By Yero Moody: Joe Calzaghe has become one of the top fighters in the world today. He is undefeated with a legion of fans and followers throughout the world. Calzaghe has made it official that he is retiring from the sport of boxing. Let us take a close look at his legacy. I invite you, the reader, to take a close and analytical look at the “The Pride of Wales” Joe Calzaghe. First, ask yourself two questions: 1.) Why is Joe Calzaghe receiving so much adulation and so many accolades? 2.) Is he truly deserving of this much hype? At the end of this journey I will give my opinion and answer those questions based on my opinion as well as certain facts.
I consider myself a true fan of the science and sport of boxing. I also consider myself very knowledgeable in regards to the boxers who participate in the sport. What I find most troubling in boxing, as well as sports in general, especially nowadays, is that often times the athletes who receive the most hype often times are not the best or most deserving.
I can recall following the career of Ronald “Winky” Wright. He was always a great boxer but never received the credit/hype he deserved. He would call out fighters but none answered his call. Finally, one brave fighter by the name of “Sugar” Shane Mosley did and history was written. He went on to defeat the Puerto Rican legend Felix “Tito” Trinidad in a one-sided drubbing. Bernard Hopkins toiled through the middleweight division beating everyone who stood in his way. Since his loss to Roy Jones, Jr. he went on an unbeaten streak of 20+ fights which included the brutal upset of Felix Trinidad. This was a fight no one expected him to win. It was revealed later that Don King, who had put the middleweight tournament together, already had Trinidad’s name inscribed on the trophy. A trophy that Hopkins, to this day, has yet to receive. Hopkins went on to defeat several fighters no one thought he could defeat and add to his Hall of Fame career.
The one fighter that truly sticks out in my mind as being the most overrated, over hyped fighter of all time is none other than Rocky Marciano. This is not to say that Marciano was not a great fighter because he was. His record of 49-0 with 43 ko’s is incredible. However, when you look at the fighters he fought, at what stage of their careers they were when he fought them, and the heavyweight division as a whole during his era, the truth reveals itself. Jersey Joe Walcott, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles and Joe Louis were the biggest names on his record. All of which had a minimum of 65+ fights on their records at the time they fought Marciano. Joe Louis came out of retirement to fight him because he needed the money. Archie Moore had over 160 fights at the time they fought. Ezzard Charles had over 95 fights. Jersey Joe Walcott fought his last two fights against Marciano and at best could be considered a journeyman fighter.
So why was/is Marciano given so much hype? Number 1, he retired undefeated. Number 2, he was an exciting KO artist who fought in a blood and guts style that appealed to many fans. Number 3, I think, because he was white. Yes, I said it. Let’s be genuine for a second. Most of the boxing scribes, promoters and paying fans were all white during the era of Marciano and it remains that way even to this date. Jim Crow was alive and kicking at that time. There was a rise of of great Black and Hispanic fighters who had been previously denied certain venues and certain fights because of racism. Marciano was to a degree the “great white hope” and remains that way for many.
There is even a simulated fight between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali entitled “The Superfight”. You can rent it out at your local blockbuster or check it out on Youtube. The end result of the “Superfight”? You guessed it, Marciano wins. You have a fighter, Marciano, who was 185 lbs, who fought when the heavyweight division was far from its best, and whose best fights were against fighters past their prime and in many cases way past their prime, versus a fighter, Ali, who was 210 lbs. Who fought during the Golden Age of the heavyweight division, and who beat the very best fighters of the division in their primes. It should also be noted that he (Ali) beat several great prime fighters (Foreman, Spinks and Frazier) when he was past his prime and had three of his prime years taken away because of refusing to enter the draft for the Vietnam war. The fight between Ali and Marciano would be one of Ali’s easiest wins!
This brings me back to the discussion of Joe Calzaghe. After beating Roy Jones, Jr. and Bernard Hopkins in his last two fights many have been quoted as saying Calzaghe is one the best fighters of this generation, if not the best. He’s undefeated and in the minds of many, has gotten the monkey off his back in regards to coming to the United States and beating the best. To his credit he has done just that.
