Calzaghe not great: Eubank

Former WBO super-middleweight champ Chris Eubank claims that current WBO super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe is not a great fighter.

"Joe Calzaghe I'd consider great champion," said the Brighton bombast. "In that he takes on all-comers and throws everything. Thomas Hearns is another I'd consider great champion.

"You certainly couldn't consider me great champion, for example. I tried to get away with doing bare minimum and for a long time I did - I mastered boxing.

"Naseem Hamed I don't consider great champion for other reasons, in that he got hit and quit. Joe Calzaghe on the other hand gets hit and comes back.

"So what we have is lots of evidence to suggest that Joe Calzaghe is great champion. However, we have zero to suggest that Joe Calzaghe is a great fighter, absolutely zilch."

Eubank feels that a fighter cannot be considered 'great' until he's tasted defeat and won again.

"It's how one responds to defeat that determines ones greatness," he said.

"I was undefeated in 43 fights, and fought far better opponents than Joe has - I beat great fighters like Benn and Watson, great fighters in that they came back from losses to do great things, I beat a southpaw in Germany who was a former and future world champion - say if Joe loses his next fight, that's when we'll see what he's made of as far as greatness is concerned.

"You get me?"

Eubank also makes it clear that, in his opinion, you have to wait until someone has completed his career before labelling him.

"What I've learned is that you have to wait until a fighters career in finished before you determine his status. You cannot determine a status during a fighters career - only in the most special cases.

"Taking me for example, I got rave reviews in my early professional fights in the States and I got rave reviews in my early days on Screensport. It was good, it made me feel like the Second Coming!

"But when I was on top, both the media and fans kicked me to pieces. It wasn't until my last three fights that I got the respect I always craved - taking my beatings like a man while trying my heart out to win, and then losing gracefully with dignity intact... instead of winning arrogantly with peacock strut in full flow!

"I get lasting respect from the people because I stayed the course. I go beyond being remembered, because I stayed the course.

"If I went beyond that though, coming back again then my dignity would be in question and I would not have left that respect in the minds of the people.

"If Evander Holyfield got out after the Tyson fights, he would have left an awesome memory in the minds of the people. But he's lost respect from me since in all honesty.

"Naseem is probably the greatest example I can give. Nigel would be another one - rave reviews at the start, respect throughout but then hissed out in his last fight.

"With Naseem though, even when he was a young kid just starting out it was as if he was already the greatest British boxer for all-times, like it was a full-gone conclusion.

"He was even being described as the best boxer people had ever seen in the time he was a novice pro!

"But when push came to shove, and when his career had ended as it has now, he made good champion and nothing more.

"With Joe, we are positive that he is great champion in this moment in time. But what if he lost a fight, went AWOL and fading into oblivion? He might not be remembered as great champion let alone a great fighter, if he was remembered at all."

He then goes on to compare boxing legacies with reality TV shows.

"Look at the Big Brother contestants each year, this is just an example I'm giving you. At the time they get all this attention, the ones who stay in the house long or make an impression you think are going to be in the public eye forever. Yet where are they now? There's only Jade Goody.

"You probably can't even remember, you'd need to see clips of the past shows to be reminded. Yet at the time they are at the forefront, where you can't consider them vaporizing - at the time, you understand?"

It'll be interesting how Calzaghe would respond to a loss actually, I read that quote from his autobiog where he lost it before the Bika fight. I reckon there's some deep shit with Joe's head

He says he always cried his eyes out after amateur losses

The title/opening statement is kind of misleading, considering that Eubank believes Joe is NOT great because A) He has never lost yet and B) He hasn't finished his career. Seemed like Eubank was praising him more than he was knocking him.

amateur losses. i thought he only lost once out of 100 + amateur fights even that was meant to be a robbery.i think eubank makes a goog point tho by sayin that you cannot judge a fighter properly until after there career.

