Quote Originally Posted by raleights
So if Maskaev is so much easier than Calzaghe, hows it more of an achievment? Despite the fact that Oleg is so much bigger why is Calzaghe more of a threat? Because he's a master boxer, on the same level as Bernard and Roy Jones (well maybe not quite Roy but Nard was never there either ). It seems to me thats the easy way out.

Granted I get what you're saying, compound everything he's done with winning a heavyweight title but it's just on paper that it looks good. Lets be real
Nobody will care in 20 years if Hopkins has a win against Calzaghe on his record, Calzaghe is a great British fighter but he's not a worldwide phenomenon and won't be considered as one of the best ever in 20 years(unless he beat Hopkins and others, but this is about Hopkins winning, if he beats Calzage well it just shows Calzaghe wasn't on Hopkins level.)

The fact that Maskaev is not well known is completely and utterly irrelevent to a persons legacy.

Name me all the fighters Robinson beat to win the middleweight championship 5 times? And don't cheat and look at boxrec!

Name me the light heavyweight who Robinson failed to beat through heat exhaustion?

Name me the 25 defenses of his title that Joe Louis made?

See it is completely and utterly irrelevent who the opponents are in these cases, what counts is the record.

If Hopkins fought Maskaev and won a world heavy weight title, at 42 years old, after fighting as a middleweight his entire career it would be an acheivement unrivalled in the history of boxing.

Look at big George Foreman, most people can't even remember who he beat to win the title at 45 years old, but they all know he won the title again.

Winning a heavyweight title belt would do more for Hopkins legacy than beating Calzaghe, Kessler and Jones combined.

It's history mate, accomplish that and as I said before he ranks alongside Robinson and Armstrong as the greatest of all time.