Undeafted fighters retiring

[Hagler2002]

I know it sounds strange but I'm of the opinion a fighter who retires undefeated doesn't feel fully accomplished in his career, surely there has to be doubts in the back of his mind that he only has his '0' intact due to not been matched against the best, for the Joe nut huggers I'm not having a go at him, I don't blame him for bottling it in fighting Chad Dawson.

[ALI]

I know it sounds strange but I'm of the opinion a fighter who retires undefeated doesn't feel fully accomplished in his career, surely there has to be doubts in the back of his mind that he only has his '0' intact due to not been matched against the best, for the Joe nut huggers I'm not having a go at him, I don't blame him for bottling it in fighting Chad Dawson.

Many would agree that Calzaghe did a lot of dodging throughout his long winded career, but i doubt many will support your Chad Dawson theory No matter how much of a threat Dawson might have been, it's just not a fight that needed to happen at this late point of Calzaghe's career!

[Hagler2002]

Its obviously not about the money anymore so why not pitch yourself in against the best in the division to prove to yourself you beat everyone you could of.

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

[ALI]

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

And thats why he will always be held in the highest regard by all British boxing fans (DG excluded!), something Calzaghe will never have. They are both undoubtedly two of the most talented fighters ever to come from these shores, but lets not forget that it was Hatton who led the way. I personally believe that if Ricky Hatton had never been, Joe Calzaghe would not have been inspired to up his game, he'd probably have retired without ever having fought for a 'genuine' world title or never have fought in America. Food for thought maybe?

[telboy66]

chad dawson Joe soap A N other it does'nt matter there will always be soneone else out there who fancy their chances what do you guys want? yes Joe could carry on for maybe 2/3 years knocking over the same sort of bums that he gets accused of fighting through his career.Joe has said that he has achieved all that he set out to do in boxing & what more can any man hope for,For me Joe has made exactly the right decsion at the right time.Chad Dawson or as I prefer to call him Jeff Lacy MK2 beat our Joe don't make me laugh

[Hagler2002]

How on earth can you compare Jeff Lacy & Chad Dawson

[telboy66]

How on earth can you compare Jeff Lacy & Chad Dawson

quite simple mate dawson is just another over hyped yank who will be found out just as soon as he fights someone under 40 who can box. It's really funny how Joe was critized for fighting two top guys in their 40s yet dawson does it & not a murmur all of a sudden he's the best thing since sliced bread

[southpaw7]

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

And thats why he will always be held in the highest regard by all British boxing fans (DG excluded!), something Calzaghe will never have. They are both undoubtedly two of the most talented fighters ever to come from these shores, but lets not forget that it was Hatton who led the way. I personally believe that if Ricky Hatton had never been, Joe Calzaghe would not have been inspired to up his game, he'd probably have retired without ever having fought for a 'genuine' world title or never have fought in America. Food for thought maybe?

the hitman is 30 years old joe is 35 0r 36 is he not!

he also proved he was the best at super middle before moving up to beat hopkins which is a fight i dont think he has been givin much credit for,there will always be some young contender comming through whos the next best thing so where would he stop!

i think the guy has proved everything he has to and left the sport a multi millionare,how many british fighters have done that?

[charlieb]

Its obviously not about the money anymore so why not pitch yourself in against the best in the division to prove to yourself you beat everyone you could of.

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

Not really, Hatton's going for the money too, it just so happens that the biggest fights available (Manny and Oscar) are credible opponents. He's not exactly in any rush to fight the likes of Bradley, Witter or Holt.

People dont cut Calzaghe the same slack as they're willing to extend to Ricky because Calzaghe had the talent to be so much more than he was, while Ricky has achieved more than anyone could have foreseen with his talent.

Nobody gives a shit about Dawson, yet. The only thing, in my opinion, that will get Calzaghe out of retirement, is if Froch somehow rises to prominence by beating some top names over the next year or two.

[harrygreb]

i have to question the idea that ricky and joe are our two best fighters ever. what a ridiculous notion. most successful financially maybe...

[chinny]

i have to question the idea that ricky and joe are our two best fighters ever. what a ridiculous notion. most successful financially maybe...

I really don't think Joe has earned mega money. He's not on the streets, but he's a million miles from the 'man of the people'.

