Joe Calzaghe Felt Chad Dawson Wasn't Ready Yet

[cassiusthegreat]

I've seen many boxing experts who rate Calzaghe and Lewis at similar levels. You're entitled to your opinion.

Would Lennox have beaten a peak Tyson? We'll never know but I doubt it. In the second fight vs. Holyfield he struggled, and Holyfield was way past his peak by then.

then their idiots not really an opinion that is just stating the obvious

well holyfield was past his prime but he was also the a top heavyweight contender of that day so it in no way diminishes from his victory

a prime evander holyfield had problems against rid**** bowe

lewis was denied his great prime fight against rid**** bowe for reasons that were out of his hands


lewis never had a great wins over a great opponent but

tua
Briggs
McCall
rahman
mercer
morrison
Holyfield
Ruddock
klitschko

were all very good heavyweights and such a reseme qaulifies as an all time great


I will also add to that list

golota
tucker

[IMDAZED]

There may have been plenty of time as you say, but he looked pretty whacked to me at the end of the sixth round, and I'm not convinced he could have gone another six if he'd had to. I think if there had been a rematch, he'd have been the narrow betting favourite, but only narrow. And I do realise he'd under-trained for that fight - but then again, he was nearly 40, and who knows whether his age would have caught up with him in a rematch?

Yeah, Lewis looked tired as he plopped on a stool. But as the cameras turned to the other corner I remembered he was tired from disfiguring his opponent.

[The_Visitation]

.Calzaghe just started making good money himself and he can't give Dawson a chance.That's bulls**t.

Why is it bull****? A couple of years down the line Dawson is no more likely to turn down a much more lucrative fight, with considerably lower risk, to give anybody 'a chance' than Calzaghe - or anybody else - is. Calzaghe had little to gain in terms of 'legacy' (he wins big and Dawson is just another Jeff Lacy, he wins less big and Dawson is just 'over-rated') or money. That's what it's all about, and why he may even come back and fight Dawson one day.. if/when Dawson is a big enough cash-magnet to justify the risk.

[Dave Rado]

You got to ask yourself this...Boxing Experts are not always right. I dont follow anybody's view but my own. You cant expect the experts to bad mouth any one. That could affect the views from the fans of the ones they bad mouth. Sugar coating does happen. The boxing public knows what happens. Thats why we have mixed views. Do a poll and see if Joe is Over or Under rated and see what you get. Everone cant be wrong. Look at his record on boxingrec.com and see what made him great. B class fighter

There's a lot of bias on these forums and a lot of people who are a long way from being boxing experts (that is, who don't back up their opinions with knowledge and serious analysis) and who have obviously not watched any of Calzaghe's early fights, so I would set no store by a poll on here. And I don't share your opinion of boxing experts at all, they are paid for their knowledge of boxing, not for buttering fighters up. Calzaghe fought most of the leading fighters in what was admittedly a very weak division over a very long period. Eubanks, Brewer, Mitchell, Woodhall, Reid, Lacy and Kessler were all very well thought of when he beat him, not in P4P terms, but they were thought to be very good fighters. He never avoided anyone (unless you count Dawson, which I don't). He tried to get fights with Ottke, Jones and Hopkins in their primes; boxing politics prevented the Jones fight from happening and the other two made it clear they weren't interested. The Johnson fight fell through due to a serious back injury and to Johnson losing patience when he took a long time to recover from it; and most people would have expected him to beat Johnson.

He showed superb ring generalship and tactical intelligence in the ring, with an exceptional ability to change tactics mid-fight when necessary. His hand speed was incredible for someone of that weight. He punched harder than people give him credit for, especially early in his career, before he had to find a way to protect his fragile knuckles. He had 33 KOs, 10 fights ended in the first round. 8 fights ended in the second round.

A lot of great fighters have lost to inferior fighters. Lewis lost to McCall and Rachman - he avenged both, but the point is, he lost. Duran lost to Kirkland Laing, for goodness sakes. Calzaghe always found a way to win, even though he fought some fights with a broken hand, and had off nights in others. That's quite an achievement over such a long period.

His record pre-Lacy is comparable with Hopkins' record pre-Trinidad - he dominated an admittedly weak division for a long time.

[IMDAZED]

There's a lot of bias on these forums and a lot of people who are a long way from being boxing experts (that is, who don't back up their opinions with knowledge and serious analysis) and who have obviously not watched any of Calzaghe's early fights, so I would set no store by a poll on here. And I don't share your opinion of boxing experts at all, they are paid for their knowledge of boxing, not for buttering fighters up. Calzaghe fought most of the leading fighters in what was admittedly a very weak division over a very long period. Eubanks, Brewer, Mitchell, Woodhall, Lacy and Kessler were all very well thought of when he beat him, not in P4P terms, but they were thought to be very good fighters. He never avoided anyone (unless you count Dawson, which I don't). He tried to get fights with Ottke, Jones and Hopkins in their primes; boxing politics prevented the Jones fight from happening and the other two made it clear they weren't interested. The Johnson fight fell through due to a serious back injury and to Johnson losing patience when he took a long time to recover from it; and most people would have expected him to beat Johnson.

