Yahoo sports recently had a pound for pound list where Calzaghe was listed at #3- Are they for real?

Question

last I checked Calzaghe has fought no where near the competition that either Marquez Brother(Juan and Rafael) has faced...................

Both of the Marquez Brothers should have been ahead of Calzaghe on the P4P list!..................

I got to tell ya, I think the boxing media has given Calzaghe way too much praise and credit for being something that he is not, that is - A GREAT FIGHTER!.................

Yeah he beat a rising young star in Lacey- but in order to be great you have to beat great fighters WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG AND IN THEIR PRIME!- LACEY WAS NEVER GREAT!...............

Yeah he beat Kessler- but has Kessler beaten any great fighters in his career- NO!- again beating Kessler is not a great accomplishment, because Kessler himself is not a great fighter. And getting dropped and hit several times with a hard right hand by a 43 year old Hopkins- and barely doing enough to win a Dec. is not at all impressive- Your Thoughts?

Answer 1

No doubt that his record is impressive.  But with only a few known names on the list of his opponents, it's hard to imagine how he could be ranked in a top pound-for-pound list -- and number 3 at that.  With the lack of top-contender opponents, you might say, "It must be his unbelievable boxing skill."  But his performance in the Hopkins fight was unimpressive and left many scratching their heads.

Excellent fighter, yes.  But I see no firm basis yet to conclude that he is pound-for-pound #3 in the world.

Answer 2

Calzaghe is overrated...he is white and that is the only reason why he is rated so high...

the boxing world has always looked for the "great white hope"...and they think he is it...

Answer 3

I pretty much agree.  You can tell he's overrated because of his high KO ratio.  He's a slapper with 77% ko?  Not possible against stiff competition.

Answer 4

It's nothing to do with him being white, he probably only got the decision over Hopkins for being white too then right? - he is a good fighter but he is also over-rated. Mayweather, Cotto, Margarito, Manny, Marquez.....Calzaghe is not top 5.

Roy Jones isn't even 50% of what he used to be, but he will still beat the sh*t out of Calzaghe.

Answer 5

whats up  i agree with you on this one.Calzaghe is in my eyes overated.Now don't get me wrong he is a good fighter but for the last 8 or 9 years he has been ducking them all like roy jones jr,antonio tarver,james toney,and a younger hopkins.lacy was never something to brag about and kessler hasn't fought anyone.now that hopkins is in a walker he is all over that one and he still gets put on the mat.i want to see him fight roy jones jr.roy is older but i think he would still destroy him.

Answer 6

He is undefeated, and has been champion for over 10 years - what do you want? He is now supper-middle AND Lt. heavyweight champion. Who are the fighters in his class that he hasn't fought?

Answer 7

I think that Pavlik deserves the number three spot,not calzaghe,Pavlik is undefeated,he has beaten tough competition and his fights with Taylor were classics, Calzaghe barely got by a 43 year old hopkins and never faced a prime great opponent,i have been saying this for a while,if if he is to be considered a great light heavyweight he should fight someone like chad dawson who is in his prime and beat him that way he will earn respect, Hopkins is too old and age has caught up with him, the same goes for roy jones....there are fighters out there who have faced much tougher competition and they deserve to be in the top three alot more than calzaghe.

Answer 8

I do agree with you in a way about fighters that fight better competition should be ranked higher but i would have to say that both Marquez brothers whilst facing better competition they are regularly getting beaten by that competition which would have to make it hard for people to rank them above someone who holds two ring belts and has defended his title at supermiddle over 20 times. I would just like to ask why nobody mentioned Roy Jones Jrs competition whilst he was ranked No1 P4P (maybe as he was American). Joe has beaten the best in the SuperMiddleweight division which obviously isnt the strongest division for having a wealth of great fighters in it but what is he supposed to do, i remember Roy having the same problem 6-8 years ago when he was in and about SuperMiddle and LightHeavy.

Something i would disagree with is that you are trying to say Lacey and Kessler werent very good opponents. Lacey was the second coming of Tyson according to the American press and fight fans and was a big favourite with the bookies to destroy Calzaghe but when he got took to school by Joe it was amazing how quick everybody was to distance themselves from there previous comments and were quick to say how overhyped he was, even though it was them who were hyping him up. Kessler is another just like Joe who dont get credit because he isnt American, i do remember how many Americans on this site were saying Kessler would knock Joe out but yet again after Joe schooled him all of a sudden he wasnt the fighter that people were saying, it amazes me the lengths that people will go to try and discredit Joes achievements.

Just to cheer you up as well i notice Boxrec have Calzaghe rated No1 Pound for pound.

Answer 9

He is the best super middleweight in the world today but he is not third best p4p.

Answer 10

i agree i am welsh and sick off hearing everybody in wales saying calzaghe is one off the best ever

he beat eubank and hopkins when they was over the hill.

everybody else was either a nobody or a rising star who hadnt fought any body any good

personnaly i think cotto or pavlik should be number 3

i dont think calzaghe will ever fight pavlik but if he did i he would lose

i hope he gets beaten bad by jones jr to shut the dreaming calzaghe fans up.

Answer 11

Joe calzaghe should not be third....however, your Marquez brothers argument is not a good one. They both have lost their last fight. Rafael his last two and one by k.o.

Every one agrees Floyd 1, and Manny 2, Whos three?

If Joe was black would he be rated higher? Probably. All the top heavyweights are white and they get no love. The light heavweight champ is white and he gets no love. The middleweight champ is white...no love there. I guess if your not black then you cant fight? I guess they put calzage number three because he proved he would never let a black boy beat him.

Answer 12

I couldnt agree with you more Guru,Im sick and tired of people putting him across as a modern day Ray Robinson,I often wonder if they are talking about the same guy Ive seen narrowly scrape at least 2 iffy decisions,slapping away to amass points like an amatuer,it really annoys and puzzles me,wonder if it's because he's a white guy??