will calzaghe gain respect from beating hopkins?

[TheGreatA]

No matter who Joe defeats there are people (like ManChine on this forum) who will never give him credit.

If it's a prime age fighter like Dawson or Kessler, they'll say he was no good anyway. If it's someone in Joe's age range, they'll say the opponent was washed up.

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...3&postcount=15

I'm giving Calzaghe the credit he deserves (as long as he wins the fight). If he beats Hopkins convincingly, something many have not been able to do, he deserves his spot in the top p4p rankings.

It's not like the Calzaghe's themselves (Joe&Enzo) are treating this fight as if they are going to fight against some legendary prime fighter, they are straight up saying that they are going to beat an old man up.

I don't think they believe that Hopkins is even as good as Kessler at this point of his career (and he probably isn't).

Calzaghe tells BoxingScene that Hopkins is no longer that fighter he once was. He can't see a single scenario where Hopkins would be able to deal with his very high workrate and be able pull out a win. Calzaghe feels that Hopkins, deep in his heart, knows he can't win the fight.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=11684

[Johnny Rebel]

I dont think calzaghe will gain any respect from fight hopkins people will say hes old and over it.

If calzaghe fight pavilk and beats him people will say pavilk wasnt in calzaghe league.

so who do u think calzaghe should fight to gain the respect of the american fans?

Calzaghe has respect from American boxing experts. The only people who will never give Calzaghe credit are haters on message boards. There is no fighter Joe can beat for the haters to give him credit. They will always make an excuse as to why Joe won. So I say, **** them!

[Addison]

I dont think calzaghe will gain any respect from fight hopkins people will say hes old and over it.

If calzaghe fight pavilk and beats him people will say pavilk wasnt in calzaghe league.

so who do u think calzaghe should fight to gain the respect of the american fans?

Calzaghe has the respect of the American fans. He has a TON of respect considering what he's actually accomplished.

What is troubling on the other hand; is Joe's lack of actual popularity. That is something that bothers me. He should be a much more popular fighter worldwide. I cannot comprehend that Calzaghe and Kessler was the lowest rated free broadcast in the history of HBO.. That is a crime.

The Hopkins fight will increase his popularity and his reputation IF he wins.

[Bonafide]

I cant see Hopkins losing this fight. He's the executioner. When the chips are down and the odds are stacked against him he usually pulls of his greatest performances.

[macman]

Calzaghe seems to be the narrow favourite with most boxing experts, but quite a few are picking Hopkins.

OK, Hopkins is old, but that just goes to show how well respected & difficult an opponent he really is.

If Calzaghe wins, expect that to be forgotten by many people pretty quickly, & it will be how Hopkins age has finally caught up with him.

Even if Calzaghe manages to get Pavlik in the ring afterwards & beat him, expect respect to be grudging at best by many Americans.

[Johnny Rebel]

Calzaghe has the respect of the American fans. He has a TON of respect considering what he's actually accomplished.

What is troubling on the other hand; is Joe's lack of actual popularity. That is something that bothers me. He should be a much more popular fighter worldwide. I cannot comprehend that Calzaghe and Kessler was the lowest rated free broadcast in the history of HBO.. That is a crime.

The Hopkins fight will increase his popularity and his reputation IF he wins.

Calzaghe is extremely popular. That fight was huge in Europe and you will see how many Brits show up in Vegas to support Joe. Calzaghe/Kessler drew over 50,000 people to watch it live. Not many fighters in America would even come close to those numbers. I guess the low HBO ratings can be because Americans didn't know much about either Calzaghe or Kessler, since neither fighter was American or has fought there.

A fighter doesn't have to be popular in America anymore since there are so many European Champions who are huge draws here. In the future you will see many top American fighter coming to Europe to fight since boxing is more popular here now.

[pins0099]

so who do u think calzaghe should fight to gain the respect of the american fans?

I don't think he will no matter who he fights because he's not American!

Its clear that this is the case because he's just had his best fight against the best opponent he will ever face in Kessler and most Americans don't even acknowledge that, yet the same will tell you that Pavlik vs Taylor II was a massive match-up, when it was a B-movie at best to Calzaghes blockbuster.

Whether he goes on to beat Hopkins and Pavlik this may go some way to increasing his appeal but people who dont like Calzaghe or respect his record now will find a way not to respect it even after those what I would classify as lesser wins.