Is Calzaghe the Greatest of All Time?

[andrew14]

no. he needs to fight more.

[BennyST]

I cannot mention every boxer in history. But, in the end Lopez lost.

Did he indeed? Who exactly was it that he lost to?


Edit: Meh, don't worry this has all been answered before. I didn't read through the whole thing first.

[El Dominicano]

The problem is that Hatton was always overrated. I rooted for him nonetheless because he is pugnacious and will fight anybody. I admire that in a fighter.

Lol what a damn liar. You wee 100% confident in Hatton winning...don't bring that bull**** here cuz we haven't forgot fool

[BROOKLYN CESAR]

I can say he is a great fighter even though i hate him with passion!!! But not even close to the greatest ever!!! SRR will always hold that position IMO!!!

Calzaghe id put in the top 30 but nowhere near the top!!!

[Fox McCloud]

Did he indeed? Who exactly was it that he lost to?

Someone that he ducked.

It's the same thing.

[Fox McCloud]

Lol what a damn liar. You wee 100% confident in Hatton winning...don't bring that bull**** here cuz we haven't forgot fool

I'll cosign this...

Wiley, I can't count how many hours you argued reasons that Hatton was going to KO Mayweather with a body shot, and even if that never happened, it didn't matter, because Hatton would be able to pressure him all night en route to a decision victory, handing the overrated Mayweather his first loss.

[BennyST]

yea im looking at his record he got dropped and hurt badly vs scrubs like mitchell and salem. do people with good chins have this happen? getting dropped by old men like roy jones and hopkins doesn't look too good. do people with good chins have this happen? did terry norris get dropped by an old leonard no. and we all know how great terry's chin is. FACE FACTS CALZAGHE'S CHIN IS HIGHLY SUSPECT.

Well, actually, that's a really bad argument Daggum. Norris' chin lost him fights. Calzaghe has never lost a fight. He's been dropped four times, two of which were flash knockdowns by fighters of the highest caliber.

While Hopkins knocked him down, he also lost the fight. He had Pavlik in much more trouble than Calzaghe ever was a number of times throughout the fight and nearly had him in bad enough shape to get the fight stopped a couple of times. Jones is capable of knocking just about anyone out, and funnily enough, it would have been better for Calzaghe if he had been hit by the punch, as it would not have hurt him as much as taking the forearm bone flat out on the bridge of the nose. Either way, Jones also still lost the fight, badly.

A highly suspect chin is only so if it loses you fights or you are getting dropped by half strength, non flush punches a lot and they're actually doing damage, putting you in trouble. Calzaghe has been dropped four times across a 46-0 nearly two decade career. Jones and Mitchell were big power punchers, capable of KO's with one shot. He beat Mitchell by KO in the same round he was dropped in. He has never looked like he could be stopped after being knocked down because he was so badly hurt. That is not indicative of a highly suspect chin.

The Salem punch was the worst he's taken I think. He was off balance and out of position and took a very hard right hook straight on the chin. He may not have gone down from that alone except Salem then hit/pulled him down from the back of the head with a follow up left, rather similar to the Hop knockdown, which was as much a push as the punch actually knocking him down. He wasn't hurt at all.

[BennyST]

Someone that he ducked.

It's the same thing.

Who did Lopez duck that he would have lost to with such certainty?

[KostyaTszyu44]

Is Calzaghe the Greatest of All Time? There are a number threads now dancing around this question. So let's just get to it.

Pro: Statistically, only Marciano has a better undefeated championship record than Calzaghe. Furthermore, Calzaghe has the best championship record of any boxer in 45 years (46-0 and no draws). If you go STRICTLY BY STATISTICS, then the argument can be made that Joe Calzaghe is the greatest boxer of all time (If you're in the top two or three statistically, then the debate is automatically legitimate). Furthermore, Cal defeated two ATGs (Hopkins and Jones, Jr.) while in his mid 30s and a cavalcade of champs and former belt holders during his run. Stylistically, Calzaghe has a completely unique, almost freakishly athletic, style. NOBODY has ever been able to figure it out. As to his power, it is deceptively effective and punishing. Calzaghe fights have a tendency towards brutality with his opponents suffering the brunt of it. Calzaghe's defense is as good as anybody that ever put on gloves. Few in history have been as elusive as Calzaghe and also had a granite chin. Ali comes to mind, but not many others. Roy Jones, Jr., for example, was marvelously elusive in his prime but was burdened by a brittle chin.

Con: Put statistics aside and visually compare Calzaghe to Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali (boxing's holy trinity). It doesn't seem that Calzaghe's unorthodox style can equate to the expert technique of Robinson or Louis, nor does it possess the beauty of Ali in action. While the championship records of Robinson, Louis, and Ali contain losses, those fighters fought a bevy of hall of famers and ATGs and their exploits are truly legendary. Putting statistics aside it's hard to place Calzaghe (or Marciano) ahead of Robinson, Louis, and Ali. It's easier to see Joe Cal in the second tier of ATGs (boxing heaven) such as Marciano, Duran, Leonard, Haggler, and Dempsey (all time classic but a different age). FOYI boxing's third tier of ATGs (boxing purgatory) would consist of ATGs such as Jones, Jr., Tszyu, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Tommy Hearns, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, and so on and so forth. There is a fourth tier of ATGs (DeLaHoya, Mayweather, and other less noted but great champions) but we need not go into this for purposes of this discussion.

Ok. It's done.

hmm so ******

okay one, you say duran is "second tier" ATG yet is rated top 5 all time p4p

you say charles, and moore were third tier but they were top 15 all time p4p

also you didnt mention henry armstrong who is rated #2 p4p


oh and the actual analysis of joe is dumb, just an all round dumb post

[Fox McCloud]

Who did Lopez duck that he would have lost to with such certainty?

No one...

Just making fun of the fact that the thread starter said that he ended up losing.

And that he is 100% convinced that Mayweather ducked Tszyu, Margarito and Cotto... all of them, which is why he isn't even close to an ATG.