Joe Calzaghe: "Someone Tell Carl Froch - I've Retired"

[Autobarn]

Hopkins was certainly accurate but his workrate was feeble.

Joe edged out a feeble workrate opponent.

MASSIVE ACHIEVEMENT - best Brit ever

[Dioufy]

It was a really subjective fight.

What score did you have it, Autoban'us?

[hurlock]

i dont listen to our commentators,woodhall is a gent & will cushion jc's pasting,his scorecard was extremely generous & biased to jc but i expect that from him, if truth be told joe lost.

[observer1]

Not sure about Autobarns, personally had it 114-113 Hopkins.

Could have gone either way though, was a dull draw in effect.

Just chuck Giampa who gave the awful score of 116-111. He really is an awful judge. I believe he gave a ridiculous score in Barrera-Morales and in a few big other bouts too.

[Autobarn]

1 point in favour of Joe.

Yes, could have gone t'other way by same margin.

One asterisk - Hopkins cheated a breather in round 10, then landed some good shots on a distracted Calzaghe, i.e. Hopkins winning a round he didn't have the energy to win.

[alexpaterson]

I had Joe winning by 1 point in the B-Hop and Reid fight but against Hopkins there was a bit of bias because i was getting annoyed at Hopkins antics

[hurlock]

I had Joe winning by 1 point in the B-Hop and Reid fight but against Hopkins there was a bit of bias because i was getting annoyed at Hopkins antics

same here but hopkins has done it his hole career,horrible & cagey but at over 40 he has to be.

[whiskey]

Obviously we all have select memories and our own opinions on this. But when Froch was calling Joe out 4 years ago, he was still wrapped in cotton wool, taking rematches with guys he beat inside a round and fighting nobodies.

That would be four years ago when Froch was "stepping up" to face the likes of Matthew Barney, Ruben Groenwald, Damon Hague and Dale Westerman.

Barney had just been screwed over for the European Light heavyweight title.

Froch also flew over to America to fight Librado Andrade on the Eastman v Hopkins card, but it fell through and he was given another fight by Oscar's Goldenboy - top 12 WBC ranked Henry Porras instead.

While Joe did the mario veit rematch and then 5'7 evans ashira stepped up 2 divisions.

But hey, no point trying to debate with a Warren fan is there Gobbles ?

Maybe you'd have more respect if Froch rematched Damon Hague who he smashed in a round ?

[banjo]

Obviously we all have select memories and our own opinions on this. But when Froch was calling Joe out 4 years ago, he was still wrapped in cotton wool, taking rematches with guys he beat inside a round and fighting nobodies.

That would be four years ago when Froch was "stepping up" to face the likes of Matthew Barney, Ruben Groenwald, Damon Hague and Dale Westerman.

Barney had just been screwed over for the European Light heavyweight title.

Froch also flew over to America to fight Librado Andrade on the Eastman v Hopkins card, but it fell through and he was given another fight by Oscar's Goldenboy - top 12 WBC ranked Henry Porras instead.

While Joe did the mario veit rematch and then 5'7 evans ashira stepped up 2 divisions.

But hey, no point trying to debate with a Warren fan is there Gobbles ?

Maybe you'd have more respect if Froch rematched Damon Hague who he smashed in a round ?

A what?

[whiskey]

A what?

I know, it was a bit below the belt.

Sorry Gobbles.

[Max Molyneux]

I disagree Tony. Obviously we all have select memories and our own opinions on this. But when Froch was calling Joe out 4 years ago, he was still wrapped in cotton wool, taking rematches with guys he beat inside a round and fighting nobodies. Wheras Hatton was a golden goose by 2005.

I think back then the fight could have come too soon for Froch, who was still green. But who'd win aside (different topic), the fact is, Calzaghe was going nowhere fast.

You could definitely make a case for witter living off Hatton's name as he struggles to draw flies unfortunately and has little support on the forums either - wheras Ricky has fought the No3 and the No1 pound for pound fighters in Kostya and Mayweather and is set to take on Pacquiao.

Who's Joe fought? a broken hand Kessler and he nearly got scalped by Hopkins. We all saw what Roy Jones had left.

If it wasn't for Hatton losing to Mayweather, thus a load of his fairweather-fans falling off the bandwagon, then climbing onto the Calzaghe bangwagon, he'd not be held in such high regard.

Its not much of a secret to see that Calzaghe was in Vegas during the Mayweather fight for his own reasons - and standing on stage with Hatton at the weigh-in did him no harm did it? a sceptic could actually see that a Hatton-loss would elevate Joe's standing in the British fight game would you not agree? afterall we all place such emphasis on being 'unbeaten' - well the armchair fan does.

