Why would Froch v Calzaghe be a joke?

[punchers chance]

According to Joe Calzaghe talk of him meeting Carl Froch is a joke.

I can understand his comments about a lack of interest from America about this contest, and of course he would be an overwhelming favourite if it was made, but given some of the opponents in his 21 fight reign, Froch represents a credible challenge and an exciting domestic match up doesn't it?

I bet most people in the UK would rather see this contest than a snoozefest with a 43 year old Hopkins.

Quotes are from JC's column in the South Wales Argus

Calzaghe said: "Coming off the biggest fight of my life and with my stock as high as it’s ever been, it’s a joke to think I’d fight Froch.

"His performance in beating Robin Reid was very poor in my opinion. Luckily for him Reid was a bit of an embarrassment and has now retired.
"I feel I’ve earned the right to go after the biggest fights possible and I have beaten everyone there is to beat at super-middleweight.
"If Froch fought Mikkel Kessler it’d be a very one-sided fight so what could I possibly get out of fighting Froch now?
"There would be zero interest in America and it’d be a fight I would need a lot of motivating for."

[Autobarn]

Calzaghe. if you won't take the fight, give up the titles and let ppl fight for them! Refusing to defend your title - which he's done aplenty in the past decade - is the biggest joke.

Froch can do it. Rid the world of these warts. We're behind you Carl.

[Chambers2]

Carls style and power make him a MASSIVE threat to JC, but it looks as though JC is trying to get on the seniors tour where the BIG money bucks are.

The US seniors tour is disastrous for boxing IMO, they all seem to have the attitude of "I'm too good to fight these dangerous up and coming fighters, I'd much prefer to fight a hasbeen". The seniors tour very rarely produces an exciting fight IMO

[Autobarn]

Froch is big and powerful. He does have ability and we've seen him KO opponent after another in decent company. Was never fully convinced by his style but he's made it work for him.

It's the Magee and Tatevosyan fights that have me convinced Froch is the goods. Bute made such a meal out of beating Tatev, but Froch literally went through the animal fur wearing, Rudy Markussen-spanking visitor.

Joe's proven himself great but I'd love to see Froch cream him.

Kessler had to fall back on his right hand and force out his attacks, because he couldn't deal with Joe's fluidity. Froch won't wait till the last min to gamble. He'll go after Joe.

Froch is a strong bloke. We've seen how great Joe can look and how bad he can look. Vs Bika, he was atrocious vs a man with greater physical strewngth -the famed infighter was reduced to a rank amateur, falling all over himself, in proximity.

Carl could give similar problems, I hope, but landing clean punches as well.

[Max Molyneux]

It's a joke because Froch won't even step up to world level and Is stalling till Calzaghe moves up to Light Heavy.

He struggles with a washed up Reid and picks Tatesvosyan when he only just came off a one sided battering from Bute In less than two months earlier.

It Is Froch's mouth that has got him his ranking and hype.

If you want him to fight Calzaghe, you must be sadists.

Froch's low left hand and wirey arms trying to be a Roy Jones will not work on Calzaghe's superior handspeed and skills.

Froch's power Is that good because he;s flat footed which allows him to throw his full weight Into the shot, unlike most pros who move on their feet more not using their full power at times.

Plus Calzaghe has an Iron Chin, no way will Froch spark him out. Froch doesn't even knock alot of his victims down either with the punch, he follows up with walking over them pushing them over like with Reid and Tatesvosyan. He Is a cheat and even headlocks when he's hit on the chin.

[johnswan1]

According to Joe Calzaghe talk of him meeting Carl Froch is a joke.

I can understand his comments about a lack of interest from America about this contest, and of course he would be an overwhelming favourite if it was made, but given some of the opponents in his 21 fight reign, Froch represents a credible challenge and an exciting domestic match up doesn't it?

I bet most people in the UK would rather see this contest than a snoozefest with a 43 year old Hopkins.

