Nigel Benn on Joe Calzaghe

[GEOFFHAYES]

"Joe is a fantastic fighter who is still largely under-rated.

"He has beaten everyone there is to beat. He can't do any more than that.

"To be world champion you have to be exceptionally good. To be a world champion for 10 years, you are talking legend."



Glyn Leach of Boxing Monthly on Joe:

"My take on Joe: statistically, he has been very impressive, winning 19 world-title fights.

"But I cannot get too overexcited about the quality of his opponents, with the exception of Lacy.

"How good Joe is as a fighter is pretty hard to determine.

"Enormous questions still remain because the foundation of his claims are based on pretty flimsy evidence.

"The level of opposition has been modest, whereas if he fought and beat Mikkel Kessler, I’d be far more inclined to say he was up there with the very top boxers we have produced.

"As it is, my post-war top three are Benn, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed, with Ken Buchanan very close by."



Those were before last night.

[bishop2006]

"Joe is a fantastic fighter who is still largely under-rated.

"He has beaten everyone there is to beat. He can't do any more than that.

"To be world champion you have to be exceptionally good. To be a world champion for 10 years, you are talking legend."



Glyn Leach of Boxing Monthly on Joe:

"My take on Joe: statistically, he has been very impressive, winning 19 world-title fights.

"But I cannot get too overexcited about the quality of his opponents, with the exception of Lacy.

"How good Joe is as a fighter is pretty hard to determine.

"Enormous questions still remain because the foundation of his claims are based on pretty flimsy evidence.

"The level of opposition has been modest, whereas if he fought and beat Mikkel Kessler, I’d be far more inclined to say he was up there with the very top boxers we have produced.

"As it is, my post-war top three are Benn, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed, with Ken Buchanan very close by."



Those were before last night.

I agree with Glyn Leach,I dont agree with how Benn said because Joe has been champ for 10 years hes a legend,legends a huge word 2 use,i wouldent use it yet for Joe

[GEOFFHAYES]

It's all subjective.

[GTL]

hop off his nuts man.. ive been absent from this forum for months and ur still a ****rider.. joe has beaten very few good fighters.. he is the recipient of gift decisions.. its hard for me to like this guy.. he needs to shut the **** up and fight kessler.. forget about the big names here.. go for kessler, who i think will win the fight

[askoe]

In order to become a legend You need to heve been in some legendary fights. Joe can still become a legend but he is not one yet.

[Franko]

"Joe is a fantastic fighter who is still largely under-rated.

"He has beaten everyone there is to beat. He can't do any more than that.

"To be world champion you have to be exceptionally good. To be a world champion for 10 years, you are talking legend."



Glyn Leach of Boxing Monthly on Joe:

"My take on Joe: statistically, he has been very impressive, winning 19 world-title fights.

"But I cannot get too overexcited about the quality of his opponents, with the exception of Lacy.

"How good Joe is as a fighter is pretty hard to determine.

"Enormous questions still remain because the foundation of his claims are based on pretty flimsy evidence.

"The level of opposition has been modest, whereas if he fought and beat Mikkel Kessler, I’d be far more inclined to say he was up there with the very top boxers we have produced.

"As it is, my post-war top three are Benn, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed, with Ken Buchanan very close by."

Those were before last night.

There are flaws in Glyn Leach's opinions. I know that it's obvious but no one was calling Jeff Lacy modest opposition prior to his fight with Calzaghe. IMO Calzaghe would beat Kessler, but i think he deserves immense credit for his performance against Lacy.
Leach goes on to state that his post-war top three are Benn, Lewis, and HAMED. How can he list Hamed and not Calzaghe? Hamed was beaten by the only 'Great' fighter that he faced and then went into exile after labouring to a decision win over Manuel Calvo. Hamed had exceptional potential to be one of the greatest featherweights ever, but he never fulfilled it.

[Underboss]

kessler's record

Won 39 (KOs 29) Lost 0 Drawn 0 Total 39

impressive...

[Toddy]

a fighter doesnt become a legend or even an impressive fighter just because he has beaten one very good opponent. you need to fight a few very very skilled boxers, fight the best there is and if possible be in a few wars. i agree with some of you that if he fights kessler he will be closer to the legendary status, but as of now i think is a very good boxer who has beaten some very able opponents but needs to fight better.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Joe's quality of opposition is supreme:

Eubank, Reid, Starie, Woodhall - all the best Britain had to offer

Sheika, Brewer, Mitchell, Lacy - all the best America had to offer

All he needs is either an elite European (Kessler) or a top American from another weight (Hopkins, Taylor or Wright) to top it off, and there you have the greatest fighter in British Boxing history.

[GEOFFHAYES]

kessler's record

Won 39 (KOs 29) Lost 0 Drawn 0 Total 39

impressive...

Officially the most protected fighter of all-time.