Forgive me if this is the wrong section to post this in, but I really don't value that many opinions of the general forum's posters. A couple of months ago I thought the light heavyweight division would be well on its way to identifying the best fighter in the division. Man was I wrong. Tarver vs. Woods: I was picking Tarver to win this one, I just didn't know he would do it so easily. Tarver is still a top 175 lber. Johnson vs. Dawson: Dawson showed heart and determination, but I still thought he lost to 39 year old Glenn Johnson. Dawson walked away with the belts, but so what? Johnson walked away with the credit, or so it should be seen that way. You'll still have those who regard Dawson as a champ. That brings me to one of my crazy ideas. I only regard one fighter as champ in each division. Everyone else is merely a contender. Roy Jones was once the man in the 175 lb division. Jones lost 2 out of 3 to Tarver, who lost to Hopkins. Hopkins was the man. The man not facing top light heavies and speaking of retirement. It only seemed like a matter of time before looking for his replacement or maybe a successor. Hopkins makes a defense against Calzaghe. Without even going back and scoring the fight again, I remember at least giving Hopkins rounds 1,2,4,10,and 11. When you count round 1 as a 2 point round for Hopkins, the aforementioned rounds are enough for Hopkins to hold onto his title. I know I gave Hopkins one other round, so I had him winning. Calzaghe says he wants to face Jones. All we need now is for Jones to win that fight, and the light heavyweight division can be thoroughly ****ed up. I have enjoyed watching this mess unfold, but still wish for a clearer picture. If Johnson were to face Hopkins, I would consider the winner to be the real champ in the division.
No need to apologise, i feel the same way about the general forum, the place is farcical most of the time. Ive been thinkin' this lately, what i thought to mysellf the other day was - us purists have been pissed off with the state of the game for a long time because of the alphabet bodies. Weve wanted 1 champ per division for ages so that boxing could be the way it used to be and how it should be. And now, thanks to the Ring, we somewhat have that, as the Ring title has more respect now than ever (outside of purist fan's circles) imo. And now we have guys sitting on their titles and defending against people who dont have the right for a title-shot within that weight divisision , like Mayweather and B-Hop. But isnt this what guys like Dempsey and others did for years? Guys who deserved shots never got their shot for years . What im saying is - weren't we asking for this?? I never saw it coming mysellf, very naive i was! Im not sure if im talking the exact same subject here, sorry if im not, but what do you think on this rekcutnevets?? I personaly think Dawson did beat Johnson by 2 points, and i scord for B-Hop against Calzage, but thats just me, Calzage is champ now.
Personally, I think Calzaghe should stay at Super middle a tad longer and fight undefeated IBF champ Lucien Bute. I know its probably not a highly demanded match, but at least Joe can chalk up another title, unify the belts, then maybe look at retiring undefeated and undesputed. I think at 36 years of age, Calzaghe is stretching himself at lightheavyweight.
I thought Calzaghe just won it but it wasnt a convincing performance against a 43 year old man,Joe is open when he throws his left hook and these days is more of an arm puncher ,a younger sharper Hopkins would have made him pay more dearly for this fault imo.Calzaghe v Pavlik could be entertaining but really Joe should be edging towards retirement imo,difficult to turn down those big purses I suppose.
I agree with most of what you're saying, but we also have to consider that Calzaghe is no spring chicken at 36 years of age, and this was his first fight ever at a weight class that Hopkins has been fighting at for some time. I concur that the close outcome leaves us with the indication that a prime Bernard may have beaten him, but I also don't see it as being quite that simple. As for Calzaghe's future, I do not think he should stay at lightheavyweight. This does not appear to be an ideal weight for him, and at his advanced age, his handicap will only be that much more amplified. He should look to have maybe one or two more paydays at either middleweight or super middleweight then hang em' up. Pavlik and Bute are probably the best choices that come to my mind. Beating an ancient Roy Jones or Tarver will do nothing for his legacy in the grand scheme of things, and if he manages to look unimpressive against one or both of them, it will only weaken his resume.
Light-heavy really is a wasteland. Ancient Tarver, ancient Johnson, mummified hopkins, old and fading Calzaghe, mediocre Dawson and so on.
