Why did HOPHINS duck Calzaghe?

You can't really blame Hopkins, Hophins is a beast!

 

To say Calzaghe ducked any of the mention is wrong. Calzaghe did pull out with injury before facing Johnson more than once, but lets get it right, Calzaghe pulled out 3 times against Sheika before facing him, and look what happend, he was hardly avoiding him. Calzaghe also pulled out before facing Lacy, and once again look how it went.
Calzaghe was ringside with an interest in meeting Johnson, when Johnson was fighting Woods for the 3rd time, and guess what Johnson lost once again in his career, so why would Calzaghe then go and challenge the beaten fighter? Johnson got beat and lost his chance. The same Johnson who lost to Sheika that Calzaghe beat.
Woods was interested in facing Calzaghe, but Calzaghe never showed much interest, which in truth was probably a good thing, as who would have picked Woods to win? Not me. Still, why would Calzaghe be interested in Woods, who lost most of the big ones and wasnt that great, when Calzaghe could be beating Kessler and then fighting Hopkins. This is Woods who lost to Starie, who Calzaghe beat.
Calzaghe never refused to fight Ottke, it was Ottke who didnt want to know, Ottkes trainer even said Ottke didnt want to know.

Even if Calzaghe wasnt a big fight back then, Hopkins would have got more money for fighting him, than what he fought for at that time, and im sure Calzaghe was a bigger name than say M Hakkar.
Hopkins wasnt interested facing a fighter who wasnt coming up in weight

 

Ermm he dint. they fought each other.

 

When they where in different weight classes?

no1 ducked no1, they just other people first

 

It is hardly a duck considering he waited for calz to establish himself as champ and p4p.

this is a ridiculous debate. the fight came off in the end.

 

calzaghe was a high risk, low reward fighter his entire career because of the path he chose to take. and until he became an international name that was never going to change.

from a british perspective, it's like saying that calzaghe dodged froch AFTER calzaghe had done the work to get known in the states (even though he waited until both jones and hopkins were about 83 years old combined before doing that).

if you want a free meal go to a shelter, don't expect it to get handed to you by fighters who have made their names on the international stage already.

 

but as long as calzaghe wasn't established internationally that fight was never going to happen, and it shouldn't be a surprise that it collapsed then but was made easily when hopkins was in his 40's and started losing while joe still hadn't come to the states.

it's the same theory as jones fighting danny green in australia - a name fighter in decline taking on opponents who haven't tried to crack the international scene but they can get a payday.