20 years ago - Joe Calzaghe became WBO super middleweight champion

[Taansend]

I remember when he turned pro. We all had high hopes from the start. If I remember rightly he was the first post war (WWII) boxer to win ABA titles in three weights in three years.

And also if my memory serves me correct (I'm going to check AFTER posting this) the only person to last the distance with him up until the Eubank fight was Eubanks cousin or something. But I might be getting two different facts mixed up

[Noxy]

I remember when he turned pro. We all had high hopes from the start. If I remember rightly he was the first post war (WWII) boxer to win ABA titles in three weights in three years.

And also if my memory serves me correct (I'm going to check AFTER posting this) the only person to last the distance with him up until the Eubank fight was Eubanks cousin or something. But I might be getting two different facts mixed up

Aye, I remember his first pro outing on the Lewis-Bruno bill. Mickey Duff was the first person I heard pronounce his name, although I had read about his ABA exploits before that so I knew he was a live one.

[Taansend]

I remember when he turned pro. We all had high hopes from the start. If I remember rightly he was the first post war (WWII) boxer to win ABA titles in three weights in three years.

And also if my memory serves me correct (I'm going to check AFTER posting this) the only person to last the distance with him up until the Eubank fight was Eubanks cousin or something. But I might be getting two different facts mixed up

Bloody hell, I was right. Bobbie Joe Edwards was the only bloke to go the distance with Calzaghe up until the Eubank fight.

What are the odds of that? Out of Calzaghe's first 25 bouts the only two blokes to go the distance with him were related.

On an unrelated note (I think I've told this on here before) around the time Joe retired (on another boxing forum) some Welsh bloke said Calzaghe was the greatest British boxer of all time. I replied that Joe wasn't anywhere near Jimmy Wilde's class to which the bloke said I was biased against Joe because he was Welsh

[Autobarn]

FW had legal problems with JC - FW was never going to say nice things about him after

Boxers avoided him and didn't want to fight him for the money that was offered - there is a different side to every story

Amazing talent who had issues with his hands

His old man Enzo said Lacy would be so easy - JC able to hit him 3-4 times before he could even think about getting his big left going

Yes I rate Joe among the best ever British fighters. Think he would’ve been great in any era but not unbeaten and not with so many title defenses

[dirk2686]

Said on here before but I feel his career was such a shame. Ok, it's hard to complain if you retire an unbeaten world champion but it seemed to get going so late and then end. He was a guy who seemed to spend 90% of his career waiting for big fight.

Fighting Manfredo and Bika when he'd finally got people to sit up and take notice wasn't great mind. Plus he'd have whipped Pavlik who at the time was seen as a proper monster but instead beat Jones who everyone said was shot, and people still say that.

[stujones]

Being highly pedantic, whilst there is no doubt, JC in the final years as a Super Middleweight confirmed himself as the #1 of that current time.... I think we can seriously question if he was ever the #1 Light Heavyweight which was his status as retired.

Hopkins was coming officially out of retirement, had not defended his lightly regarded (if we want to question the IBF in the 1980s) IBO title in 2 years and in that period Chad Dawson, who would later beat Hopkins more comfortably than Joe did was beating some of the very very best in the devision (Johnson, Adameck, Tarver etc) for WBC fights.

Joe Calzaghe for me had the PERFECT managed career.... seems to be held in far far higher regard than Ricky Hatton who tested himself against the best at his and their peak. Joe had Svenny for years as his most natural rival and had RJJ and Hopkins to fight when they were the better side of 32.

[littlepug]

Being highly pedantic, whilst there is no doubt, JC in the final years as a Super Middleweight confirmed himself as the #1 of that current time.... I think we can seriously question if he was ever the #1 Light Heavyweight which was his status as retired.

Hopkins was coming officially out of retirement, had not defended his lightly regarded (if we want to question the IBF in the 1980s) IBO title in 2 years and in that period Chad Dawson, who would later beat Hopkins more comfortably than Joe did was beating some of the very very best in the devision (Johnson, Adameck, Tarver etc) for WBC fights.

