviewed on Setanta Sports. The video is on YouTube. He laughed that Roy was past his best, and said he'd be disappointed if Roy was to be his last fight.


Also, in 2003, he said he thought he could give Roy a good fight, but he'd have to be paid 'The Crown Jewels' because of the element of risk involved.


I don't care what anybody says. I know that not only would Joe not have dared to have done such a thing to an earlier version of Roy, he wouldn't have fought him in the first place.


Now if you take into consideration everything what I've wrote, which is all true and can be backed up, then you'll see that Joe's actions were an absolute joke.


It would have been like Larry Holmes mocking Ali with a shuffle etc.


Joe was a great fighter.

But he never dared to be an ATG, and his ego was so huge, he could never have handled a defeat.

 

how many do you want me to name?

 

yes jermains win was better than calzaghes win over Kessler.

not sure calzagheswin over 43 year old bhop was better though.

 

you mean he never beat a good fighter in their prime.

in which case you'd be wrong, he did beat Kessler in his last ever smw defence before quitting. took 11 years for him to make such a defence but he did it.

plus theres Bika, hes pretty good if somewhat basic, he was definitely a good contender.

but apart from that nothing else in 10 years as champ, yep. it'd be churlish to add reid since many think joe lost that, I cant see it as more than a draw.

 

I rate Hopkins at 43 as better than any version of Kessler though.
Kessler was a fairly predictable fighter, whereas Hopkins was a very intelligent fighter and more skillful

 

This thread is still going?!
I'll close it out: Joe Calzaghe is the greatest fighter since ALi, maybe Robinson.

End Thread.

 

hard to be objective when you're british and raised on him

 

yeah true Kessler was 1D (though tough as nails and brave with fast come forward hands) but you know I think Hopkins was just beatable if you had the tank but not the skills, like joe did.

whereas Kessler, joe couldn't beat him just with a tank, joe needed to rely on Kessler being injured before being able to edge him out.


still, credit to joe for making 2 or 3 good defences over 10 years, and bad show for him to do over a dozen fake ones too.

 

I don't think you really believe that
gotta give credit where credit's due. nobody ever looked good against Hopkins, but calzaghe managed to eek out a decision against what was still a dangerous version

 

:thumbsup Loved Joe's "hopkins hump" on the break.

BTW, HoldMyBeer...yer beer is getting warm! I had it since yesterday afternoon:yikes

 

having one now actually, which is rare for me
i'm a full-time cardio machine normally, but when i feel like i'm peaking at the gym, i just drop my routine for 2-3 days, grab some beers and do no exercise whatsoever
after that, i can't wait to get back into it.
great way to avoid burn-out (works for me anyway) :good