Quote Originally Posted by ICB View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey View Post
Sorry Bilbo,it has nothing to do with country,a disputed decision against Hopkins,a fight against an injured Kessler,and an over rated Lacy does not make you a great.
That would be like judging Ali's career by what he did to Jerry Quarry,Patterson in 72(not the first fight) and Zora Foley
Funny how Kessler was injured now and Lacy was overratted

What about Trinidad, he had his ass handed to him by Winky and Roy Jones, he must have been overatted too?

And B Hop has had a bunch of disputed fights. Funny how three close losses to Taylor and Calzaghe can be turned around into wins but a close win can be twisted into almost being a loss?

Calzaghe has beaten everyone put in front of him, more than can be said of Roy Jones, B Hopkins, Pavlik, Taylor and any other great American middleweight.

His resume is unquestionable and a win over Roy will make him a first ballot Hall of Famer imo
Bilbo comparing a great fighter like Felix Trinidad who had the record, for the most Welterweight title defenses in history is madness. Felix Trinidad defeated great fighters and proved time and time again, he belonged against the best of his era.

Jeff Lacy was struggling with the likes of Omar Sheika, Syd Vanderpool, even before the Joe Calzaghe fight for crying out loud. He only got overhyped because he defeated a shot undertrained Robin Reid, who gave Joe Calzaghe all he could handle back in 1999.

Im not saying i agree with TM i think he is discrediting Joe Calzaghe, just for the sake of discrediting him. But i think what he is saying is that majority of Joe Calzaghe's best wins are all questionable. I'll give you examples of what i mean Bilbo.

Charles Brewer = Just got stopped in 3 rounds by Antwun Echols.

Richie Woodhall = Just lost Markus Beyer, was also dropped 3 times by feather fisted Markus Beyer.

Chris Eubank = Weight drained.

Robin Reid = Just lost to 40+ Thulani Malinga.

etc.

I mean the only really good wins Joe Calzaghe has had with no question marks is Mikkel Kessler, Jeff Lacy, but as i pointed out to you before. previous fights before the Joe Calzaghe fight, proved Jeff Lacy wasn't world class.

And i don't see why that if Joe Calzaghe beats RJJ. That the RJJ win should be hailed as some great win, everyone before this fight considered RJJ. A shot fighter and from his last 2 fights he hasn't really impressed me at all, RJJ does have a chance he still has speed and he is still the bigger man, but come on if this fight was 6 years ago would we be even questioning anything else but a clear cut RJJ win ?
I agree with both sides here. Calzaghe was probably the greatest super middleweight of all-time. To use a phrase he often uses, at the end of the day, it can't be denied that it is impressive to stay unbeaten for 11 years.

On the other hand, he has not faced the best competition. His best win is over Hopkins where he looked his worst, of course in all fairness to him, Hopkins is a great and makes everyone look their worst. Yes, he thoroughly dominated Lacy, but who has Lacy beat? Calzaghe fans overrate that win because the american press had Lacy a huge favorite. They should feel vindicated, but that doesn't mean, however, that a win over Lacy does amazing things for a career. In my opinion, Calzaghe's legacy in small part depends on how good Kessler winds up being. If Kessler proves to be a great super middleweight, Calzaghe's dominant performance will look even sweeter.