[states]

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

And thats why he will always be held in the highest regard by all British boxing fans (DG excluded!), something Calzaghe will never have. They are both undoubtedly two of the most talented fighters ever to come from these shores, but lets not forget that it was Hatton who led the way. I personally believe that if Ricky Hatton had never been, Joe Calzaghe would not have been inspired to up his game, he'd probably have retired without ever having fought for a 'genuine' world title or never have fought in America. Food for thought maybe?

the hitman is 30 years old joe is 35 0r 36 is he not!

he also proved he was the best at super middle before moving up to beat hopkins which is a fight i dont think he has been givin much credit for,there will always be some young contender comming through whos the next best thing so where would he stop!

i think the guy has proved everything he has to and left the sport a multi millionare,how many british fighters have done that?

I think the point is that Hatton got a lot of respect for beating Tszyu, and then going to the States. I think that spurred Joe on to try and get a bit more respect with the Lacy and Kessler fights.

[DG.]

i have to question the idea that ricky and joe are our two best fighters ever. what a ridiculous notion. most successful financially maybe...

Who said that?

[metropol]

i have to question the idea that ricky and joe are our two best fighters ever. what a ridiculous notion. most successful financially maybe...

Who said that?

Ive heard plenty of people saying cal was the best brit eg mcguigan
Btw does anyone know is there anyone that lies in between cal and marciano with unblemished records ie is cal the second best undefeated fighter? I dont put too much into an 0 behind your name its just for general knowledge.

[gobbles]

Hatton certainly seems to of the mentality at this stage of his career that he wants to fight the best out there and if he gets beat so be it.

And thats why he will always be held in the highest regard by all British boxing fans (DG excluded!), something Calzaghe will never have. They are both undoubtedly two of the most talented fighters ever to come from these shores, but lets not forget that it was Hatton who led the way. I personally believe that if Ricky Hatton had never been, Joe Calzaghe would not have been inspired to up his game, he'd probably have retired without ever having fought for a 'genuine' world title or never have fought in America. Food for thought maybe?

The first bit of that is harsh and very few would not hold Calzaghe in the highest regard. I agree that without Hatton, Calzaghe might not have gone to the US. But it was the interest of HBO that really made it possible. But I think calling the WBO title less genuine than the IBF/FBI title is laughable. For most of his reign, the WBC title was by far the weakest of the four belts at super-middleweight. Warren refused to deal with the WBC after something dating back to Hamed days and possibly Warren's split with Don King.
But champions make the belts. It wasn't so long ago that Sulaiman was bad-mouthing Calzaghe, then he offered to create some sort of WBC legends title for the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight. Hennessy and Froch keep mouthing on about "the most prestigious" belt (just as Hennessy did with Witter), but you could just as well point out the ridiculously long list of champions of the past 12 years at super-middle to see the title's real worth. Sad fact was that Pascal was the first name available, who was rated Number 5 by the WBC after his previous fight and Number 17 in the IBO's "independent" ratings.

[oliverfennell]

How on earth can you compare Jeff Lacy & Chad Dawson

quite simple mate dawson is just another over hyped yank who will be found out just as soon as he fights someone under 40 who can box. It's really funny how Joe was critized for fighting two top guys in their 40s yet dawson does it & not a murmur all of a sudden he's the best thing since sliced bread

That's a good point, and Johnson and Tarver were no Jones and Hopkins (yes, I know they both beat Jones, but historically speaking they are not the same level)

[oliverfennell]

is cal the second best undefeated fighter? I dont put too much into an 0 behind your name its just for general knowledge.

He must be. There have been precious few world-level guys to get out with their 0 intact. The only ones that spring to mind are Ricardo Lopez (he had a draw), Terry Marsh (also had a draw) and Sven Ottke.

[Max Molyneux]

I know it sounds strange but I'm of the opinion a fighter who retires undefeated doesn't feel fully accomplished in his career, surely there has to be doubts in the back of his mind that he only has his '0' intact due to not been matched against the best, for the Joe nut huggers I'm not having a go at him, I don't blame him for bottling it in fighting Chad Dawson.

Bottling It against glass jawed Dawson!

If Glen Johnson's stiff slow pressure troubles him then Imagine what Calzaghe would do to him!

Dawson would rather rematch Tarver.