So who should Calzaghe have fought?

The argument has always been that Joe Calzaghe "ducked" so and so or never fought blah blah blah..... so given that he has always fought at SMW I thought I'd share something i've always argued with others. i.e why not take a look at who has held the other belts whilst he has held the WBO title (i.e since 1997) So here we go:


1996-10-12 1997-12-19 Robin Reid WBC
1997-12-19 1998-03-27 Thulani Malinga WBC
1998-03-27 1999-10-23 Richie Woodhall WBC
1999-10-23 2000-05-06 Markus Beyer WBC
2000-05-06 2000-09-01 Glenn Catley WBC
2000-09-01 2000-12-15 Dingaan Thobela WBC
2000-12-15 Relinquished Dave Hilton WBC
2001-07-10 2003-04-05 Eric Lucas WBC
2003-04-05 2004-06-05 Markus Beyer WBC
2004-06-05 2004-10-09 Cristian Sanavia WBC
2004-10-09 2006-10-14 Markus Beyer WBC
2006-10-14 2007-11-04 Mikkel Kessler WBC

1994-08-12 1999-06-12 Frankie Liles WBA
1999-06-12 2000-04-08 Byron Mitchell WBA
2000-04-08 2000-09-16-Vacated Bruno Girard WBA
2001-03-03 2003-03-15 Byron Mitchell WBA
2003-03-15 2004-03-27 - Retired Sven Ottke WBA
2003-09-03 2004-05-05 Anthony Mundine WBA
2004-05-05 2004-11-12 Manny Siaca WBA
2004-11-12 2007-11-04 Mikkel Kessler WBA

1997-06-21 1998-10-24 Charles Brewer IBF
1998-10-24 2004-03-27 - Retired Sven Ottke IBF
2004-10-02 2006-03-04 Jeff Lacy IBF
2006-03-04 2006-11-27 - Vacated Joe Calzaghe IBF
2007-03-03 2007-10-19 Alejandro Berrio IBF
2007-10-19 current Lucian Bute IBF

Calzaghe beat everyone of note on this list at some time or another and the rest dont appear to be people that would have raised his stock had he fought them.

So what then? it's his fault for not chasing RJJ whilst RJJ was fighting light heavyweight or even Ruiz at Heavyweight?! Same goes for Hopkins who was fighting at middleweight and never showed the inclination to step up until 2006 - and then at light heavy. Seems fighting Calazaghe at SMW was easy for both fighters to avoid and yet Calzaghe is the one who always gets slated for not having names on resume, or avoiding people.

Seems his crimes is being in a division devoid of big name americans and then "ducking" two fighters who never fought at SMW for the entire time he held his title!

Since I doubt he'd have made middleweight then i dont buy it that he ducked Hopkins. I just think Hopkins had no interest in coming up to SMW to fight him. (or dropped out/ doubled his demands when he had the chance...we'll never no the truth so i dont even care about this fight that never was)

The ONLY vaguely valid criticism is that he could have chased RJJ like a shamless hussy ....buti'd argue that as a reigning belt holder, like any fighter JC was not going to go into a fight negotiation feeling like the *****. In reality i doubt RJJ was interested in dropping back to SMW, and nor was there ever indication he'd have welcomed a fight at light heavy regardless of the terms. (Or did that particular "virtual bout" also pass me by?)

So....who can someone give me as a genuine big name who fought at SMW in the period 1997 to date that JC has "ducked" or that they would give him more credit had he fought?

(and for the sake of this descending down a rather obvious route i'm not interested in the Pavlik argument for the simple reason that a) i'd like to see Calzaghe fight him and am holding out for a "last" fight in Cardiff and b) if this really is his last fight then i can understand why he'd fight RJJ at this stage of his career. If a football club was playing it's last match it would want an exhibition against a legendary team like Real Madrid.)

 

Cheers!

i think what it boils down to is that neither Hopkins nor RJJ thought it was worth their while to fight JC at the time. if hopkins did double his demands i think it was because that would have made it worth is while!

i'll even be diplomatic and say that whether or not this happened i think the fact that neither fought JC was down to business more than fear. what i dont understand is why JC gets slated for it when the fact is was ultimately their lack of interest in fighting him that has created this whole debate.

as for the slapping...it's such a **** argument it barely deserves comment. but then the people who make those arguments are the same ones who think Pavlik (sound boxer who can bang) is actually the second coming i,e are incapable of rational thought

 

i agree completely. boxers like Calzaghe are few and far between. what i mean is in terms of boxing intelligence and ring craft. RJJ is another (and arguably an even more exceptional example) as is Hopkins but for very different reasons. all of them are in the later stages of their careers (well hopkins is in his dotage! only kidding!) but there dont seem to be any fighters coming through to take over their mantles. Pavlik for all his merits is not in the same class. very few boxers are - certainly around this weight division.

chances are Pavlik will do well but nothing suggests to me he has the talent of his predecessors. if no good fighters come through then in 10 years time do you think people will talk about how he beat Taylor (great fighter but lacked heart) and a washed up Hopkins (tbc) but has no big names on his resume :roll:

 

and there are a several quotes from the same links where he states his chasing Jones. so there isnt much point going down that route......

The fact is that boxers say all kinds of crap to feed their own hype.....

doesnt change the basic facts.

 

FOr example: from September 2000

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] "I am the best super-middleweight in the world and I am out to prove that I am the best fighter on the planet. If Jones disagrees, lets get it on," said Calzaghe on Tuesday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] The Welshman added: "Jones is supposed to be the best fighter in the world at the moment. A showdown between us has got to happen to prove who is the best." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] Jones, currently the undisputed light-heavyweight king and recently nominated Fighter of the Decade does not worry Calzaghe one bit. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] "I have no fear whatsoever of Jones, in fact, I would jump on the next plane to the States and defend my title against him in his own backyard if the opportunity arose. If Jones doesnt want to be embarrassed in his own country, he can come over here." [/FONT]