Lets take a look at Calzaghe’s 46-0 record. His biggest fights were against Jeff Lacy who was 21-0 at the time, still relatively green in comparison to Calzaghe, and had beaten not a single noteworthy opponent. Calzaghe on the other hand was 41-0. Chris Eubanks who was past his prime and had to shed 20 lbs. in a short span of time to make weight in order to fight Calzaghe. In fact, it was Eubanks who warned Roy Jones, Jr. about the dangers of losing so much weight so rapidly before Jones’ fight with Antonio Tarver. It is also well known that Eubanks was not the same fighter after his 1991 fight against Micheal Watson in which he left Watson partially paralyzed. After fighting Calzaghe, Eubanks went on to lose his next two fights against a fighter named Carl Thompson and retired for good after that. Mikkel Kessler whose biggest fight up until the time he fought Calzaghe was Librado Andrade. The biggest two fights of Calzaghe’s career, by a long shot, are his fights against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr. Unfortunately for Calzaghe, both Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones were both past their primes and the latter being way past his prime and arguably a shot fighter. Even more unfortunate for Calzaghe is that he fought a close, contested fight against a 43 yr. old man in Bernard Hopkins. Although Hopkins is still a great fighter he is still past his prime and he cannot pull the trigger for twelve rds. as he did in his prime.
In answer to the questions I posed in the opening paragraph: 1.) Why is Joe Calzaghe receiving so much adulation and so many accolades? 2.) Is he truly deserving of this hype?
1.) Calzaghe is receiving so much hype because he’s undefeated, some of it is deserved, and to varying degrees, in my opinion, because he’s white. Yes, I said it again. I know that we want to avoid discussions of race and prejudice but we need change. Change starts with honesty. I truly and honestly do not believe that if a non-white fighter had the exact same fight record as Joe that they would garner this much hype. Let me give an example, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was ripped to shreds by many fans and media for fighting a past his prime, Arturro Gatti and Oscar De La Hoya. It’s not even mentioned that he had been pursuing a fight with Oscar De La Hoya since his days at 135 lbs. Was Calzaghe ripped for fighting a shot Roy Jones and a past his prime B-Hop? Was there ever a time on record that Calzaghe was actually pursuing a fight with a prime B-Hop or Roy Jones, Jr. Answer: NO! In fact, his hype grew. Sure, he supposedly sent an offer to Jones but the conditions were laughable to a fighter of Jones’ accomplishments at the time, especially considering what Calzaghe had done up to that point. The offer included Jones coming to his hometown. Let me give another example, I can recall vividly when Roy Jones, Jr. was at his height and in his prime, how the media and many fans would berate him for fighting low-tiered fighters. No doubt, some of it was well deserved. However, in contrast, I cannot recall Calzaghe ever being ripped in that fashion by the media or by fans for all the tomato cans he fought. Unfortunately, racism/prejudice is still alive and kicking my friends.
I live in Philadelphia which happens to be the home of many great fighters. Can you guess the ONLY boxer who has a statue in their honor? Rocky Balboa! Need I say more? Why don’t Joe Frazier or Bernard Hopkins have statues in their honor since they are actually real fighters out of Philadelphia and the best fighters from there? Who do you think Rocky Balboa is patterned after? Yep, you guessed it, the aforementioned Rocky Marciano. This, I feel, is both a blatant display of disrespect and of racism. A fake, white movie character who patterns himself after Rocky Marciano gets more honor than real black fighters.
2.) Calzaghe does deserve some of the hype he garners because he is a very gifted boxer and he has beaten all who have faced him. However, to the degree that he receives such hype, he is absolutely undeserving at this point in time. He has yet to beat an elite, young, in their prime opponent to date. Also, in the opinion of this writer, a prime Roy Jones, Jr. would have knocked Calzaghe out cold and a prime B-Hop would have done the same or at the very least won by a wide margin UD.
Sure, Calzaghe beat Lacy and Kessler,and they were young and in their prime, but not elite and far from it. Let me be clear on my definition of elite. Elite means you are Hall of Fame worthy. If B-Hop and Roy Jones, Jr.’s resumes only included fighters like Kessler and Lacy we wouldn’t even be mentioning their names nor would they ever make it into the Hall of Fame. Roy Jones beat James Toney when Toney was the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world and he beat a prime Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver. Bernard Hopkins beat a prime Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, and most recently Kelly Pavlik. If Joe can muster up a resume like those aforementioned or even close before he retires, then and only then, should he be mentioned as one of the all time greats!
At this point he is not even the best fighter in his generation. This is a list of active fighters who I would rank above Joe Calzaghe as far as being the best of this generation, in no particular order: Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones, Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Winky Wright, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera, Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao. All of these fighter have beaten future Hall of Fame fighters in their primes. As of yet, Joe has not.
Thanks for reading. Questions or comments: email yero_m@yahoo.com