why so many unbeaten, retired smws?

[margaret thatcher]

joe 46-0

king sven 34-0

ward 32-0


world level fighters retiring unbeaten is super super rare, yet here are 3 within a span of like 10-15 years, all having mostly fought at smw. was this just random or is there a deeper reason

[coghaugen11]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

[bigjack]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

[DrDuke]

Cause the division sucked in comparison to the other ones. It lacked depth, not many cared about Ottke and Calzaghe, except their respective local fanbases. That's why Joe cashed out against Roy and Hopkins before retirement.

However, Ottke indeed should have received some losses.

Ward's case is an exception, he competed in the helluve era, which brought the interest to this weight.

[Dioufy]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

Who cares? Joe was an immensely talented fighter but his record doesn’t reflect his talent to boxing purists.
He had 2/3 meaningful fights… Eubank for his acid test, Lacy for his his breakout fight and Kessler just to solidify his talent for the world to see.
Then it’s just names tbh. You can throw RJJ or Hopkins at me but even though they were good wins… that’s all they were… good wins.
Beyond that I’m struggling to find anything that makes me wanna wank over.
Guy could’ve done more but was petrified of defeat.
Shame.

[bigjack]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

Who cares? Joe was an immensely talented fighter but his record doesn’t reflect his talent to boxing purists.
He had 2/3 meaningful fights… Eubank for his acid test, Lacy for his his breakout fight and Kessler just to solidify his talent for the world to see.
Then it’s just names tbh. You can throw RJJ or Hopkins at me but even though they were good wins… that’s all they were… good wins.
Beyond that I’m struggling to find anything that makes me wanna wank over.
Guy could’ve done more but was petrified of defeat.
Shame.

I'm not disputing his record,far too many poor oppononts but cog pointed out the inactivity but that doesn't make a difference to him being unbeaten really.

[Dioufy]

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

Who cares? Joe was an immensely talented fighter but his record doesn’t reflect his talent to boxing purists.
He had 2/3 meaningful fights… Eubank for his acid test, Lacy for his his breakout fight and Kessler just to solidify his talent for the world to see.
Then it’s just names tbh. You can throw RJJ or Hopkins at me but even though they were good wins… that’s all they were… good wins.
Beyond that I’m struggling to find anything that makes me wanna wank over.
Guy could’ve done more but was petrified of defeat.
Shame.

I'm not disputing his record,far too many poor oppononts but cog pointed out the inactivity but that doesn't make a difference to him being unbeaten really.

Fair enough, mate.

[coghaugen11]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

He may of lost had he taken all those fights, hungover or a hurt hand etc.

[coghaugen11]

Fighters often lose when not near 100%

[bigjack]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

He may of lost had he taken all those fights, hungover or a hurt hand etc.

He still had 46 wins though,despite the inactivity

[emallini]

In Ottke’s case he had 4-5 losses in reality.

Calzaghe was hugely inactive during his long WBO title reign. Pulling out of fights countless times.

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

Who cares? Joe was an immensely talented fighter but his record doesn’t reflect his talent to boxing purists.
He had 2/3 meaningful fights… Eubank for his acid test, Lacy for his his breakout fight and Kessler just to solidify his talent for the world to see.
Then it’s just names tbh. You can throw RJJ or Hopkins at me but even though they were good wins… that’s all they were… good wins.
Beyond that I’m struggling to find anything that makes me wanna wank over.
Guy could’ve done more but was petrified of defeat.
Shame.

Jones was not a good win. He was shot to pieces.

[The Docker]

Historically a pretty poor division. Seems to have more European interest than that of the Americas, could be well off the pace here but yeah didnt seem overly supported outside of Europe (with exceptions obviously). Having said that, Joe was fair game for any of the US elite, in their prime or not.

[Ruthless-RKO]

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

Who cares? Joe was an immensely talented fighter but his record doesn’t reflect his talent to boxing purists.
He had 2/3 meaningful fights… Eubank for his acid test, Lacy for his his breakout fight and Kessler just to solidify his talent for the world to see.
Then it’s just names tbh. You can throw RJJ or Hopkins at me but even though they were good wins… that’s all they were… good wins.
Beyond that I’m struggling to find anything that makes me wanna wank over.
Guy could’ve done more but was petrified of defeat.
Shame.

Jones was not a good win. He was shot to pieces.

And the Hopkins win was disputed decision.

[coghaugen11]

That didn't alter the fact he was unbeaten in 46 though

He may of lost had he taken all those fights, hungover or a hurt hand etc.

He still had 46 wins though,despite the inactivity

44 at that weight, half of them pre title standard.

He did lose to Robin Reid. Would’ve lost to Ottke unless he knocked him out over there, in which case he’d of got a draw.

[bigjack]

He may of lost had he taken all those fights, hungover or a hurt hand etc.

He still had 46 wins though,despite the inactivity

44 at that weight, half of them pre title standard.

He did lose to Robin Reid. Would’ve lost to Ottke unless he knocked him out over there, in which case he’d of got a draw.

Lost to Reid in your opinion,you can't just say someone has a loss on their record because you think they do,doesn't work that way.

[margaret thatcher]

ya, thing is, id say most boxers have some decisions at some point that could've gone against them. joe had like 1, maybe 2 tops (for me he beat hopkins clearly but i know some disagree), which is pretty standard, so i dont think shoddy judging is the factor here

[Boxerbeetle]

He may of lost had he taken all those fights, hungover or a hurt hand etc.

He still had 46 wins though,despite the inactivity

44 at that weight, half of them pre title standard.

He did lose to Robin Reid. Would’ve lost to Ottke unless he knocked him out over there, in which case he’d of got a draw.

He didn’t lose to Reid, a bunch of us on here rewatched that fight a few years ago as part of a mini-forum project, and consensus was Calzaghe won for sure.

[bigjack]

He still had 46 wins though,despite the inactivity

44 at that weight, half of them pre title standard.

He did lose to Robin Reid. Would’ve lost to Ottke unless he knocked him out over there, in which case he’d of got a draw.

He didn’t lose to Reid, a bunch of us on here rewatched that fight a few years ago as part of a mini-forum project, and consensus was Calzaghe won for sure.

x2

[polecateddy]

I agree, Reid landed the eye catching overhand rights sporadically, but was outworked. I’m not quite seeing the inactivity either. Between the start of his reign in 1997 and retirement in 2008, the only year he fought less than twice was 2003. Just one outing that year.

[coghaugen11]

2-3 fights a year was pretty ridiculous back then. 1 was unheard of. For a reigning champion.

Now yeah they don’t fight hardly, because they have PPVs to build up and sell over many months when they do fight.

Joe was always on free Sky sports. (And Cardiff ice rink)

[Ruthless-RKO]

2-3 fights a year was pretty ridiculous back then. 1 was unheard of. For a reigning champion.

Now yeah they don’t fight hardly, because they have PPVs to build up and sell over many months when they do fight.

Joe was always on free Sky sports. (And Cardiff ice rink)

Unless you’re Canelo.

[mickey1975]

2-3 fights a year was pretty ridiculous back then. 1 was unheard of. For a reigning champion.

Now yeah they don’t fight hardly, because they have PPVs to build up and sell over many months when they do fight.

Joe was always on free Sky sports. (And Cardiff ice rink)

I was at the Reid and Eubank fights. Both were ppv.

[coghaugen11]

2-3 fights a year was pretty ridiculous back then. 1 was unheard of. For a reigning champion.

Now yeah they don’t fight hardly, because they have PPVs to build up and sell over many months when they do fight.

Joe was always on free Sky sports. (And Cardiff ice rink)

I was at the Reid and Eubank fights. Both were ppv.

Not due to Calzaghe. Reid was the star.

[mickey1975]

Stop it, Cog.

[bigjack]

2-3 fights a year was pretty ridiculous back then. 1 was unheard of. For a reigning champion.

Now yeah they don’t fight hardly, because they have PPVs to build up and sell over many months when they do fight.

Joe was always on free Sky sports. (And Cardiff ice rink)

I was at the Reid and Eubank fights. Both were ppv.

Not due to Calzaghe. Reid was the star.

It was PPV because of Reid ?