Calzaghe announces his retirement

Psycho Ned said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7871918.stm

Enjoy your retirement and don't be tempted to come back like so many others have in the past.

One of Britains greatest boxers imo, had nothing more to prove and no one else to beat.
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Just read it on BBc also. Refreshing to see a fighter know , when he has nothing else to prove :o

Looking at the like of holyfield and the like looking daft when they once a great :(
 
A great decision for me, he's done the business and if he carried on, the only way would be down.

He will be missed, but I'm sure we'll see him around the commentary booth over the coming years.
 
Very good achievement but cant help but think although undefeated, he has done this without taking on any other greats in their prime.
 
he goes out a champ, undefeated and most importantly, healthy :]
can't fault that at all
 
Well done to Calzaghe, I think this is the right decision, finishing a champ and undefeated is an achievement that few will ever reach so irrespective of whether people will claim he should have fought fighter X or fighter Y he did the business against everyone he fought.
 
There is nobody out there which would have a Superfight written on it in Joe's division now. Best decision for him really. But Calzaghe, I think was too little too late. His best wins are....

Lacy - Maybe he beat him too badly and is now classed as overrated.
Kessler - No grumbles here, great win for me
Hopkins - Way past it and almost won
Jones - Way past it, would liked to have seen this in the early 00s.

Anyone who's had as many fights as Calzaghe and still undefeated is something special. But he lacks career defining fights like Kessler. Hopkins and Jones are old and way past their prime to be considered good wins.
 
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Johnnytoxic said:
Lacy - Maybe he beat him too badly and is now classed as overrated.
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Lacy was never special. He struggled with Sheika (think it was him) before he fought Calzaghe. Tsypko should have beat him too.

Calzaghe was a really good boxer, easily the best in Britain but it is a shame that he never had any defining fights against someone at the top of their game. Not all his fault of course but at the same time I can't say that he deserves to be in the hall of fame or considered a great/legend.
 
Smit said:
Lacy was never special. He struggled with Sheika (think it was him) before he fought Calzaghe. Tsypko should have beat him too.

Calzaghe was a really good boxer, easily the best in Britain but it is a shame that he never had any defining fights against someone at the top of their game. Not all his fault of course but at the same time I can't say that he deserves to be in the hall of fame or considered a great/legend.
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He had a great fight against a prime Kessler, who now Joe has retired is far and away the best SMW out there.

He also wanted to fight Hopkins 4-5 years ago but just as the contracts were about to be signed Hopkins doubled his purse demands and priced himself out of the fight.
 
yeah i'm not 100% sure what he meant by that Diva, Hopkins was completely out of form and did almost win, I'm about 98% sure on current form Hopkins would win, it would be a pretty damn good fight I would think but I think. But I don't think Calzaghe can win it so not a fight he would take. