Joe Calzaghe

treelo

treelo

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So something always bothers me about Calzaghe

He went life and death with Mitchell, got a win against Reid which many people had him losing(not me) and i thought he should have looked a lot better against a very aged Hopkins and Jones

He could have fought Froch and really put a full stop on his career with a Froch win IMO

So even though he was undefeated, his resume is very flaky IMO, he has a great win against Kessler and stopped the Lacy hype train, but then Lacy should have lost to Tsypko, so how good was he

Is the win against an undefeated Kessler his triumphant moment in his career?
 
treelo said:
So something always bothers me about Calzaghe

He went life and death with Mitchell, got a win against Reid which many people had him losing(not me) and i thought he should have looked a lot better against a very aged Hopkins and Jones

He could have fought Froch and really put a full stop on his career with a Froch win IMO

So even though he was undefeated, his resume is very flaky IMO, he has a great win against Kessler and stopped the Lacy hype train, but then Lacy should have lost to Tsypko, so how good was he

Is the win against an undefeated Kessler his triumphant moment in his career?
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Calzaghe is a good example of maintaining a 'perfect' record into irrelevance.

He was so concerned about maintaining that 0 that he ducked all the big significant fights like with Jones and Hopkins until they were almost irrelevant and he knew he could win. He sacrificed what should have been a legendary career going toe to toe with the all time greats of his era in their primes, for basically hiding until he could get them out without losing his record.
It was a very contrived way of going about things in my view and why he is the invisible man he is now in what could have been an epic legacy.

And yes, the Froch fight would have been epic but knowing what we know about Joe, far too risky.
 
Froch v Calzaghe prime v prime would have been a proper fight, i was never a big fan of either of these guys but Froch came through some tough tough moments

i just feel like Calzaghe was really mismanaged, i dont think it was his fault
 
It was the same, somewhat with the previous generation in Eubank and to a lesser extent Benn.

Guess they were happy enough to have the mid level guys come to them rather than seek the bigger fights in the US.

Think the UK promoters were just happy to milk the cash cows, tbh.
 
treelo said:
Froch v Calzaghe prime v prime would have been a proper fight, i was never a big fan of either of these guys but Froch came through some tough tough moments

i just feel like Calzaghe was really mismanaged, i dont think it was his fault
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Saw someone on YouTube say Froch was offered GGG just after he retired at 160, but Froch basically said he was tempted but couldn't make 168 anymore let alone 160.

Guy was ballsy if nothing else.
 
i think Froch would fight anyone, bit pompus but by all accounts a proper tough fella
 
Calzaghe was making stupid money selling out stadiums in Wales. Can't knock the guy for that, but he did so at the expense of his legacy.
 
treelo said:
Froch v Calzaghe prime v prime would have been a proper fight, i was never a big fan of either of these guys but Froch came through some tough tough moments

i just feel like Calzaghe was really mismanaged, i dont think it was his fault
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Timing was all wrong for froch vs Calzaghe. Calzaghe was fighting elite level boxers (even though they were past prime) at the time that froch was still fighting domestic level opponents. Just about reaching world level. He wasn’t due any title shot by that point and really didn’t help himself with all the shit tslking he was doing. Had Froch been a couple of years further in this career they may have met

Even the Calzaghe at the end of his career would’ve beaten a prime froch. He isn’t knocking him out or outlasting him. Calzaghe had a Rock solid chin and could fight at his pace for 20 rounds. Bad stylistic matchup for froch, and a one sided fight imo

I Also agree regards Robin reid. He made it a close fight but the right man won
 
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Tatra said:
Calzaghe was making stupid money selling out stadiums in Wales. Can't knock the guy for that, but he did so at the expense of his legacy.
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But did he though? Us boxing fans are gonna know that jones was well past his best. As was Hopkins but still a very good fighter. The record books aren’t gonna show that. It’s gonna show an unbeaten fighter with some absolute elite level names on it. He’s considered one of Britain’s absolute best boxers of the modern era. His legacy is fine

And people are ignoring the Kessler fight, a genuine world class fighter and Calzaghe have him a boxing lesson. The fact that he handed eubank his first loss, and beat him with ease. Lacey was a good win. He wasn’t a can, he absolutely destroyed Robin reid in his previous fight, and was an unbeaten titleist. And fans forget that He was favourite in that that fight as well
 
He was a Mayweatherian through and through.
 
burningspear said:
Hopkins schooled Tarver and Pavlik either side of the Calzaghe fight, even though I had it for Hopkins, impressive showing.
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You thought Hopkins won??

I never liked Slappy Joe - stylewise and reluctance to go after big fights - and I always liked Hopkins. I was probably one of the few people who picked him to beat Tito, in fact I had no doubt he'd beat Tito despite being about a 4 to 1 underdog.

But tbh I don't think this fight was even particularly close. Calzaghe outlanded him in every single round.
 
As much as I didn't warm to Calzaghe, and generally rooted against him, by the end of his career I had to give him his due. He was a lot better than I gave him credit for. His style was slappy and ugly and not exactly fun to watch, but undeniably effective.

The high volume high workrate, good stamina, combined with excellent chin and good footwork made Calzaghe surprisingly hard to beat. Certainly a much better fighter than you'd think at face value.
 
TheMaster said:
Calzaghe is a good example of maintaining a 'perfect' record into irrelevance.

He was so concerned about maintaining that 0 that he ducked all the big significant fights like with Jones and Hopkins until they were almost irrelevant and he knew he could win. He sacrificed what should have been a legendary career going toe to toe with the all time greats of his era in their primes, for basically hiding until he could get them out without losing his record.
It was a very contrived way of going about things in my view and why he is the invisible man he is now in what could have been an epic legacy.

And yes, the Froch fight would have been epic but knowing what we know about Joe, far too risky.
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Except prime Hopkins ducked Calzaghe. This is documented fact. Hopkins agreed to the fight, then intentionally priced himself out of it.
 
Jay Larkin

"A teleconference was set up in my office in New York for July 30th, 2002, and on the call was myself, Don King who was in the room, Frank Warren and Bernard Hopkins' lawyer, Arnold Joseph. Along with Arnold was a woman named Linda Carter, who was there on behalf of Bernard. We asked Arnold if Bernard wanted to fight Joe Calzaghe and we asked him how much money would he want if he did. The response we got was $3million and the fight would have to take place in the United States. After a little scratching of the head, we said 'Okay, done.' Frank Warren agreed on the spot, Don King agreed and we agreed so as far as we were concerned all parties were singing off the one hymm sheet. Arnold excused himself with Linda and I can only assume it was to call Bernard. Either that day or the next day, they came with a new demand: $6million, double the sum that had been agreed, the deal blew up.....he had then and still has no desire to fight Joe Calzaghe, that much is pretty clear.

Joe gets criticised sometimes for not having fought the big-name Americans, but in this case the fault has never rested with him."
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LEWIS540 said:
Calzaghe vs Ward at 168.

Everyone taking Ward?
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I got Ward.

Calzaghe had infinite stamina but no power. With Ward's ability to adjust to every style, he would find a way to disrupt Calzaghe's rhythm, lower his output and slow him down. I expect a very dynamic but ugly fight from Ward with lots of feints, straight rights and clinch work.
 
He didn't sell tickets. Only the UK market care about him. Nothing to write home about!
 
TheMaster said:
Calzaghe is a good example of maintaining a 'perfect' record into irrelevance.

He was so concerned about maintaining that 0 that he ducked all the big significant fights like with Jones and Hopkins until they were almost irrelevant and he knew he could win. He sacrificed what should have been a legendary career going toe to toe with the all time greats of his era in their primes, for basically hiding until he could get them out without losing his record.
It was a very contrived way of going about things in my view and why he is the invisible man he is now in what could have been an epic legacy.

And yes, the Froch fight would have been epic but knowing what we know about Joe, far too risky.
Click to expand...

That's what I felt too unfortunately. I mean as it turned out Hopkins was not over the hill then but Joe probably assumed he was.

Cost himself by only fighting in the UK too, I think the Hopkins and Jones ones were his only ones out of the UK
 
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