greater legacy... dela hoya or calzaghe?

[elgaringo]

You only have to see Oscar's record to see how many hall of famers he fought!

All the below were top ten pound for pound rated when he fought them. That he lost some (a few by split decision) is hardly a disgrace:

Julio Cesar Chavez

Pernell Whitaker

Ike Quartey

Felix Trinidad (very debatable loss)

Shane Mosley (twice, both very close)

Fernando Vargas

Bernard Hopkins (close fight until stoppage, well above Oscar's natural fighting weight)

Floyd Mayweather Jnr (very close fight in my opinion)


And thats not mentioning the likes of Hernandez, Leija, Carr, Gatti, Castillejo, Mayorga and Sturm and a few more who were decent world champions in their own right.

That he mixed in this company and more than acquitted himself well more than edges his resume over Calzaghe.


Calzaghe only fought one top ten pound for pound ranked fighter in his entire career and that was Hopkins. Eubank, Lacy, Kessler and Jones were certainly not pound for pound top ten when he faced them. He did face some half decent fighters in Woodhall, Reid, Mitchell and Brewer, but these weren't pound for pound rated.

Not Joe's fault, but lets just say that if he had met the mid to late 90s versions of Nigel Benn, Steve Collins, Roy Jones, James Toney, Montell Griffin OR dare I say Sven Ottke (in Germany at least you'd have to fancy a shocking points robbery!) at super middle or light heavy then his record might not have been so perfect.

I suppose the super middleweight division was a bit weak for Joe's era, not really any pound for pound superstars to face, again not Joe's fault but it will harm his legacy a bit.

This is a very good post that you have sold me on! Tho history might be kinder to Calzaghe due to that 0! Time will tell.

[Decision]

In my opinion, De La Hoya.

He won titles in more divisions and has wins (and should've had wins) over the better fighters when they weren't past it.

[Joeyzagz]

Joe was a better winner than DLH, and shined in all of his biggest fights.

DLH lost to a weight drained BHOP, while Joe beat a fully hydrated 175 BHop.

[Decision]

Joe was a better winner than DLH, and shined in all of his biggest fights.

DLH lost to a weight drained BHOP, while Joe beat a fully hydrated 175 BHop.

No shame in DLH losing to Hopkins. He did, after all, start his career at 130.

It was a much easier fight for Calzaghe, as he fought most of his career at a higher weight than Hopkins himself.

Hopkins was also 4 years older than when he fought DLH and was in his 40s.