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The Joe Calzaghe leagacy. Why it could have been greater.
A while ago there was a thread about Joe Calzaghe's legacy. It was stated that he should have fought some better opposition earlier in his career.
The brits kept asking for names as to who he should have fought and I, along with others found it difficult to name more than a couple.
Today I surfed the net and found this interesting piece by Paul Upham from the site where the seconds are out:
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Opening up my copy of The Ring magazine from October 1996, I note the then super middleweight top ten as follows: 1.Roy Jones Jr, 2.Frank Liles, 3.Steve Collins, 4.Vinny Pazienza, 5.Nigel Benn, 6.Vincenzo Nardiello, 7.Henry Wharton, 8.Michael Nunn, 9.Sugar Boy Malinga, 10.Joe Calzaghe. That was exactly one year before Calzaghe won the vacant WBO belt against Chris Eubank.
I note that Calzaghe would not go on to face any of the nine boxers rated above him. Fast forward five years to September 2001 and The Ring ratings at super middleweight were: 1.Sven Ottke, 2.Joe Calzaghe, 3.Byron Mitchell, 4.Antwun Echols, 5.Eric Lucas, 6.Charles Brewer, 7.Thomas Tate, 8.Dingaan Thobela, 9.Mads Larsen, 10.James Butler. Calzaghe would go on to beat Mitchell and Brewer. While it is clear that the super middleweight division wasn’t that strong at times during his reign, there were important fights Calzaghe could have made. After winning the WBO strap in October 1997, he did not win another world title until beating Jeff Lacy for the IBF belt in March 2006. That’s almost ten years where he could have become a multiple belt champion and shown the talent he really did possess.
Full credit to Calzaghe for what he has achieved. He proved what a talent he is in his wins over Kessler and Hopkins. I am still maintain however that he could have taken other fights much earlier which would have shown the boxing world his talent before he turned 33. The key for me is that even if he couldn’t secure a fight with a big name in the USA, he needed to unify and win at least one of the other three main world titles. Sticking only with the WBO belt for so long when it now seems he could have achieved so much more.
The brits kept asking for names as to who he should have fought and I, along with others found it difficult to name more than a couple.
Today I surfed the net and found this interesting piece by Paul Upham from the site where the seconds are out:
PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Opening up my copy of The Ring magazine from October 1996, I note the then super middleweight top ten as follows: 1.Roy Jones Jr, 2.Frank Liles, 3.Steve Collins, 4.Vinny Pazienza, 5.Nigel Benn, 6.Vincenzo Nardiello, 7.Henry Wharton, 8.Michael Nunn, 9.Sugar Boy Malinga, 10.Joe Calzaghe. That was exactly one year before Calzaghe won the vacant WBO belt against Chris Eubank.
I note that Calzaghe would not go on to face any of the nine boxers rated above him. Fast forward five years to September 2001 and The Ring ratings at super middleweight were: 1.Sven Ottke, 2.Joe Calzaghe, 3.Byron Mitchell, 4.Antwun Echols, 5.Eric Lucas, 6.Charles Brewer, 7.Thomas Tate, 8.Dingaan Thobela, 9.Mads Larsen, 10.James Butler. Calzaghe would go on to beat Mitchell and Brewer. While it is clear that the super middleweight division wasn’t that strong at times during his reign, there were important fights Calzaghe could have made. After winning the WBO strap in October 1997, he did not win another world title until beating Jeff Lacy for the IBF belt in March 2006. That’s almost ten years where he could have become a multiple belt champion and shown the talent he really did possess.
Full credit to Calzaghe for what he has achieved. He proved what a talent he is in his wins over Kessler and Hopkins. I am still maintain however that he could have taken other fights much earlier which would have shown the boxing world his talent before he turned 33. The key for me is that even if he couldn’t secure a fight with a big name in the USA, he needed to unify and win at least one of the other three main world titles. Sticking only with the WBO belt for so long when it now seems he could have achieved so much more.
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