Comments Thread For: Calzaghe Laments Abandoned Tradition

[BoxingUpdates]

By Declan Warrington - Joe Calzaghe wants more of the world's leading fighters to remain at and build their legacies in their natural weight divisions
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[Oldskoolg]

Calzaghe would have stopped Alvarez late, Canelo would have been on the receiving end of a two fisted slapping for 12 rounds.

[LAchargers373]

Lmao fresh coming from calzaghe who till every relevant American boxer his weight was over 40 before he came across the pond to challenge them smh

[slimPickings]

46-0!!!... I would love to be a "slapper" too!

[HandsofIron]

Probably one of the best articles that I have read on nsb in a very long time, lots of knowledge in this piece.

So many examples of modern, boxing's weight blunders and bonehead moves - Canelo fighting Mayweather at a weight depleting, 152 catchweight, Mikey Garcia ruined his career when he moved to 147 from 135 to fight Spence, Rigondeaux moving up 2 weight classes to fight Lomachenko, Kell Brook moving up 2 weight classes to fight GGG at 160 (Canelo was at 154 at the time, why Kell didn't move up just one weight class and fight Canelo is beyond me) and getting his face caved in etc...

Joe is right, stay in your own weight class and make that legacy, only move up in weight when your body can't make it anymore and never go back down after you move up.

[dan-b]

I agree. I am far more interested in long and active reigns in a single division than inactivity and picking off weak belt holders in different weight classes.

As to Calzaghe, he unfortunately held the WBO when it didn't mean much and probably held it too long. Plus he didn't defend the belts after he beat Kessler.

He was wrong about his second fight with Veit not being televised in the UK. Eurosport picked it up and I remember watching live (see below). I loved Steve Holdsworth's commentary and he talked about Joe's situation with the WBO during the fight.

[thack]

I had an hour with him 14 weeks before the Kessler fight , airport lounge, he was off to Sardina for a break before his 12 week camp. He wanted to finish his career with two big fights in America and retire , never to return with an unblemished record , he did all. Straight talker , no silly delusions , good guy and I suppose that's why the statement above makes the sense it does.He would have hammered Canelo to Froch and more but there comes a time!

[kafkod]

Lmao fresh coming from calzaghe who till every relevant American boxer his weight was over 40 before he came across the pond to challenge them smh

The only yank who was over 40 when he fought Calzaghe was Bernard Hopkins, who was still a world champion 10 years after losing to Joe.

[Boro]

Lmao fresh coming from calzaghe who till every relevant American boxer his weight was over 40 before he came across the pond to challenge them smh

What relevant American SMW were they like apart from the overhyped Lacy, who he'd already beat, also the WBO wasn't exactly recognised at the time and he only beat Lacy 2 years prior to obtain a widely recognised belt...

Both Hopkins and RJJ weren't in “his weight division” when he fought them and hadn't been for some time, he fought them outside of “his division.”

Hopkins had been at LHW for 3 years at that point and Roy hadn't fought at SMW since Brannon (10 years earlier).

And let's not pretend Hopkins didn't go on for years afterwards and perform at world level, RJJ not so much…

[Marchegiano]

Calzaghe would have stopped Alvarez late, Canelo would have been on the receiving end of a two foster slapping for 12 rounds.

I'd take ol slappy joe over canelo myself.