Would Calzaghe have been the best ever if his hands had stayed injury free?

Ha!

 

unfortunately, Calzaghe doesn't rate as a 'great' in my book, simply because he allowed frank warren to waste most of his career. it's that simple. never mind the best of all time, which is simply ridiculous.
HOF, definitely, but you can't be called a great when the best fighter that you beat in their prime was mikkel Kessler!
sure, beating Hopkins in his forties is Calzaghe's best win for me, but he had a lifetime (and then some) to size up both jones and Hopkins when it meant something, but I think he knew they were a bridge too far in their prime

 

Frank deserves a lot of the blame but I don't think Joe was easy to work with. I heard that Warren had to plead with him not to pull out of the Lacy fight and he told him that US tv would wash their hands off him if he didn't go through with it. Warren actually wrote a newspaper column or letter or something and told all the stuff he had to put up with. But yeah Warren does have a habit of holding his fighters back at times but the fighters don't have to put up with it.

JC could have done a lot more. Like you, I agree he is a deserved hof'r but definitely not all time great.

 

agreed. all warren wants is 'a belt' that he can market for his fighters, after that it's all about cash flow for him and the fighter's career will go nowhere.
and i'm sure frank's bitterness after Calzaghe dumped him before taking on jones and Hopkins in the U.S. helped hiom vent in the newspaper column

 

Undefeated, fought with great volume and speed, skill and stamina if he had the power of his younger years he would be seen as an even bigger h2h beast.

 

but 'undefeated' is relatively hollow when Kessler is your best prime scalp from 49 professional fights....

 

"... power of his younger years ..."

What, when he was 8? Because he had **** poor power his entire life. Lousy technique, combined with zero upper body strength, Joe never had the build nor the mechanics to be much of anything power wise. Surely you aren't going by his first 22 odd fights are you? That was a streak of ref "stoppages" of novices and bums. Ann Wolfe would have decapitated most of them as well. Even bums like Starie later gave him a tight run and he's a poster child for the disabled athletically. Whatever Joe was he certainly was not a powerful fighter.

 

Lets see...two guys in the same division BOTH racking up 20 defenses..at the same time? Makes both of them look rather terrible.

 

injured kessler, avoiding the uninjured one before or after.

 

I'm a big a fan of Kessler as anyone, but the way he's been elevated by Joe c fanatics as some major win is shameless. It was a damn good win, but Kessler only made it to a level hundreds of other boxers made it to as well.

 

You either really do not remember or are pretending otherwise.
I read he was happy to go to the USA but wanted to go for Jones belts

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BOXING:+CALZAGHE+CHASING+JONES+CLASH.-a091559984
Calzaghe was willing

Calzaghe was looking at a Jones fight after Woods
https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-19059682.html

 

I've read that, but Joe was more than happy with Frank. He was happy to defend his lightly regarded WBO belt 21 times. He's boasted of his number of title defences on numerous occasions. He was very proud of his record. He was even happy to fight Peter Manfredo. It's a myth that he wanted the very best fights out there.

 

You fail to add unify in there as well as having many fights fall through.
Now once again who did he look to avoid at SMW when he was champ there? Just a straight answer and no waffle

 

You should see how Kessler was elevated when faded by Ward fans

 

Go away Failey....you're just as bad and ridiculous as the worst of Ward fans.