Is Calzaghe the Greatest of All Time?

[Burner]

No not even close.......

He doesnt have the skills or the resume.

PERIOD.

[hammerhiem]

No not even close.......

He doesnt have the skills or the resume.

PERIOD.

In fairness Burner there are maybe, MAYBE 5 boxers who can claim to have the skills and resume to have an arguement about competeing with SRR for the No1 slot.

I did a top 100 list the other day with Cal at 100 the other day and realisiticly 30 of those fighters should have been behind him.

there are not 100 fighters with that great a resume that calzaghe can be objectively put behind, god knows i tried, i really really tried.

As for GOAT there is only 1 GOAT and I can't foresee boxing ever having a guy who will fight enough against high enough opposistion to ever unsurp Robinson ever.

[Wiley Hyena]

Calzaghe will never make it even close to my ATG list. You know why? The reason is he always danced around danger his entire career. He tucked himself in safely and only went after the big names when they were older and slower.

Hatton will always get more respect from me. Ricky at least dared to be great and went after top dogs in their prime. That is what a true fighter does.

IMO you're wrong about Calzaghe. I appreciate the thought on Hatton, though. But, let's be clear....Hatton is not in Calzaghe's class. Hatton is great to watch because he's a fighter. He always has a puncher's chance because he's mean. This doesn't mean he has elite talent. He does not. He has heart and grit, but his talent is pedestrian. THIS is what separates Calzaghe from Hatton. Calzaghe has heart and grit PLUS the talent.

[hammerhiem]

The hatton comparison is a red herring, Cal simply did not have the PBF or Pac to fight against.

RJJ was more interested in fighting Big US names and BHop wouldn't sign the contract he was offered when the fights would have been on the same level as teh fights hatton had.

The difference was purely the money Hatton brings to the table, it's the ultimate door opener, trust me if Cal was filling the MEN against Reid and Mitchell et al, He would have got the big name fights, but he wasn't he was fighting in front of half full arena's with packed undercards until after he beat Lacy.

The Lacy Win launched Cal to a higher level on BOTH sides of the pond.

[Dynamite Kid]

The hatton comparison is a red herring, Cal simply did not have the PBF or Pac to fight against.

RJJ was more interested in fighting Big US names and BHop wouldn't sign the contract he was offered when the fights would have been on the same level as teh fights hatton had.

The difference was purely the money Hatton brings to the table, it's the ultimate door opener, trust me if Cal was filling the MEN against Reid and Mitchell et al, He would have got the big name fights, but he wasn't he was fighting in front of half full arena's with packed undercards until after he beat Lacy.

The Lacy Win launched Cal to a higher level on BOTH sides of the pond.

Great fighters seek out challenges by moving up in weight.

[deanrw]

IMO you're wrong about Calzaghe. I appreciate the thought on Hatton, though. But, let's be clear....Hatton is not in Calzaghe's class. Hatton is great to watch because he's a fighter. He always has a puncher's chance because he's mean. This doesn't mean he has elite talent. He does not. He has heart and grit, but his talent is pedestrian. THIS is what separates Calzaghe from Hatton. Calzaghe has heart and grit PLUS the talent.

The Only fight where Joe gets a nod from me was the Kessler fight. He beat a very good A class champion in his prime. That is it though.

[hugh grant]

There can certainly be no arguments that he was the best of his time in his weight divisions though. Whether he can be compared to SRR and others alike though, people will always have their opinion on that.

He beat Kessler dont forget, and kessler is still considered the man because he hasnt been exposed apart from against JC. So JC has beat very good opponents but just not everyone. By everyone i mean he could have fought, Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson, if only to pad out his record a bit more.
But cant escape the fact when he did fight decent opponents noone exposed JC. If Jc werent great he would have been exposed. But the fact he wasnt exposed is testament to his talent.

[Wiley Hyena]

The hatton comparison is a red herring, Cal simply did not have the PBF or Pac to fight against.

RJJ was more interested in fighting Big US names and BHop wouldn't sign the contract he was offered when the fights would have been on the same level as teh fights hatton had.

The difference was purely the money Hatton brings to the table, it's the ultimate door opener, trust me if Cal was filling the MEN against Reid and Mitchell et al, He would have got the big name fights, but he wasn't he was fighting in front of half full arena's with packed undercards until after he beat Lacy.

The Lacy Win launched Cal to a higher level on BOTH sides of the pond.

Yes, the Lacy win did it if you're talking about international fame. At the time, Lacy was looking to be the next Mike Tyson. If Lacy had won that fight.........he might have become just that. But, Calzaghe absolutely destroyed Lacy....to the extent that Lacy was never the same. It wasn't just that Calzaghe won, it was the way that he won. That was brutal.

[Vasyl’s dad]

Mayweather fans should agree he is.

[mathed]

Joe did not have the best form but he had the intangibles, he could adapt mid-fight and turn things in his favor. He had superior workrate and threw the other guys off their game which was probably his best skill.