<b><font color="#800000"><b><font color="#800000">~ RJJ vs. Calzaghe ~ Let's talk! vi

[Althugz]

This fight offended me...I was so embaressed half way through the fight that I wanted to get up and walk out.

It was like Roy had an agreement with Joe to just hang in there for 12 rounds and let him just hit his elbows whilst throwing NOTHING in return. I was so deflated and dissapointed in Roy.

He just wasn't interested and could have had Calzaghe out of there in the 1st after he was gasping for breath. The old HUNGRY Roy would have dispatched of him immediately after that knockdown.

I think both Joe and Roy should be ashamed of themselves for this performance. A blatant robbery of the fans. They both owe me 8 hours of sleep!

[Napolis]

I have been reading these forums for some while now, and after each transatlantic bout, the same one-eyed assessments see to abound. There's nothing wrong with such partisanship, but it doesn't make for rational assessment of the fights being discussed. Inevitably, which eye is closed seems to depend upon which side of the pond its POV is from.

Much as I love Ricky Hatton as a character, I don't like his style as a boxer, and didn't give him much of a hope against PBF. Infact, I think he did well to last as long as he did. Most of my boxing heroes are American: Sugar Rays 1 and 2, Ali, Oscar DLH etc However, I do think that Calzaghe gets massively under-rated on here.

The facts are that he has beaten everyone put in front of him. Even B Hop had to resort to cheating, and still couldn't win.
Calzaghe's speed is breathtaking. Not just the hand speed, but his reflexes. That's why he has always been able to get away with dropping his hands and sticking his chin out. His variety of styles and ability to quickly adapt his gameplan when the going gets tough must be demoralising for his opponents. The demoralisation of his opponents is the key. Drop him, he comes back at you fearlessly, daring you to do it again. He doesn't take a backward step, and especially not when he has been tagged. Imagine that. You hit an opponent with a crisp shot, and he walks straight at you firing flurries of "pitter patter" shots....except, those pitter patter shots hurt: ask Lacey, Kessler and RJJ.

The key to the RJJ fight was in the first three rounds, where age would be less of a factor for Roy. He was still sharp and dangerous, but he was being beaten to the punch 9 times out of ten, by a guy taunting him in the way he taunted others. RJJ's spirit was broken right there. All he did from there on in was survive.

Far from showing disrespect (Calzage always showboats), he clearly took his foot off the gas in later rounds, and did not appear to want to hurt one of his heroes.

Those with the opinion that a prime RJJ takes a prime Calzaghe are simply pulling fantasy from nostalgia. I too watched RJJ destroy countless opponents with dazzling speed and agility. However, he never met a Calzaghe before, and it is certainly no foregone conclusion that he would have prevailed against such an indomitable spirit/chin, allied with Calzaghe's ability.

Joe came to prominence hammering Chris Eubank, the best of the golden era of Brit middleweights. I hope he calls it a day now, having taken all the significant names of the late nineties and naughties. I fear that any further fights might be the undoing of him, not because of the onset of age, but because the motivation would be all wrong.

[ICB]

This fight offended me...I was so embaressed half way through the fight that I wanted to get up and walk out.

It was like Roy had an agreement with Joe to just hang in there for 12 rounds and let him just hit his elbows whilst throwing NOTHING in return. I was so deflated and dissapointed in Roy.

He just wasn't interested and could have had Calzaghe out of there in the 1st after he was gasping for breath. The old HUNGRY Roy would have dispatched of him immediately after that knockdown.

I think both Joe and Roy should be ashamed of themselves for this performance. A blatant robbery of the fans. They both owe me 8 hours of sleep!

I totally agree this wasn't a championship fight at all, it felt more like a circus to me. One guy clowning/dancing every 30 seconds, and the other not willing to commit or fight, or take advantage's of clear openings Joe Calzaghe was giving him. There was no desire/heart/ ETC at all in this fight.

I appreciate the sweet sciene thats why some of my favorite fighters, are fighters like Pernell Whitaker, Floyd Mayweather Jr, but this wasn't the sweet sciene at all this was total bollocks IMO.

I felt cheated that i had all my friends over and my girl, and i had to stay up all that long. To watch that embarrassment, even my friends went home before the fight finished.