I don't see how anyone can say that Joe Calzaghe isn't the best supermiddleweight the world has ever seen.
That's not to say he's the best boxer to ever compete at 168lbs. Off the top of my head Hearns, Leonard, Toney and Roy Jones all passed through the division and even as a fan I struggle to put Calzaghe higher than any of them (Toney you might perhaps have a weak arguement... the rest... no chance). But that's exactly the point... they passed through... Calzaghe stayed and dominated. His career at 168lbs is unmatched.
People point to his record as a criticism... and that's true. 168lbs is a relatively new weightclass and until recently held little prestige or money. Fighter's stopped off there but far more often they either stayed at 160lbs or went straight to 175lbs. Toney and Jones had what... 3 fights in the division each? Something along those lines. 168lbs was not a division of killers. In addition look at the 3 long term belt holders; Calzaghe, Ottke and (to a certain extent) Kessler. All 3 were Europeans who rarely got on US TV. All drew big crowds and big money in their own countries. What real incentive was there for them to search out the big fights? Add in Warren's let's say "conservative" matchmaking and Calzaghe has a pretty record without much weight behind it. That said, I feel US fans and pundits often overlook European talent.
His record does deserve another look. On the surface it is very pretty... undefeated, long title reigns etc etc. Critics say the record is deceiving as to his actual skills... mutton dressed as lamb, a pig in a dress. I agree... but not in the way they think. I suggest that Calzaghe's skills and talent are better than his record. As mentioned above despite the superficial brilliance of it, his record isn't particularly deep. But Calzaghe with his relentless work rate, solid chin, underrated power (even with the slapping and certainly prior to it), ability to work the angles and adapt on the fly, would be a challenge to any fighter who ever stood across the ring from him. If he were to fight the greats of the 160 and 175lbs division I certainly don't think he'd emerge undefeated... but I think he'd pick up a scalp or two and be competitive with all of them; even a prime Jones who may have been the single best fighter to weight within the SMW limit on a single night. Would anyone in the Super 6 be favourite over Calzaghe? Stylewise do any of them even give him particular problems? The fighters who Calzaghe did struggle with were those who could severely restrict his workrate... and only Hopkins ever managed to really pull that off.
But, back to the record...
When people talk about Calzaghe's record it's often the omissions that get the most attention... and that leads to the talk of "ducking". Warren's matchmaking plays a part... Warren never saw a difficult fight he couldn't avoid... but there is some weight to the claim. Calzaghe signed to face Glen Johnson 3 times and pulled out on every occasion. Now Calzaghe was injury prone... his brittle hands turned him from a pretty decent power puncher to "Calslappy"... and perhaps that's the legitimate reason he never faced the Road Warrior. But still... 3 times? I think those who say Calzaghe ducked Johnson have a point. Let us not forget though that Hopkins himself avoided Calzaghe (and a huge payday) in the early 2000's, signing and pulling out of the fight as part of a deal with Showtime. Calzaghe may have ducked opponents... but few were willing to travel to Wales to face him anyway.
The "Calslappy" thing raises another point... another thing Calzaghe did that few other boxers could. He changed his whole style as his body broke down... much like Hopkins himself. He may be derided for it but his fast stinging style brought him success... perhaps more than crafty veteran Hopkins is actually a better fighter than the 160lbs destroyer Hopkins early in his career. I don't think that Hopkins beats Pavlik... we know what veteran Hopkins did to the Ghost...
So, in conclusions... better fighters may have competed at 168lbs... but not for the length of time Calzaghe did. His record is pretty but lacks depth... but his skills were enough to give anyone a hard night's work. He may have avoided fighters... but fighters avoided him. As his career closed out he stepped it up a notch in the way Ottke (his closest contender) never did... he faced a supposed monster in Lacy and destroyed him, ruining a once promising career (Lacy had his flaws before Calzaghe whooped him... but the sad shell we've seen since has been a pale imitation of the Lacy who tried to face the Welsh Dragon). He took on the supposed heir apparent at 168lbs, Kessler, and made a mockery of him. He then went up to 175, crossed the pond and took Hopkin's title away in the closest fight of his career. Then he fought Jones... a ghost of a man once great... clearly for money and so he could say he beat Roy Jones Jr. Then he retired, leaving Chad Dawson despondant. Oh, and he faced Manfredo, but the less said about that the better (it's one of the reasons that network TV in the UK ended a brief rekindling of it's romance with boxing after getting cheated on by Audley Harrison and the other UK Heavyweight pretenders).
Let me finish by saying this though, directed to all the vehement critics and haters of Calzaghe. Lucian Bute is considered one of, if not the, best 168lbs fighter in the world today, even with the emergence of Ward in the Super 6. He hasn't had a major fight outside of Quebec... hell, he hasn't had a major fight outside of Montreal. In his 26 fight record he has only fought outside of Quebec 4 times (I think)... all within his first 15 fights or so. His record is buttressed by 2 wins (one controversial, one stunningly good) over Andrade... who is clearly good but I doubt is great... as well as solid wins over Berrio and Bika (who Calzaghe beat just as convincingly in a dirty, ugly fight). Outside of that... Joppy in 2008? Zuniga? Miranda in 2010? Obviously Bute is earlier in his fistic journey than Calzaghe was when he faced top names... 7 years in Calzaghe was likewise a belt holder but was facing the likes of Omar Shieka and Richie Woodhall... but there is a certain similarity there. I don't know... perhaps when the Super 6 ends and opponents are freed up his competition will increase. Perhaps not. I don't know why he wasn't in the Super 6... I know a lot of people decried it at the time. Perhaps Showtime never asked him, perhaps he was tied to a rival broadcaster, perhaps he wanted too much money, perhaps he didn't like the idea of being forced to fight outside Montreal and the 10's of thousands he can pack in. But history will say that went the best supermiddleweights went to war, Bute was happy to pick at Abraham and Ward's scraps.
And that's not too different to how some people view Calzaghe's resume...
