Rate Joe Calzaghe's opposition with marks out of ten.

[W1LL]

9/10
Bernard Hopkins, Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacy

8/10
Chris Eubank and Robin Reid

7/10
Sakio Bika, Charles Brewer, Byron Mitchell, Kabary Salem, Omar Sheika, Mario Veit I and Richie Woodhall

6/10
Roy Jones, Jr. and Mario Veit II

5/10
Miguel Angel Jimenez, Mger Mkrtchyan and David Starie

4/10
Evans Ashira, Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra, Peter Manfredo, Jr., Will McIntyre, Tocker Pudwill and Rick Thornberry

3/10
Branko Sobot

[robertzimmerman]

Chris Eubank: 5/10 He was old.
Jeff Lacy: 8/10 He did good against that scary guy.
Mikkel Kessler: 9/10 Great boxing match Kessler was no pushover.
Bernard Hopkins: 6/10 Not exactly prime Bernard, but Calzaghe wasn't very prime either.
Roy Jones Jr.: 7/10 Purely for entertainment value. Seeing Calzaghe showboat against old Roy was pretty fun to watch.

What on earth did you find entertaining about Joe showboating against Roy, when he'd never have dared to have fought him when he was prime, and he said in his autobiography that Roy was shot in 2004?

It wasn't entertaining, it was pathetic.

[robertzimmerman]

Chris Eubank: 7/10 Eubank was mediocre but in his prime at age 30
Branko Sobot: 5/10
Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra: 5/10
Robin Reid: 8/10 Decent win, prime contender
Rick Thornberry: 7/10
David Starie: 6/10
Omar Sheika: 8/10 Had just beaten Glen Johnson
Richie Woodhall: 8/10 Good fighter
Mario Veit I: 8/10 undefeated contender
Will McIntyre: 6/10
Charles Brewer: 7/10 contender
Miguel Angel Jimenez: 6/10
Tocker Pudwill: 4/10 late replacement
Byron Mitchell: 8/10 contender
Mger Mkrtchyan: 5/10
Kabary Salem: 7/10 tough guy
Mario Veit II: 7/10
Evans Ashira: 5/10
Jeff Lacy: 8/10 undefeated hyped fighter
Sakio Bika: 8/10 Sakio was in his prime then
Peter Manfredo, Jr.: 5/10
Mikkel Kessler: 9/10 undefeated prime opponent, beat him fairly
Bernard Hopkins: 8/10 he went on to beat Pavlik, Pascal
Roy Jones, Jr.: 8/10 they were the same age, Jones still fights

This is crazy.

I can only assume that you're trolling for a joke.


Eubank wasn't prime. He was faded and had awful preparation.

How on earth was Rick Thornberry a 7?

How on earth was Omar Sheika an 8?

Byron Mitchell an 8?

Kabary Salem and Mario Veit a 7?

Sakio Bika an 8?

Roy Jones an 8?


Ha!

[robertzimmerman]

Eubank was AGE 30 when he fought Calzaghe.

THAT'S NOT OLD. "OLD" is just an excuse to discredit Calzaghe.

Eubank was very overrated, Calzaghe was simply a much better fighter.

Age and ring age are 2 very different things.

Ricky Hatton was old when he was in his early 30's.

Eubank still had a lot left in the tank against Joe. And he showed it afterwards against Carl Thompson. But he was faded. And he was never the same after the Watson tragedy.

He accepted Joe on only 11 days notice after preparing to fight Mark Prince at LHW. His last fights at SMW had been 2 years earlier when he'd suffered back to back defeats against Steve Collins. And he hadn't won at SMW for 3 years. Not only did he have to change his diet to make weight, he also had no southpaw sparring and he wasn't able to do his roadwork due to having bad knees, which he had to have injections in before the fight.

Whilst Joe deserves a lot of credit for beating a British boxing legend in his first big fight, Eubank was nowhere near his prime.

[robertzimmerman]

great thread, but i cba to rate all of them. my ratings look pretty similar to freedoms on first glance but i would give lacy a 9 and eubank an 8.
Joe is criminally underrated on this forum and in worldwide boxing discussion. He was a true ATG, one of the most gifted fighters ive ever seen. Noone could beat joe and thats why he retired undefeated

Ha!

I'd have another look at Freedom's ratings if I were you.

[robertzimmerman]

Most of them are 5-7 range..

Kessler, bika, lacy, hopkins I would all rate 8 or higher

Bika hasn't had 1 noteworthy win in his entire career.

How can he rate an 8?

[robertzimmerman]

damn yiu must think hopkins, kessler and roy jones suck then cause '**** fighter' joe beat them all with ease

Clueless. SMH.

[robertzimmerman]

9/10
Bernard Hopkins, Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacy

8/10
Chris Eubank and Robin Reid

7/10
Sakio Bika, Charles Brewer, Byron Mitchell, Kabary Salem, Omar Sheika, Mario Veit I and Richie Woodhall

6/10
Roy Jones, Jr. and Mario Veit II

5/10
Miguel Angel Jimenez, Mger Mkrtchyan and David Starie

4/10
Evans Ashira, Juan Carlos Gimenez Ferreyra, Peter Manfredo, Jr., Will McIntyre, Tocker Pudwill and Rick Thornberry

3/10
Branko Sobot

If your criteria is to rate the quality of his opposition, some of those ratings are absolutely laughable.

How on earth can the likes of Kabary Salem be a 7??

Lacy a 9-10??

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Bika hasn't had 1 noteworthy win in his entire career.

How can he rate an 8?

Bika has been world class for years between 3 divisions... He was especially tough when Calzaghe fought him... Much like ouma, clottey, glen johnson, he was a rugged warrior that took on all comers, and sometimes got the short end on decisions

[robertzimmerman]

Bika has been world class for years between 3 divisions... He was especially tough when Calzaghe fought him... Much like ouma, clottey, glen johnson, he was a rugged warrior that took on all comers, and sometimes got the short end on decisions

Again, he's never had one noteworthy win in his entire career.

A guy who rates an 8 has to be a guy like Kessler, who's very good, but not quite elite.

A guy who's elite has to be someone like Floyd. Unfortunately, Joe hasn't got any 9's or 10's, unless you were generous and awarded them to Kessler or Hopkins.

Bika should be at best a 7.