Did Joe Calzaghe win over American fans?

[Jambo boy]

He needed to win in style. He did totally outwork b hop, but hopkins landed the more hurtful punches. I think anyone who beats hokins has got to be very good, it's gotta be damn near impossible to beat him in style.
I think he's gotta make a couple more big fights like rjj or pavlik to win anyone over properly.

Beating hopkins is one hell of a good start though

[cashdon]

don't know if he won over any fans. I already respected his fighting acumen but his slapping punches (which he seemed to do more than usual) to go with a sloppy fight (not his fault) was very unappealing.

[VERSION1 (V1)]

That is simply because Kessler came to fight which gave Joe more opportunitys to land better shots, last night he had a man in reverse the entire fight, a bit harder to look good against a guy who always comes in to make any fight look ugly.

No because it was Hopkins i know it hard to look good againts him
I did't think he was going to beat Kessler i knew he was going to beat Hopkins

[x3_bazooka_x3]

No because it was Hopkins i know it hard to look good againts him
I did't think he was going to beat Kessler i knew he was going to beat Hopkins

You knew he would beat Hopkins because of the factors involved going in, Age work rate etc... with Kessler he did have a shot just as you and I both thought, but that was simply becuase Kessler was a guy who could keep up with the work rate who was young enough to possibly get things going in there, However in doing so he leaves himself open to get countered more by Joe becuase he is working more than Hopkins did, in other words Hopkins lack of fighting does not allow Joe the opportunitys he gets against the younger guys who are willing to fight.
a guy who will buy time look to use the clock and fire off only in spots will always be hard to look good against. you never know when he is going to fight or when he is going to coast.
as to where the guy who wants to fight, and does fight, gives you more opportunitys to handle the task.

[QUISQUEYA]

My dad Truth Sr. said the same thing. He said he wasn't impressed by Joe. I give him credit for the Lacy win, Hopkins win and Kessler. Now lets sign RJJ vs. JC today.

No disrespect intended.....but why are some guys talking about Cal/Roy like it would mean something??

Roy is a shell of his former self. This current Roy can't carry the spitbucket of prime Roy. If Joe beats RJJ, that is as meaningful as Camacho stopping SRL.

There is zero doubt in my mind that prime Roy would dominate and badly hurt Calzaghe.

[kayjay]

I think less of him than I did before last night. [Edit: he won us over two years ago]


But I thought very highly of him.


He took the most cautious and surest path to the win.

[fxdwng]

If you don't already know and like Calzaghe, it's probably too late. I don't think he's got (or had) what it takes to beat Pavlik, not even factoring age into it. The only guys he can come over here and fight are the boxers, like himself, Hopkins and Roy Jr., who have already seen their better days. And no matter who he fights or beats, fights between has-beens will always be viewed differently than young bucks at their prime. If he wins, they'll say it's only because the opponent is over the hill, if he loses they'll say it's because he was always over-rated and never as good as the Americans. No real incentive for him to stay here and fight.

[Addison]

I appreciate that he won, because I knew going in that he was the inferior tactician, and the inferior fighter. This had nothing to do with him looking good. That wasn't going to be possible, and I was well aware of this fact from the day the fight was announced.. Truly an impossibility. I'm proud as an Italian, and as someone who shares the ambition to succeed in life.

Unfortunately, in all sincerity Calzaghe did not deserve the decision. It was an embarrassing performance and and an embarrassing outcome. Calzaghe couldn't score, he was completely ineffective. If it wasn't for the utter passivity of Hopkins, Calzaghe could have been royally embarrassed. Freddie Roach even went so far as to say to Hopkins that if he would just walk Calzaghe down he could knock him out.

Something I will always appreciate about Joe is that he is a man willing to take that chance. He'll lay it on the line. That I appreciate it. One thing I didn't expect however, was Calzaghe's willingness to sacrifice completely the art of Boxing for the sake of trying to win, to such great extent. As a Boxing purist and life long fan that's something that I may never come to terms with. In my eyes Joe Calzaghe will never be the same.

[hardmanbrit]

I was shocked at how awful Joe was.

I know he was moving up to a totally alien weight division to fight the champion, but he really was awful in comparison to how good he normally is.

His worst performance in living memory.

At 36 he is now well past his best.

[Del Coqui]

Hopkins wouldve made RJJ or any great boxer look bad last night, it wasn't about Joe.