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.....despite whatever HBO's commentary crew may lead you to believe otherwise. Joe is an average fighter, and nothing more. He possesses some natural athletic ability, and some technical boxing savy but nothing to the level of what HBO would lead you to believe.
The Positive
On the positive side he has a tremendous work rate, he's a solid counter puncher, and a natural ability to switch styles if needed. This has worked for Calzaghe throughout his career thus far, simply swarm with activity, switch styles if needed, and cruise to a victory.
The Negative
Calzaghe's negatives far outweigh his positives, in my humble opinion. He has next to no defense whatsoever, he is incapable of fighting going backwards, he will scrap with a guy just for the sake of scrapping with him, and his punches pack all the power of a roman candle.
There's nothing extraordinary about a fighter like Calzaghe. He's fought only in his home Country of Wales for his entire career. That may not be a big deal to his fans, but it is to most boxing fans. Imagine if Miguel Cotto openly claimed to be one of the best without ever having fought outside of Puerto Rico. Or if Manny Pacquiao claimed to be one of the best without ever fighting outside of the Philippines. Or if Juan Manuel Marquez achieved his status without ever fighting big names in America?
The point is, the best are always willing to fight the best in America. Say what you will about Ricky Hatton but at least he had the stones to campaign in the division outside of his own backyard. Julio Cesar Chaves would've never attained the status he has if he continued to fight what the majority of the boxing public deemed as "tin cans" in Mexico instead of coming to the U.S. to fight the big names.
It's put up or shut up time for Joe Calzaghe. I don't have any ill feelings towards the guy, I'm not that type of "fan" who makes personal judgments about why they like/dislike certain fighters. I've just grown weary of Calzaghe's talk over the years, calling out guys like Hopkins and Jones when they were mega-stars and he still hadn't even beaten anybody of note.
I'm sorry Calzaghe (and his fans) but I'm very weary of any professional fighter who has refused to fight outside of his own backyard, and has been figting nobodies for the better of 15 years. Especially now that he's looking to cement his "legacy" off the back of a past his prime ring legend who's seen better days.
(For the record, I'm still backing Hopkins to beat that bum silly.)
The Positive
On the positive side he has a tremendous work rate, he's a solid counter puncher, and a natural ability to switch styles if needed. This has worked for Calzaghe throughout his career thus far, simply swarm with activity, switch styles if needed, and cruise to a victory.
The Negative
Calzaghe's negatives far outweigh his positives, in my humble opinion. He has next to no defense whatsoever, he is incapable of fighting going backwards, he will scrap with a guy just for the sake of scrapping with him, and his punches pack all the power of a roman candle.
There's nothing extraordinary about a fighter like Calzaghe. He's fought only in his home Country of Wales for his entire career. That may not be a big deal to his fans, but it is to most boxing fans. Imagine if Miguel Cotto openly claimed to be one of the best without ever having fought outside of Puerto Rico. Or if Manny Pacquiao claimed to be one of the best without ever fighting outside of the Philippines. Or if Juan Manuel Marquez achieved his status without ever fighting big names in America?
The point is, the best are always willing to fight the best in America. Say what you will about Ricky Hatton but at least he had the stones to campaign in the division outside of his own backyard. Julio Cesar Chaves would've never attained the status he has if he continued to fight what the majority of the boxing public deemed as "tin cans" in Mexico instead of coming to the U.S. to fight the big names.
It's put up or shut up time for Joe Calzaghe. I don't have any ill feelings towards the guy, I'm not that type of "fan" who makes personal judgments about why they like/dislike certain fighters. I've just grown weary of Calzaghe's talk over the years, calling out guys like Hopkins and Jones when they were mega-stars and he still hadn't even beaten anybody of note.
I'm sorry Calzaghe (and his fans) but I'm very weary of any professional fighter who has refused to fight outside of his own backyard, and has been figting nobodies for the better of 15 years. Especially now that he's looking to cement his "legacy" off the back of a past his prime ring legend who's seen better days.
(For the record, I'm still backing Hopkins to beat that bum silly.)
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