Who achieved the most on their American adventure?

Hamed and close behind him Benn.

Calzaghe only had 2 fights so that rules him out and Hatton doesn't have any big wins.

 

So what makes Hameds list of "B class" fighters better than Calzaghes amazing win against the 42 year old Hopkins who was 2-2 in his last 4 fights going into the bout?

Barkley was that "****ed" he went on to win 2 world titles after Benn beat him, Urango is that "B class" he's the current 140lb title holder and only has the Hatton loss on his record.

 

Hamed's list of B class opposition was a lot better in that they were more proven and experienced operators than guys like Malignaggi, and Urango who has fought literally nobody of note at the time, and even now has only fought Ngoudjo. When your best win is Herman Ngoudjo something is up. You might want to consider that before thinking its ridiculous to call him B class. Not everybody that holds a paper title is an A class fighter.

I don't think the "losses" to Taylor really reflected badly on Hopkins because of the nature of those fights, and the fact he was 2-0 in the fights leading up to Calzaghe, looking even better as he stepped up.

 

Agree. Beating a shot Roy Jones and getting a SD over B-Hop is pretty patchy work. Calzaghe seems to be getting credit for dubious achivements again. I would have Benn and Hatton ahead of Calzaghe in this context, better body of work overall.

 

I wouldn't exactly call beating a great fighter on foreign soil a dubious achievement.

Calzaghe is the only fighter on the list to even beat a great fighter and not get completely embarrassed at that standard.

 

Calzaghe's win over B-Hop is the best of all of the Brit wins in America.

 

I think elevating Calzaghe above Benn in this context would be based on dubious and limited achivements, rather than a consistent body of credible work.

You know how I feel about the Hopkins win, very impressive in some ways. In others not so much. Beating Jones is almost, but not quite, meaningless. What class is Jones these days... somewhere above Anthony Hanshaw and below Clinton Woods?

Having said that, Hatton's work over there has been underwhelming to say the least, so I've reconsidered and Calzaghe does take 3rd spot for me.

 

In my book the vast majority of boxers who operate in world class over the course of a number of years are a damn site better than "B-Class" fighters.

They are genuine world class operators, Hamed, Benn and Hatton all have multiple wins over this type of of oppostion, title wins and title defences, while Calzaghe has one split decision over an old Hopkins (who was looking better in his last 2 fights because one of them was against a light middleweight!!!)

Even if you give Calzaghe massive credit for Hopkins theres no way it can be better than Hatton and Benns list but not better than Hameds. Theres just no reasonable distinction to be made that can cause Calaghes win to place him below Hamed but above Benn and Hatton.

Putting Calzaghe first is wrong but, unlike putting him 2nd, at least it's a arguable position.

 

No, Lennox beating Holyfield is.

 

Yeah and they had the dodgy Island green golf challenge, were they'd give you a £100 if you got a hole in one, with their shitty club and ball.

I still hate that place.

 

There would be nowhere near this kind of recognition for Calzaghe's victory over Hopkins if Hopkins had not fought Pavlik. I remember before the fight that everyone was saying that it was a joke that Calzaghe was even fighting Hopkins and that it would be a very convincing UD or late stoppage victory for Calzaghe, so a SD would not be looked on as very good at all if Hopkins had not proven that he still has it at the highest level.

 

benn fought in the harder era

 

Looking better is the wrong way of putting it anyway. The fact is only 3 guys have done anything with Hopkins since his first fight and two had to settle for close decisions. It could easily be argued Taylor was simply a bogeyman, and that would probably add up since any old aggressive fighter seems to be able to beat him. Counterpunching an athletic guy is difficult, and even so I thought Calzaghe's win was far more clear than Taylor's.

Urango and co are B class at world level. They aren't A level because they are not in the calibre of a Hopkins, a Calzaghe, a Marquez...the list could go on and on. I would even argue these guys are some of the poorer world champions across the weight divisions too. If you want to put them at A class thats your call. There is a clear distinction between classes of fighters even at world class, holding a paper title does not grant you that status particularly when your best win is N'dou and Ngoudjo.

Hamed's competition are proven and experienced, that is key. They aren't great fighters but they are least proven. Urango and Collazo etc have really yet to beat anybody convincing to me so there is a clear distinction between them. I wouldn't put them all in the same class as you would. I have to recognise Calzaghe's is only one win and Hamed has a few going for him.

 

True. But in this instance Calzaghe deserves the recognition.

 

As for Jones, there ain't much indication he's worse than Clinton Woods. It's debateable either way and might make sense at this point.