Quotes are from JC's column in the South Wales Argus

Calzaghe said: "Coming off the biggest fight of my life and with my stock as high as it’s ever been, it’s a joke to think I’d fight Froch.

"His performance in beating Robin Reid was very poor in my opinion. Luckily for him Reid was a bit of an embarrassment and has now retired.
"I feel I’ve earned the right to go after the biggest fights possible and I have beaten everyone there is to beat at super-middleweight.
"If Froch fought Mikkel Kessler it’d be a very one-sided fight so what could I possibly get out of fighting Froch now?
"There would be zero interest in America and it’d be a fight I would need a lot of motivating for."

I remember Calzaghe whining like this years ago because of Collins saying something similar about him. Colins had beaten Benn and Eubank and Joe start calling him out, only for Collins to announce that he'd struggle to find the motivation to fight somebody like him. I don't think Collins was afraid to fight Joe, just as I don't think Joe is afraid to fight Froch. It's just a case of risk vs reward and as unfortunate as it is for the fans, there's no point in Calzaghe risking it all now to take on somebody he'd get little global credit for beating.

[johnswan1]

For the record I think Calzaghe would win a wide UD. Froch might have his moments, but so did Kessler. I think Joe would beat Kessler just as comfortably in a rematch but I'd still give Kessler a better chance than Froch.

[Crew2]

JOE HAS JUST GOT THE TITLES IN 2006 AND 2007 AND NOW HE'S GIVING THEM UP INSTEAD OF FIGHTING THE BIGGEST THREATS ? A SIGN OF A REAL CHAMPION THERE

[Max Molyneux]

JOE HAS JUST GOT THE TITLES IN 2006 AND 2007 AND NOW HE'S GIVING THEM UP INSTEAD OF FIGHTING THE BIGGEST THREATS ? A SIGN OF A REAL CHAMPION THERE

Hatton gave his up too without cleaning the division which Joe has done.

[Crew2]

I KNOW, AND NOBODY SHOULD FORGIVE RICKY FOR MAUSSA, COLLAZO, URANGO AND A SHOT CASTILLO - YOU CANT EXPLAIN THOSE AWAY !

HE BASICALLY WASTED 2 AND A HALF YEARS. BUT JOE WASTED 10

[ArtOfWar]

This is another case of posters on here talking bollocks, because a certain fighter is a Brit. Froch has done f**k all to show he could beat Calzaghe and if he wasn't British people would be disgusted to see him face Calzaghe.

Calzaghe has wasted the majority of his title reign fighting undeserving challengers, so why is everybody so keen to see him face another one?

Hopkins or the winner of Pavlik/Taylor 2 is who Calzaghe should be gunning for. It's time he had a big fight in the States. That's what he needs on his ledger.

Joe Calzaghe vs Carl Froch? F**K OFF!

[Ted]

Listen,

froch os too much of a threat, who can blame JC for not fighting him when the golden goose is in fighting American golden oldies.

Froch will get his world title next year and he will reign for a few years with it/them.

[Crew2]

THERES NO FIGHT I WANT TO SEE MORE OTHER THAN HATTON-MAYWEATHER, IF IM HONEST

ID LOVE TO SEE IF FROCH CAN BACK UP HIS BOASTS OF FIVE YEARS AND SMOKE JOE'S BOOTS

[Shirow]

Maybe Frank knows boxing fans better than most of the posters on here realise.

It seems that at least a few would want Calzaghe to face the best domestic fighter in his weight class than a long proven world class fighter and the current man at LHW.

Maybe when Warren said that the 'fans' were demanding Haye v Enzo rather than Haye fighting for the undisputed title he might have been on to something.

More people than i realised feel that mouthing off and possessing the correct passport rather than proven world class scalps qualify for the righ to fight the number one in the division.

Shouldn't perhaps Froch fight a Kessler, Bute, Miranda etc first or is that beneath him? He put away Reid and the undisputed title match should be delivered?

[Chambers2]

It's a joke because Froch won't even step up to world level and Is stalling till Calzaghe moves up to Light Heavy.

Drivel, Froch is fighting Inkin next and hes said he would move upto light-heavy to fight JC, so how is he stalling til JC moves? Froch isn't stalling at all hes the one calling for the fight

He struggles with a washed up Reid and picks Tatesvosyan when he only just came off a one sided battering from Bute In less than two months earlier.

Me and you definately have different versions of the word struggling, just because Froch shipped a few shots I wouldnt class that as struglling same as I wouldn't say JC struggled against Salem. Froch hammered Reid in 7 rounds. 2 months is enough time for ST to recover, did this recovery effect the durability of his chin as well?

It Is Froch's mouth that has got him his ranking and hype..

It has nothing to do with him beating Porras, Barney, Magee, Dodson, Tatesvosyan and Reid then

Froch's low left hand and wirey arms trying to be a Roy Jones will not work on Calzaghe's superior handspeed and skills.

Froch's power Is that good because he;s flat footed which allows him to throw his full weight Into the shot, unlike most pros who move on their feet more not using their full power at times.

Plus Calzaghe has an Iron Chin, no way will Froch spark him out. Froch doesn't even knock alot of his victims down either with the punch, he follows up with walking over them pushing them over like with Reid and Tatesvosyan. He Is a cheat and even headlocks when he's hit on the chin.

JC's got a good chin, but he can be put down and hurt as in the Salem and Mitchell fights, the difference being Froch has more power and is a better finisher than both of them. Carl Smoke His Boots

The comment about Carl not knocking his opponents down with punches and that he has to push them over is just plane idiotic, as is the headlock comment.

If the hypothetical JC-Froch fight went the distance then I reckon Joe wins a UD, but I think Carl comes on strong down the stretch and stops him with a succession of straight rights and uppercuts.

Shame we'll never get a definate answer to who is right.

[Chambers2]

This is another case of posters on here talking bollocks, because a certain fighter is a Brit. Froch has done f**k all to show he could beat Calzaghe and if he wasn't British people would be disgusted to see him face Calzaghe.

Calzaghe has wasted the majority of his title reign fighting undeserving challengers, so why is everybody so keen to see him face another one?

Hopkins or the winner of Pavlik/Taylor 2 is who Calzaghe should be gunning for. It's time he had a big fight in the States. That's what he needs on his ledger.

Joe Calzaghe vs Carl Froch? F**K OFF!

Personally I'd prefer to see JC fight some of the up and coming 12 stoners rather than Hopkins, I think JC-Nard has the potential to be shit where as JC Vs Bute/Froch/Inkin would be more entertaining. I'd be happy to see JC take on the winner of Pavlik/Taylor, but I don't see Pavlik moving up if he wins the rematch (whick I think he will)

Theres a BIG difference between Froch or Bute compared to Bika, Manfredo, Ashira, Veit, Salem etc. Froch and Bute have earned or will have earned the right to fight the top man in the division where as plenty of the opponents that JC has faced have been nowhere near the top of the division. Theres no comparison

[Max Molyneux]

Ha, he's been offered to fight JC and turns It down and claims he offered JC 1.6 mill. He's not fighting Inkin yet, It's only been offered as an eliminator. He turned Bute down for an IBF eliminator but Instead fights Bute's victim who was under prepared and fought too soon.

Calzaghe struggled with Salem when he was unmotivated and going through problems, he turned himself around and outclassed Lacy In one of the biggest one sided beatings and outclassed Kessler 9 rounds to 3 since and cleaned out 12stone.

It wasn't 2 months since ST lost to Bute It was a little less.

Well beating domestic level fighters will hardly rank you In the top 10 will It? It Is easy to be ranked In divisions like Super Middle and Cruiser though. Don't look at wins on paper, look at technique and talent.

He can be put down but will get right back up, Mitchell's punch was like a sledgehammer and turned Joe's body around and Joe got right back up. Mitchell hits harder than Froch.

Froch hits them and then walks Into them pushing them over not officially knocking them down. If all you can say Is Idiotic towards that part then don't mention It. He didn't knock Reid and ST down without shoving them, he hit them and hurt them and them walks Into them technically shoving them. Reid even fell on his legs.

Don't need no answers Joe Is technically better In all departments than Froch.

[Autobarn]

Froch has every bit the chance Kelly Pavlik has. Pavlik's got himself some pedigree by knocking out a fringe contender, a world class contender & a flawed champion. But Kelly takes some crazy punches...We see more imagination in Froch's work, we see late power and Carl is less predictable than Pavlik.

Warren says Pavlik is the best fight out there.

If Froch beats Inkin, then Carl deserves a shot. Not only that, he will have earned it in the WBC. Inkin is the guy that earned a shot at Joe, only for the WBO to say, Joe is a super champion and can do what he wants.

Kessler is no right hand bomber but he shocked Calzaghe at least 3 times in that fight. Joe fought exceptionally and earned p4p rankings as high as #2 o r#3 deservedly on that showing. But Froch doesn't use the right hand as a last resort. He lives by it, gambles on it, and can unleash sustained attacks. Also, his power is very impressive - going by the Reid, Tatevosyan, Dodson and Magee fights. With wins over those guys, as well as Barney & hopefully Inkin, Froch has to get a shot, vacant or otherwise.

The 1 thing that tarnishes Joe is that the WBO never made him fight anyone apart from Mario Veit and Mkrtchian. This is why ppl still laugh when Fred Sternburg sends out those non stop pressers about Calzaghe being the longest reigning champion.

[Max Molyneux]

Calzaghe's wouldn't of been knocked down by Taylor.

Pavlik Isn't In Calzaghe's league.

He Is one of the most limited Champions currently.

Carl's wirey flat footed style will be figured out.

Kessler's best was the 4th, the rest Is debatable and Joe was toying with him In the 12 and Kessler became desperate going for the KO.

Froch's right hand Is his uppercut and that Is too slow to be effective on someone as good as Calzaghe.

Dodson was KO'ed fair and sqaure with a body shot, It wasn't like Froch hit him on the chin to KO him. Magee Is garbage and ducked Barbosa and was outworked by Oakey, he sounded like Sky hype. Reid and ST went down when he walked at them after hitting them.

If he hadn't of hit Dodson with that body shot, then Tony would of gave him a close one as he looked troubled by the work rate. Reids timing made him resort to headlocking Reid when he was hurt on the chin.

[Autobarn]

More Sports Network drivel, Max. At lest 1 person believes the propaganda that is allowed in the papers.

Frank W is hailing Pavlik as the big fight, and no doubt you'll give Joe credit for beating Pavlik if it ever happens.

How can Calzage call anyone a joke? He was a national (and international) joke between 2003 and the Lacy fight. Manfredo and Toddler Pockwell were jokes yet there was no shame in taking those mismatches.

Joe is only good in the biggest fights, vs title holders. When he has a hungry guy gunning for him he'll be in bother. Froch could be bigger and stronger up close than Bika was and Joe was a rank (wank?) amateur in that bout.

He's a great fighter basically gunning for other champions. He's not an accomplished title holder by any stretch. Because he's made a pig's ear of it a few too many times in putting his belt on the line.

[Chambers2]

Ha, he's been offered to fight JC and turns It down and claims he offered JC 1.6 mill. He's not fighting Inkin yet, It's only been offered as an eliminator. He turned Bute down for an IBF eliminator but Instead fights Bute's victim who was under prepared and fought too soon.

How do you know ST was under-prepared and if he was its harldy Carls fault, the problem was with ST' chin anyway not his fitness. How do you know Froch turned the fight down the fight with Bute, both camps were claiming the other stopped the fight from happening.

It wasn't 2 months since ST lost to Bute It was a little less.

Super chinned ST got KTFO by Carl

Well beating domestic level fighters will hardly rank you In the top 10 will It? It Is easy to be ranked In divisions like Super Middle and Cruiser though. Don't look at wins on paper, look at technique and talent.

Its yourself who keeps saying that Carl hasn't fought the right level of opponent to take on JC, but now you're saying don't look at wins on paper. I'm looking at Carls whole package not just his results and I think his style power and speed causes JC massive problems (more so than any other I can think of)

Barney and Magee should have both been European champions at the time Carl fought them, so they were hardly domestic level and ST was above domestic level as well.

He can be put down but will get right back up, Mitchell's punch was like a sledgehammer and turned Joe's body around and Joe got right back up. Mitchell hits harder than Froch.

I don't think Mitchell hits harder than Froch, although both are BIG punchers

Froch hits them and then walks Into them pushing them over not officially knocking them down. If all you can say Is Idiotic towards that part then don't mention It. He didn't knock Reid and ST down without shoving them, he hit them and hurt them and them walks Into them technically shoving them. Reid even fell on his legs.

Both fighters got stopped and neither complained, so I can't see where you're coming from with the pushing over comments.

Don't need no answers Joe Is technically better In all departments than Froch.

If it was a technique contest (like dressage) then JC wins, but this is boxing and it involves alot more variables than technique. Styles make fights[/quote]

[Chambers2]

Froch has every bit the chance Kelly Pavlik has. Pavlik's got himself some pedigree by knocking out a fringe contender, a world class contender & a flawed champion. But Kelly takes some crazy punches...We see more imagination in Froch's work, we see late power and Carl is less predictable than Pavlik.

Warren says Pavlik is the best fight out there.

If Froch beats Inkin, then Carl deserves a shot. Not only that, he will have earned it in the WBC. Inkin is the guy that earned a shot at Joe, only for the WBO to say, Joe is a super champion and can do what he wants.

Kessler is no right hand bomber but he shocked Calzaghe at least 3 times in that fight. Joe fought exceptionally and earned p4p rankings as high as #2 o r#3 deservedly on that showing. But Froch doesn't use the right hand as a last resort. He lives by it, gambles on it, and can unleash sustained attacks. Also, his power is very impressive - going by the Reid, Tatevosyan, Dodson and Magee fights. With wins over those guys, as well as Barney & hopefully Inkin, Froch has to get a shot, vacant or otherwise.

The 1 thing that tarnishes Joe is that the WBO never made him fight anyone apart from Mario Veit and Mkrtchian. This is why ppl still laugh when Fred Sternburg sends out those non stop pressers about Calzaghe being the longest reigning champion.

I like the Pavlik-Froch comparison it rings true in a fair few ways. Both very fit, BIG punchers with abit of a leaky defence at times

[DG.]

I believe Froch has a very good chance against this version of JC.

I am not a Froch fan.

[punchers chance]

Carl's wirey flat footed style will be figured out.

FWIW, i think you are probably right. But he's a worthier opponent than most of the 21 defences have been. If Froch is a joke then what does that make Manfredo?

Pavlik would be a good opponent but he is rematching next spring with Taylor. And B-Hop probably won't want to know, so who should he fight next, Max?

[johnswan1]

Calzaghe's wouldn't of been knocked down by Taylor.

Pavlik Isn't In Calzaghe's league.

He Is one of the most limited Champions currently.

Carl's wirey flat footed style will be figured out.

Kessler's best was the 4th, the rest Is debatable and Joe was toying with him In the 12 and Kessler became desperate going for the KO.

Froch's right hand Is his uppercut and that Is too slow to be effective on someone as good as Calzaghe.

Dodson was KO'ed fair and sqaure with a body shot, It wasn't like Froch hit him on the chin to KO him. Magee Is garbage and ducked Barbosa and was outworked by Oakey, he sounded like Sky hype. Reid and ST went down when he walked at them after hitting them.

If he hadn't of hit Dodson with that body shot, then Tony would of gave him a close one as he looked troubled by the work rate. Reids timing made him resort to headlocking Reid when he was hurt on the chin.

After starting brightly Dodson was already in trouble in the third round before Froch landed the body shot that ended it. I've no doubt he'd have been KO'd within a couple of rounds from that point.