I think a good point that Eubank has made is that all of Calzaghes opponents have dissapeared off the radar after he beat them,

So we can assume from this :

1-Calzaghe ruined them so badly that they couldn't fight properly again.
2-They were shit to begin with.

I guess we will never really know about them, but i hope Calzaghe can from now on fight some opponents to cement his legacy, if he can fight though the injurys I think he really beat anyone in his division and the divisions near to SMW.

thanks the_one, you always have the Eubank news.

I think joe would cry to warren when he lose ;D

I agree with Eubank 100%. A loss doesnt hurt a boxers legacy, it how he rebounds. If Ali never lost he would have never regained the title and his legacy wouldnt be what it is. Same for Duran, Patterson, Hearns, Lewis, Louis, Leonard, Tyson, Foreman, and almost all the ATGs.

Yeah Eubank had it all his own way for a long time, rolling in millions and keeping himself in new monocles. Then he lost, nearly went AWOL, came back and lost again and retired. If he had beaten Collins in the second fight, he'd have went on to finish his career against Benn and Jones making tonnes and, if he beat Jones, after the kick up the backside of losing, he's greatest.

Naz was in the top three or four lb4lb, if he KO's Barrera and Morales he's probably #1 and a true all-timer. But he lost, and didn't come back. And now he's looked back on as a joke!

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Originally Posted by Nium

Yeah Eubank had it all his own way for a long time, rolling in millions and keeping himself in new monocles. Then he lost, nearly went AWOL, came back and lost again and retired. If he had beaten Collins in the second fight, he'd have went on to finish his career against Benn and Jones making tonnes and, if he beat Jones, after the kick up the backside of losing, he's greatest.

Naz was in the top three or four lb4lb, if he KO's Barrera and Morales he's probably #1 and a true all-timer. But he lost, and didn't come back. And now he's looked back on as a joke!

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Thing i don't like about Eubank is his gift decisions.

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Originally Posted by paddy448

amateur losses. i thought he only lost once out of 100 + amateur fights even that was meant to be a robbery.i think eubank makes a goog point tho by sayin that you cannot judge a fighter properly until after there career.

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His amateur record is 121-9

Eubank is an uneducated idiot , who fought bums most of the time like Calzaghe , niether were or are great :)

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Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al

Eubank is an uneducated idiot , who fought bums most of the time like Calzaghe , niether were or are great :)

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Agreed forgetting Watson, Benn, most of his opposition was mediocre like Calzaghe's. only difference is that he got gift decision's off his mediocre opposition, and struggled with them.

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Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al

Eubank is an uneducated idiot , who fought bums most of the time like Calzaghe , niether were or are great :)

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Watson twice

Benn twice ,

Calzaghe,

Eubank fought some good opposition , especially compared to the fighters of today

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Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al

Eubank is an uneducated idiot , who fought bums most of the time like Calzaghe , niether were or are great :)

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Believe me Chris Eubank is not an Idiot at all !

Chris Eubank is an eccentric who knows his own mind and will give you his own undilluted opinion any day of the week .

Most people in the public eye will go through the motions and tell you wehat you want to hear but Eubank says it how he see's it an it totally rubs people up the wrong way althought this is not his intention .

Chris Eubank went from Habitual criminal to World Champion he went to some hard tough places ,endured,mastered and overcame and did it his way .

I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chris Eubank 1stly as a man and 2ndly as a fighter never was there a truer warrior , I by no Means aggree with everything he says but i will always take note of what he says .

Eubank to me has always struck me as completely honest maybe we'd prefer him to be a good nigg*r and talk in a way most'd prefer .

He's a Gentleman .

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Originally Posted by Poom

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Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al

Eubank is an uneducated idiot , who fought bums most of the time like Calzaghe , niether were or are great :)

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Watson twice

Benn twice ,

Calzaghe,

Eubank fought some good opposition , especially compared to the fighters of today

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Well i think he was on about when he was reigning champion and except Benn Watson his opposition was just like Calzaghes really.