Why do so many people on ESB think Calzaghe is P4P #1 or #2?

I'm not trying to start an argument, talk about Floyd, offend Calzaghe fans or anything, but I'm genuinely interested. :thumbsup

I've only seen his fights with Kessler, Bika, Manfredo, and Lacy, so this is why I'm asking.

What Joe does well I think is very impressive. He's obviously one of those tremendously talented natural athletes we see sometimes in boxing like a Floyd Mayweather, a Roy Jones, a Pernel Whitaker, etc etc..

But even though it hasn't made him lose yet, it seems to me there are so many things he does BADLY that I just don't see how he is perceived as being that good. Its obvious he hasn't been in with all that much real big opposition. Mikkel Kessler is very solid, but I really can only base this on watching him fight Calzaghe, as the Andrade fight isn't mmuch to go by. Kessler looked impressive in his fight with Calzaghe, though of course he clearly lost (I think he is amazing at making room for his punches).

Anyway it just frustrates me to no end to see Calzaghe (while fighting Kessler, as I just watched it twice on HBO) lunging in with his head out and getting caught by uppercuts and 1-2s, throwing wide punches that couldn't possibly land, and in his fight with Lacy and Manfredo I noticed that he had a tendency to SLAP instead of punching when he's trying to flurry against fighters on the ropes a la Sugar Ray Leonard (but of course he's slapping not punching so its not the same thing). Also in the Kessler fight I notice him throwing some VERY wild body punches that leave him open, kind of like punches you see thrown in the amateurs against opponents that don't know how to take advantage of it. Also he seems to let himself get out of position at times for no reason at all.

Anyway I really like watching the guy and after watching the Kessler fight am definitely a fan of his, and can't wait until his next fight. :good

But that being said... how is he P4P #2 when he hasn't fought any other real champions or strong contenders, and he makes a lot of mistakes?

And secondly, could maybe some fans from Wales and the rest of the UK recommend some other of his fights to try to dig up? I'd like to see him at his best because even if he has just been fighting WBO mandatories for years, I can't imagine that all of those European fighters whose names I don't recognize are crap.

Sorry for being so long winded but thanks for anyone that actually reads my entire post (at least I use paragraphs!). :hi:

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The Ring has him at #5 I believe.

And I don't think longevity should really have any effect on it if it hasn't been at a very high level of competition.

And as far as accomplishments, he won the title from Eubank (right?), which is pretty good I guess, and he unified it with Kessler. What else?

 

Well thats nice that you think that, however, I just posted EXACTLY why I am questioning (or asking about rather) his P4P status, and it included NONE of those things.. So why don't you try again?

But Lacy isn't that good.. don't you feel that to be at the TOP he needs to dominate some serious competition as well, like Floyd has done??

Oh and also one last thing, I thought P4P was called P4P because it ranks skill regardless of weight! Well Calzaghe has only fought at super middleweight. Guys like Floyd, Pacquiao, Winky, Juan Marquez, Hopkins, and even to a lesser degree even Hatton have fought in multiple weight classes, against multiple champions.

Calzaghe has only fought two champions/title holders.

 

I don't think Hopkins should have been P4P that high either. don't assume so just because I am American too. I never said anything about Hopkins, I am talking about Calzaghe. I don't think Hopkins should have gotten credit just for TITLE DEFENSES. But for the record, he didn't just get credit for title DEFENSES, keep in mind he unified the titles too, and his last defenses were for the UNDISPUTED middleweight championship.

I think Hopkins deserves it NOW for fighting well past the mid 30s (thats where Joe is now, so I'm still waiting on that one for him), and moving up to Light Heavyweight to fight and beat impressively the champ there..

I'm still waiting for recommendations on Calzaghe fights to watch against good opposition. I'd really like to see these.