opinion on joe calzaghe

Overrated slapper that avoided the best with lame excuses about being afraid to fly etc. Overcame the fear when the fighters he avoided were way past their best. If he's underrated all the time, how in the hell could he have been overrated? You clearly don't know why Calzaghe didn't fight Jones or Hopkins earlier. It had nothing to do with having a fear of flying. He did have, but it never stopped a fight from happening.

Probably the only boxer I would say I was a real fan of. Nowadays I just appreciate all the fighters as much as possible. I’d get nervous for Joe’s fights. The problem with Joe is not just that he didn’t take the risks but at the times when Americans (and then they absolutely ran the show) were watching he’d look like s.hit against David Starie or whoever

The whole non stop Slapping wasn't my cup of tea .

Should have fought better opponents in his prime but some of that is due to him being ducked. All time great, nevertheless. What Hopkins went on to achieve after Calzaghe beat him means he gets a lot of credit imo for that win. It's a shame he didn't have a couple more fights at 175 after beating RJJ.

He was definitely one of the greatest fighters, though he might not have proven himself completely, he seemed to have to skills to beat just about anyone and being around the level of Ward. He should probably have fought Froch, but did probably not expect Froch to rise to those types of levels. Great to follow that man, who was one of the most unique styles inside the ring.

A lot of American fighters didn't want to cross the pond to fight him during his prime. Very underrated fighter. Oh yea? Which ones exactly?

do you think he was good to watch? exciting? I think he's been retired for 10 year and just lost his dad. RIP Enzo

A great fighter for sure. He was fast, intelligent, full of energy and just had this way about him in the ring where he could just adapt to anything and was unpredictable but largely always in control. His resume of opponents isn't amazing (in reality very few modern fighters are in historical context compared to guys from the 20s to the 80's) but there's big moments in there. Lacy was supposed to pummel him (which was a ridiculous notion at the time IMO I always knew Lacy was a hypejob in the manner a Tank Davis is today), Kessler was at that time a unified and unbeaten champion and this is also before the injuries started to get the better of him the following year and then Hopkins was dominated really. Hopkins went on to score some big wins afterwards lending some credit to the win. Hopkins wanted to quit and gave up trying to win by the halfway point totally unable to keep pace with Calzaghe. Remember Hopkins ducked him back in 2002 when he was negotiating a three fight showtime deal - it was going to be Hakaar, Simon and Calzaghe and I think Calzaghe was the deal breaker for him. There was a lot of crap in there too but some solid wins like Eubank, Woodhall, Brewer, Reid, Veit, Sheika, Bika, Mitchell that add up a little and you've got some good stats and numbers like winning every belt, reigning for 10 years, 21 defenses and 46-0. I think I'd rate him between 75-100 all-time p4p, probably around 5-6 among the best British fighters, a top 10 European fighter and one of the top 12 boxers of the last 25 years and the best ever at 168.

A lot of American fighters didn't want to cross the pond to fight him during his prime. Very underrated fighter.

Helluva fighter but decided he was happy fighting stiffs in the UK for the most part. His talent was larger than his ambition.

This 100%. Glad we're part of the few Brits who can see through the B. S. Awful resume, only fought 3 fighters ranked in the top 5 throughout the entirety of his career, 21 title defences but against some absolutely awful competition, shat his pants when it mattered most. Calzaghe was Warren's original experiment of taking the path of least resistance. He tried the same **** with Flanagan but we know how that turned out Eubank Brewer Reid Woodall Brewer Mitchell Lacy Bika Kessler Hopkins Jones Jr 😂😂Calzaghe is definitely overrated but his resume is far from “awful”. You just sound bitter saying stuff like that

He was an elite level fighter but is largely overrated due to being 46-0. In reality his resume isn’t all that strong. His only elite level wins were B-Hop and Kessler IMO, Lacy was a great performance but Lacy was a hype job if we’re being honest.

Overrated slapper that avoided the best with lame excuses about being afraid to fly etc. Overcame the fear when the fighters he avoided were way past their best. This 100%. Glad we're part of the few Brits who can see through the B. S. Awful resume, only fought 3 fighters ranked in the top 5 throughout the entirety of his career, 21 title defences but against some absolutely awful competition, shat his pants when it mattered most. Calzaghe was Warren's original experiment of taking the path of least resistance. He tried the same **** with Flanagan but we know how that turned out

Ten times better than Roy Jones Jr ever was.

Joe was a punching/slapping machine. Like the energizer bunny on American tv.

One of my all time favourites, man. Guess some folk are critical of his 'slapping' style in later years, and there are some legitimate complaints about his level of opposition in his prime, but he's undeniably one of the best ever at 168

Here he is in the summer, at 46 years of age, still faster than men half his age. Thanks for this. He looks awesome and does look like he could still take many right now.

Better than many give him credit. Someone, like Ali , who would always find a way. Get's accused of slapping, but people forget that he did KD or KO many opponents earlier and busted his hands many times in the process. Defeated the undefeated Kessler, with his fists, not with headbutts, elbows etc. like Ward did. It was all the politics that led to JC and RJJ not fighting earlier. Just like we may never see AJ and Wilder. In some ways, you can't blame fighters for not wanting to cross the pond as the reffing and scoring is so prejudicial for the home guy. Calzaghe was an ATG.

Here he is in the summer, at 46 years of age, still faster than men half his age.

He is a God of boxing and would have been a champion in any era, from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight.