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Yes.......................................in England!!!! Thats it!!! Ray.
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HOF - yes, though he took the scenic route (10 years of defending a single title) he did set a record in doing so that deserves fame.
ATG - no way, he lacked the skills to beat top fighters and had to wait till they were old in order to outgass them. He'd be comfortably beaten by all history's best MWs and LHWs if they met him prime2prime at SMW.Comment
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Like I always say:
In terms of talent he could have been an ATG
He didn't prove it though. He didn't even have the confidence to fight Pavlik.Comment
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If he was an American the poll results would be reversed.Comment
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If one were to make a case, surely his resume wouldn't be the main factor? If I were to support an argument for Calzaghe being an ATG, I'd reference his title defenses and years at the top. Wins over Reid, Lacy, Hopkins, Jones, Bika, Eubank, etc. Isn't too shabby a resume, is it?
Still wouldn't call him a great.Comment
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trouble is these exact same wins.
Reid - can be considered a loss or draw quite easily
Lacy - an example of how utter crap with a mean hook can win a title if well protected. Put another way - what decent fighter cant beat Lacy? None.Its a no value win, but it was a good performance on the night from Joe!
Jones/Hopkins - way too old to last against a high volume superfit fighter, a guaranteed victory for Joe as long as he could last their early arsenal. Easily would be losses for Joe if he'd fought them in their primes, absolutely NO question.
Bika - obvious willing and ability, but what kind of champion happily picks tv show fighters like him and Manfredo as credible opponents? Few do so, Calzaghe is one of the exceptions.
Eubank - finished, unprepared and clearly wasnt interested in winning the title that he had already left behind years ago.
That amounts to three losses and three faceless wins in the 'real world'. Bika perhaps is a good win. Hardly ATG material.Last edited by DreamFighter; 01-06-2013, 12:20 PM.Comment
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Jones and Hopkins both over 40 put him on the floor in the first round. Either one a few years under 40 would finish him thereComment
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THe only fight I give a ton of respect to Cal is his win against Kessler.
Ward and Froch already have a better resume than CalzagheComment
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Joe Calzaghe is far from my favourite fighter, I was never a big fan when he was active and I think he took the easy road. However this is complete bull****, Calzaghe was 37 years old when he fought those guys, and he was never close to being hurt by either guy. They were both flash knockdowns, no chance Hopkins ever stops Calzaghe, and Jones wouldn't stop Calzaghe early, Jones went the distance with plenty of worse fighters like Dave Telesco, he doesn't stop Calzaghe.
You never get a reasonable opinion on Calzaghe, he's either a God to his fans, or a complete bum to his haters - he was a great fighter who lacked the ambition to challenge himself, which is why he's no ATG and his career left a lot of questions as to how much Joe could have achieved if he dared to be greatComment
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