Joe Calzaghe for me had the PERFECT managed career.... seems to be held in far far higher regard than Ricky Hatton who tested himself against the best at his and their peak. Joe had Svenny for years as his most natural rival and had RJJ and Hopkins to fight when they were the better side of 32.

IBO ? really ?

[stujones]

Being highly pedantic, whilst there is no doubt, JC in the final years as a Super Middleweight confirmed himself as the #1 of that current time.... I think we can seriously question if he was ever the #1 Light Heavyweight which was his status as retired.

Hopkins was coming officially out of retirement, had not defended his lightly regarded (if we want to question the IBF in the 1980s) IBO title in 2 years and in that period Chad Dawson, who would later beat Hopkins more comfortably than Joe did was beating some of the very very best in the devision (Johnson, Adameck, Tarver etc) for WBC fights.

Joe Calzaghe for me had the PERFECT managed career.... seems to be held in far far higher regard than Ricky Hatton who tested himself against the best at his and their peak. Joe had Svenny for years as his most natural rival and had RJJ and Hopkins to fight when they were the better side of 32.

IBO ? really ?

Umm yes....only belt Hopkins won at light heavy pre Pascal. And I'm not sure how he could be automatically installed as #1 light heavyweight when he had retired and more crucially Chad Dawson was beating some highly credible guys in defence of his WBC title.

[Autobarn]

Said on here before but I feel his career was such a shame. Ok, it's hard to complain if you retire an unbeaten world champion but it seemed to get going so late and then end. He was a guy who seemed to spend 90% of his career waiting for big fight.

Fighting Manfredo and Bika when he'd finally got people to sit up and take notice wasn't great mind. Plus he'd have whipped Pavlik who at the time was seen as a proper monster but instead beat Jones who everyone said was shot, and people still say that.

It was a triumph - he achieved some great things -but I have to be honest, it was misery following his career, with all the withdrawals, with the dreadfulSports Network matchmaking, the attitude, the disrespect to his peers, the sense of entitlement. He always acted like he had nothing to prove, but then again having that arrogance can help you.

Your examples of Bika and Manfredo are perfect in that regard. And while people were watching, the performances were wretched. These fights were pathetic shows.

[Coco]

The Bika fight was a hard one, another example of JC changing tactics to get the job done after suffering bad cuts, Bika was tough for anyone.
He dominated Manfredo and the ref jumped a bit early but it wasn't his fault that Peter didn't turn up

[dirk2686]

The Bika fight was a hard one, another example of JC changing tactics to get the job done after suffering bad cuts, Bika was tough for anyone.
He dominated Manfredo and the ref jumped a bit early but it wasn't his fault that Peter didn't turn up

I remember at the time, having watched Calzaghe for more than a decade, that after the Lacy fight it was a case of 'finally.' It really seemed like the time for him to shine given he didn't have that long left.

Bika and Manfredo were wasted opportunities in my opinion. Fights that were poor to watch against opponents he was always going to beat. Bika was a proper 'who?' moment when it was announced given the names in the frame.

[littlepug]

Being highly pedantic, whilst there is no doubt, JC in the final years as a Super Middleweight confirmed himself as the #1 of that current time.... I think we can seriously question if he was ever the #1 Light Heavyweight which was his status as retired.

Hopkins was coming officially out of retirement, had not defended his lightly regarded (if we want to question the IBF in the 1980s) IBO title in 2 years and in that period Chad Dawson, who would later beat Hopkins more comfortably than Joe did was beating some of the very very best in the devision (Johnson, Adameck, Tarver etc) for WBC fights.

Joe Calzaghe for me had the PERFECT managed career.... seems to be held in far far higher regard than Ricky Hatton who tested himself against the best at his and their peak. Joe had Svenny for years as his most natural rival and had RJJ and Hopkins to fight when they were the better side of 32.

IBO ? really ?

Umm yes....only belt Hopkins won at light heavy pre Pascal. And I'm not sure how he could be automatically installed as #1 light heavyweight when he had retired and more crucially Chad Dawson was beating some highly credible guys in defence of his WBC title.