I found his presence there a bit in bad taste, given the whinging he has done about Hatton beating Tszyu and leaving Warren. He poured scorn on Hatton in a BBC interview. Yet rode his coat tails.

Another factor is, Froch was calling out a fight with Joe when he was the British & Commonwealth champion - back when Calzaghe was fighting Evans Ashira (before all his 'names' at the end of his career).

He wanted to expose Joe for the Wazza-backed cherry-picker he was. As it is, he managed to salvage his reputation by beating Lacy in style. That performance over a (what everyone completely agrees now) mediocre fighter gave Calzaghe a huge boost both personally and professionally and inspired him to take on bigger fights.

If Hatton had not trail blazed his way from Wazza and gone over to the States to fight all round Vegas, then i dont think Joe would have either.

The fact which everyone overlooks is that, who'd Calzaghe be without Hatton's name and profile ?

That my friends is the true question here.

Froch 4 years ago was fighting the likes of Matthew Barney while Joe was hyping up his Lacy fight.

Funn how you say mediocre yet your boy Froch picked him to KO Joe and bought into the hype when he was interviewed in a 2005 boxing monthly.

Evans Ashira wasn't that good but no one was hyping him up, he was just there to give Joe some activity. Froch only just got off the Barney fight and wouldn't of been ready anyway. Plus Froch was offered a fight with Joe and turned it down because he;s brainwashed by Hennessey's talk. Hennessey thought he could pay Joe 5 mill to fight Carl. Ashira was crap i agree but Froch wouldn't of won either anyway and was happy to win his lonsdale outright at the time.

People hyped Hatton ridiculously before Floyd i agree, i knew that was a mismatch and it was. They were making out his pressure was near invincible yet he went life and death with Callazo because he can't fight well against a counter puncher.

[hurlock]

you dont have a danny la rue what ur going on about!! 5 mill jc's biggest purse was against b-hop a reputed 1.5 which jc won at 2mill in court.
also barney was in good form getting robbed by top fighter ulrich also on the back of oakey & francis wins ;;-) barney was sent down to spar jc & was sent back after a day,true fact as i know barneys trainer v.well
also froch backed jc to beat jones on pts coz he cant punch,& lacy has been proven since average so his boxing performance which was great,wasnt against a great.

[whiskey]

Froch 4 years ago was fighting the likes of Matthew Barney while Joe was hyping up his Lacy fight.

Funn how you say mediocre yet your boy Froch picked him to KO Joe and bought into the hype when he was interviewed in a 2005 boxing monthly.

Evans Ashira wasn't that good but no one was hyping him up, he was just there to give Joe some activity. Froch only just got off the Barney fight and wouldn't of been ready anyway. Plus Froch was offered a fight with Joe and turned it down because he;s brainwashed by Hennessey's talk. Hennessey thought he could pay Joe 5 mill to fight Carl. Ashira was crap i agree but Froch wouldn't of won either anyway and was happy to win his lonsdale outright at the time.

Ashira was crap and it went twelve rounds. A light middle who was 5'7 and had already been knocked out in two rounds before getting in with Joe.

Hyping the Lacy fight?

You must be a post-Lacy fan then. Because everyone knows that he antagonised Gary Shaw by taking the Ashira fight, saying he better not get injured and then duck Lacy.

Guess what? he got the camera in post-fight for them to film him squeeling as they took his glove off and then the next day said 'im not fighting Lacy'.

Gary Shaw threatened to sue 'No Show Joe' for loss of earnings, until Franky sweet talked him into a deal and even bent over for him by inserting a $200,000 clause of compensation if Joe didn't show again.

These are all facts, out there in the public domain for you to find.

[fluxstuff]

Link them then, G0mez. Quit your crying, leave it alone. Joe would have always beaten Froch and, even now, would beat Froch. Simple fact.

[gobbles]

Obviously we all have select memories and our own opinions on this. But when Froch was calling Joe out 4 years ago, he was still wrapped in cotton wool, taking rematches with guys he beat inside a round and fighting nobodies.

That would be four years ago when Froch was "stepping up" to face the likes of Matthew Barney, Ruben Groenwald, Damon Hague and Dale Westerman.

Barney had just been screwed over for the European Light heavyweight title.

Froch also flew over to America to fight Librado Andrade on the Eastman v Hopkins card, but it fell through and he was given another fight by Oscar's Goldenboy - top 12 WBC ranked Henry Porras instead.

While Joe did the mario veit rematch and then 5'7 evans ashira stepped up 2 divisions.

But hey, no point trying to debate with a Warren fan is there Gobbles ?

Maybe you'd have more respect if Froch rematched Damon Hague who he smashed in a round ?

That's just not true about Andrade. He was supposed to face a guy called Christian Cruz. Check it out, if you don't believe me. Cruz never turned up for the weigh-in.

And Mario Veit was a vastly better fighter with a vastly better record than Henry Porras. Let's see, Porras got smashed up by Jurgen Braemer, Veit beat Braemer. You go on about Porras being ranked No 12 by the WBC like it's some sort of great achievement. Who had he beaten? All he had done was win some hopeless minor belt.

I'd have more respect for Froch if he had done half of the things in his career that he thinks he did.

[observer1]

Well, ever since Frank Waren was fired by Joe, Frank revealed all. Saying he always had a tendency to want to pull of bouts.

He did so twice against Glen Johnson...

Facts are Facts, Joe ducked a lot of guys. If it's for money, fair play, just don't play the "Boxing superstar" card, when you're clearly not.

[hurlock]

im not a jc hater,but gomez & observer are laying down pure facts.jc had heart, great work rate,good chin & stamina..BUT was untested had it been in howard winstone's day when there could be only 1 world champion jc wouldnt have a strap.
if colin jones had a wbo title bveing fed journeymen & washed up yanks he'd been a reighning champ.

jc blows his own trumpet,wc for 10 yrs...25 defences undefeated

tell me what his opponents went on to do,only bika i think done ok.

as for,jiminez,pudwill,mchirtan,ashira,sobot,thornberry,guy's that wouldnt win an area title :!: hardly all comers is it.

fwank didnt make millions from calzaghe until he pitched him in with lacy,once hatton had left they really got behind jc in promoting him,this was a guy who was looking to share hattons bill,who couldnt sell out cardiff castle which is smaller then york hall,now all this best brit ever bs he aint even the best welsh fighter imo,all this bs how we dont like a winner :!: dont like frauds

[gobbles]

im not a jc hater,but gomez & observer are laying down pure facts.jc had heart, great work rate,good chin & stamina..BUT was untested had it been in howard winstone's day when there could be only 1 world champion jc wouldnt have a strap.
if colin jones had a wbo title bveing fed journeymen & washed up yanks he'd been a reighning champ.

jc blows his own trumpet,wc for 10 yrs...25 defences undefeated

tell me what his opponents went on to do,only bika i think done ok.

as for,jiminez,pudwill,mchirtan,ashira,sobot,thornberry,guy's that wouldnt win an area title :!: hardly all comers is it.

fwank didnt make millions from calzaghe until he pitched him in with lacy,once hatton had left they really got behind jc in promoting him,this was a guy who was looking to share hattons bill,who couldnt sell out cardiff castle which is smaller then york hall,now all this best brit ever bs he aint even the best welsh fighter imo,all this bs how we dont like a winner :!: dont like frauds

You have a strange understanding of what facts are, Hurlock. For starters, the crowd at Cardiff Castle was over 5,000, whereas the capacity at York Hall is 1,200. Mkrtchian won the European title in his next fight, so much for your opinion that he wouldn't win an area title.

I think g0mez makes some good points, but come on Hurlock, this is daft

[hurlock]

wasnt a sell out,i knew people that was there.

you defend one name also.

jc has done great to remain unbeaten,but he's hardly taken on allcomers till the end lacy & kessler which makes him the best s.middle hands down but why the wait??

[whiskey]

25 defences in 10+ years.... Ricky Hatton made 14 defences in 3 years of his bauble whilst following the same bum-fight blueprint. Wazza put him out that often because he could sell sell sell.

Gobbles- Cruz was lobbed in as a last ditch jobby, he was down to fight Andrade prior, but Andrade was massively over the weight in the run up.

Im not blowing Porras's trumpet either. But he WAS ranked and HE WAS a Supermiddleweight. Not an Elf shipped in from nowhere.

My point is, Barney, Porras etc are tougher fights than Ashira and Veit.

Veit is a pile of crud. His win of Braehmer was not really a surprise. Jurgen had just hit a copper and was in and out of jail. He drew with Braehmer on one card, lost by a point on another but managed a Majority decision. Hardly an impressive win.

Braehmer crushed him in the rematch as he should have.

But it's all irelavant as Calzaghe, like I said fought a guy he stopped in a round and Evans Ashira that year rather than fight Froch.

[hurlock]

warren was becoming intrested in a match with froch & drew up a contract that if froch won warren would own a good percentage on him.which shows he has faith in froch.

[fist]

I dont think joe ducked anyone, was no need to - he was the best at his weight. So many people on her said he would never fight Kessler, that he was ducking him. It was no suprirse to me that once Kessler had raised his profile a little with HBO that the fight would be made.