He showed superb ring generalship and tactical intelligence in the ring, with an exceptional ability to change tactics mid-fight when necessary. His hand speed was incredible for someone of that weight. He punched harder than people give him credit for, especially early in his career, before he had to find a way to protect his fragile knuckles.

A lot of great fighters have lost to inferior fighters. Lewis lost to McCall and Rachman - he avenged both, but the point is, he lost. Duran lost to Kirkland Laing, for goodness sakes. Calzaghe always found a way to win, even though he fought some fights with a broken hand, and had off nights in others. That's quite an achievement over such a long period.

His record pre-Lacy is comparable with Hopkins' record pre-Trinidad - he dominated an admittedly weak division for a long time.

Well-thought out points. Calzaghe is a Hall of Famer and his record should be commended. I don't rank him higher than Lewis but it's tough to analyze heavyweights from a pound for pound perspective. Nevertheless Lewis worked his way up defeating tough opponents in their backyard - something he began in the amateurs. Beat older champs and a lot of younger ones - one who might even be considered the best today and several others who stuck around well after he was gone.

[miamijohn]

There's a lot of bias on these forums and a lot of people who are a long way from being boxing experts (that is, who don't back up their opinions with knowledge and serious analysis) and who have obviously not watched any of Calzaghe's early fights, so I would set no store by a poll on here. And I don't share your opinion of boxing experts at all, they are paid for their knowledge of boxing, not for buttering fighters up. Calzaghe fought most of the leading fighters in what was admittedly a very weak division over a very long period. Eubanks, Brewer, Mitchell, Woodhall, Lacy and Kessler were all very well thought of when he beat him, not in P4P terms, but they were thought to be very good fighters. He never avoided anyone (unless you count Dawson, which I don't). He tried to get fights with Ottke, Jones and Hopkins in their primes; boxing politics prevented the Jones fight from happening and the other two made it clear they weren't interested. The Johnson fight fell through due to a serious back injury and to Johnson losing patience when he took a long time to recover from it; and most people would have expected him to beat Johnson.

He showed superb ring generalship and tactical intelligence in the ring, with an exceptional ability to change tactics mid-fight when necessary. His hand speed was incredible for someone of that weight. He punched harder than people give him credit for, especially early in his career, before he had to find a way to protect his fragile knuckles.

A lot of great fighters have lost to inferior fighters. Lewis lost to McCall and Rachman - he avenged both, but the point is, he lost. Duran lost to Kirkland Laing, for goodness sakes. Calzaghe always found a way to win, even though he fought some fights with a broken hand, and had off nights in others. That's quite an achievement over such a long period.

His record pre-Lacy is comparable with Hopkins' record pre-Trinidad - he dominated an admittedly weak division for a long time.

I give Joe much credit for the Kessler fight. thats it ! These boxing experts who thought Lacy was the ****...were wrong! I never thought Lacy was any good. Like you said "thought to be good" Most of the fights were with b class fighters. B-hop wasnt a b class, and that was a awfull fight that went to the cards by SD. Why not the rematch, You havent beat someone till you clearly beat them. No other top guys,except names. Roy should retired 4yrs ago.

[nelsoncm]

Can we wait until after the Hatton fight before we start declaring Pacquiao for Godhood?

Exactly. Manny's my favorite fighter but why does every nuthugger divert every topic to him

[Mr. Philadel]

During a recent interview, Joe Calzaghe gave his reason for walking away from the sport and announcing his retirement - before taking a fight with IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who many saw as the number-one contender to Calzaghe's throne. He felt Dawson was not yet a big enough star to make the fight. The money wasn't there for a fight with Dawson, and Calzaghe wasn't willing to wait around for the money to develop. He wanted to go out on top without a loss on his record. [details]

[Dave Rado]

Well-thought out points. Calzaghe is a Hall of Famer and his record should be commended. I don't rank him higher than Lewis but it's tough to analyze heavyweights from a pound for pound perspective. Nevertheless Lewis worked his way up defeating tough opponents in their backyard - something he began in the amateurs. Beat older champs and a lot of younger ones - one who might even be considered the best today and several others who stuck around well after he was gone.

I share your opinion of Lewis, and I rate the two equally, for different reasons, but respect your opinion on that.

[dde91]

i hope this shows the Fraud that Cal-***gy really is. He didn't want to fight the young prospect because he wouldn't make enough money. He rather end his Career agaisn't a washed up Roy Jones Jr. that everybody knew he would beat by decision. He beat Kessler and Roy Jones convicingly, so theres no need for a rematch in those fights.
But in the Hopkins fight, he knew that fight was to close to call, and thats why he doesn't want to fight him. he know deep in his heart he really did lose.
Hopkins fought Taylor when he was the new up and comer of the MW division. He wanted to prove he wasn't scared of nobody. He lost, but both are close fights that many think he won. Then Hopkins fought the young prospect Pavlik after Cal-***gy ducked him, and Hopkins gave him a ass whoopin, then he is going to say, that Pavlik is overrated. NO CAL-***GY..... YOU ARE
Cal-***gy is a Fraud.