I just don't see the point in keeping track of meaningless titles, they don't hold any value so are not really worth mentioning in any serious boxing conversation, sorry just really bugs me !

[Tomasino]

The Bika fight was a hard one, another example of JC changing tactics to get the job done after suffering bad cuts, Bika was tough for anyone.
He dominated Manfredo and the ref jumped a bit early but it wasn't his fault that Peter didn't turn up

I remember at the time, having watched Calzaghe for more than a decade, that after the Lacy fight it was a case of 'finally.' It really seemed like the time for him to shine given he didn't have that long left.

Bika and Manfredo were wasted opportunities in my opinion. Fights that were poor to watch against opponents he was always going to beat. Bika was a proper 'who?' moment when it was announced given the names in the frame.

He was lucky to get the nod vs Bika.

[Counter-puncher]

The Bika fight was a hard one, another example of JC changing tactics to get the job done after suffering bad cuts, Bika was tough for anyone.
He dominated Manfredo and the ref jumped a bit early but it wasn't his fault that Peter didn't turn up

I remember at the time, having watched Calzaghe for more than a decade, that after the Lacy fight it was a case of 'finally.' It really seemed like the time for him to shine given he didn't have that long left.

Bika and Manfredo were wasted opportunities in my opinion. Fights that were poor to watch against opponents he was always going to beat. Bika was a proper 'who?' moment when it was announced given the names in the frame.

He was lucky to get the nod vs Bika.

don't agree at all, you think Bika won 6 or more rounds then?

[Boxerbeetle]

The Bika fight was a hard one, another example of JC changing tactics to get the job done after suffering bad cuts, Bika was tough for anyone.
He dominated Manfredo and the ref jumped a bit early but it wasn't his fault that Peter didn't turn up

I remember at the time, having watched Calzaghe for more than a decade, that after the Lacy fight it was a case of 'finally.' It really seemed like the time for him to shine given he didn't have that long left.

Bika and Manfredo were wasted opportunities in my opinion. Fights that were poor to watch against opponents he was always going to beat. Bika was a proper 'who?' moment when it was announced given the names in the frame.

He was lucky to get the nod vs Bika.

Seriously? I can’t remember Bika doing anything of note, just made it scrappy and tough as usual. Don’t remember being at all concerned about the cards.

[Tomasino]

I remember at the time, having watched Calzaghe for more than a decade, that after the Lacy fight it was a case of 'finally.' It really seemed like the time for him to shine given he didn't have that long left.

Bika and Manfredo were wasted opportunities in my opinion. Fights that were poor to watch against opponents he was always going to beat. Bika was a proper 'who?' moment when it was announced given the names in the frame.

He was lucky to get the nod vs Bika.

Seriously? I can’t remember Bika doing anything of note, just made it scrappy and tough as usual. Don’t remember being at all concerned about the cards.

I wasn't concerned about the cards either but Bika was landing every round and joe missed a ton. I watched it with some pals and thought Joe nicked it but they all went for Bika. From memory anyway, it's not the kind of fight I'd watch twice.

[Boxerbeetle]

He was lucky to get the nod vs Bika.

Seriously? I can’t remember Bika doing anything of note, just made it scrappy and tough as usual. Don’t remember being at all concerned about the cards.

I wasn't concerned about the cards either but Bika was landing every round and joe missed a ton. I watched it with some pals and thought Joe nicked it but they all went for Bika. From memory anyway, it's not the kind of fight I'd watch twice.

Ha, true. For all Calzaghe’s skills, he was in a crazy amount of absolute stinkers.

[Tomasino]

Seriously? I can’t remember Bika doing anything of note, just made it scrappy and tough as usual. Don’t remember being at all concerned about the cards.

I wasn't concerned about the cards either but Bika was landing every round and joe missed a ton. I watched it with some pals and thought Joe nicked it but they all went for Bika. From memory anyway, it's not the kind of fight I'd watch twice.

Ha, true. For all Calzaghe’s skills, he was in a crazy amount of absolute stinkers.

Let's be honest, he was risible as a champion. His big wins over Kessler and Lacy made him.