Lets start by saying that I'm a Trinidad fan. However I feel that Calzaghe's achievements are greater than Trinidad's. Lets look at the facts - JC reigned as SMW Champ for over 10 years an achievement matched by only a handful of fighters. Ok so the division was a little depleted during the time of his reign but its still a wonderful record, remember it only takes one good punch or a bad decision against you and the 0 is gone, along with the titles.
Notable victories include - Eubank, Hopkins, Kessler & Lacy. The win over Lacy ranks higher than the win over Jones JR in my opinion as Lacy was undefeated and came with a massive rep. Calzaghe ruined him and subsequently Lacy is not the same fighter anymore. Also he beat Kessler and unified the division. Hopefully Kessler will show the world how big a victory that was for Joe in 2009. B Hop was in many peoples P4P top five even at 42. Yes it was a close fight but only one man came to box and that was Joe. Bhop held and went in with the head at every opportunity yet the judges scored the fight in Joe's favour. He found a way to win despite Hopkins negative tactics. Also nobody hit / slapped BHop as many times as Joe in a fight.
Has Calzaghe ever fought 2 divisions higher than his natural weight? NO
Has he ever faced an elite figher with a pulse ? NO
Eubank had two weeks to train for that fight he was scheduled to fight at CW and had to lose weight to get down to 168lbs
Kessler who?
please dont use Hopkins as an example neither man deserved to win that fight but more so Joe he did not land shit he just kept trying and missing that does not win fights in my book.
Eubank was scheduled to fight at LHW not CW so check you're facts. Also how do you think Hopkins deserved to win? He ate more punches than in any of his previous fights...
People go on about Tszyu still being a P4Per but so was Hopkins when JC beat him. I hope Kessler goes on to achieve great things to but JC's victory into perspective.
calzaghe would never take a fight like this he would just say "who da fook is steve cunningham?" then he would fight old shot people for millions.
no one knows who steve cunningham is so hopkins is gonna put him on the map and take a dive.
Whats this gotta do with super JOE
Can't really agree with that. Many people are into to it because the family they were born into is into boxing.
Well thats because of someone then isnt it
Erm... maybe you ought to obtain some 'boxing knowledge' before criticising other people's? This Ameri-centric revisionist boxing 'history' is starting to get on my tit.
Time for some home truths. What actually happened, not only in the case of Calzaghe but also Eubank and Benn shortly before was that the likes of Jones just didn't want to fight THEM. I don't even criticise them for that, particularly as exactly the same would and does happen today when there was/is a high risk of defeat by a foreign fighter and a very low risk of an exceptional payday. Calzaghe wasn't the Ring champ and p4p #2 then. Calzaghe was the WBO champ, the guy who, even a dozen wins later, American boxing fans and pundits still thought Lacy would beat easily. Not on the basis of any reasoned assessment of Calzaghe, but simply the fact they had never heard of him and unthinkingly underestimate all European fighters.
Of course Dawson is willing to travel to the UK to fight Calzaghe.. the Ring LHW champ, p4p #2 and 46-0. It's huge money and huge kudos for a win. But will the 'hungry young champion' fight Froch in Nottingham, or Kessler in Copenhagen even if the money matched that on offer in the States? I respectfully suggest, will he hell (and I wouldn't blame him, either) . But until he does, you are talking horsesh*t.
There is one fighter and one only to whom Calzaghe 'owes' anything IMHO, not Dawson and certainly not B-Hop, but Glen Johnson.
Great post right there