The 17 of Calzaghe's Era Who Were Better Than Him- are there more or less??

Search for threads by Beatboxer. He did a resume comparison between Calzaghe & Hopkins & Bhops shaded it. Beatboxer is a big Calzaghe fan but has the ability to be objective. Unlike a certain other poster.

 

I didn't forget or ignore him - I'm a huge fan of him and his style. I just tend to skim read, it was an honest mistake.

He is definitely above Mary and Pac.

 

Of course. Many people don't pay attention to that division, so it really shows how good he was that he gets mentioned at all. A lot of it is in hindsight too, with the undefeated record, and the jr fly title got him more recognition.

His resume is close to Calzaghe's though.

 

I have already written on this thread why I think Hopkins's resume is better than Calzaghe's, so I am in agreement with Beatboxer.

I am objective, it is my sincere and considered opinion that Calzaghe is the 18th (maybe joint 17th with Tapia on reflection) best boxer of his era, if we take his era to span from the mid-1990s when he started boxing, til now. That still means I think he is way better than hundreds of other boxers I've watched in about 15 years. I think it proves that I am objectively assessing Calzaghe when I say I think he had the talent and ability to have made it into the top 10, but he never chased the big fights and beat the top opponents that would've propelled him into that elite. Look at his record. From 1997 til 2006 he beat a succession of indiscriminate challengers. He has only 3 wins of note, coming at the end of his career when he realized he had pissed away 9 years. When you compare that to the fights and the challenges the 17 guys I selected took on in their careers, I believe it proves the point.

 

I disagree entirely.

The Kessler win was great, that cannot be denied. A great win, not an amazing career-defining one, but still great. Kessler was relatively young, unbeaten, and dangerous. Calzaghe was superb that night.

Hopkins? You're having a laugh. If that 43-yr-old man had a shred of stamina left in his body he would've dominated that fight. He had Joe worked out alright, rendering Joe's windmill slap attacks completely ineffective. Whenever Hopkins had the energy to attack, he was by far the more powerful, more incisive fighter. It was a true win for quantity over quality. I think if Hopkins had been even 4 years younger (the shape he was in in 2004) and still had that crucial extra reserve of energy you would have at 39 compared to 43, he would've won the fight easily.

If he beats Pavlik, then yes, i think that would be sufficient to propel him into the top 10 of the era- but not before. And I doubt he's up for that fight.

The mention of Jones is where I draw the line. If he beats Jones, he should hang his head in shame for taking on a fight with a faded legend who was getting knocked out cold 4 years ago. Theres no honour in beating up an over-the-hill icon for money my friend.

And up there with Leonard and Hagler?? Sober up.

 

Hopefully not.

 

That list of champs means SMW was not exactly the strongest division over the last decade, but Joe didn't fight enough of them. But EVEN IF HE DIDN'T, here is a list of people in and around his weight throughout his time as champion he COULD'VE chased and at least tried to fight, but never ever did:

Steve Collins
Roy Jones Jr (don't say he is fighting him. This RJJ is nowhere anywhere near what he was 5-12 years ago)
Dariusz Michalczewski
Bernard Hopkins (until he was 43, that is. He was middleweight champion the whole time Joe was super-middle)
James Toney
Jermain Taylor
Antonio Tarver & Glen Johnson (both were hot property immediately after KO'ing RJJ)
Winky Wright (top 5 P4P at 1 stage)
Kelly Pavlik

Many of these guys fought each other.

There's 10 guys he could've fought 1997-2008, while instead he was taking on guys like BRANKO SOBOT, WILL McINTYRE, and EVANS ASHIRA from 1997 up til Lacy in 2006.

Not exactly Cal-Ducker, but definitely Cal-never went looking for the dangerous fights for a decade. Thank God guys like De La Hoya, Morales and Cotto never had the same attitude or we'd have had a decade of the top fighters boring their way through meaningless title defences to look back on.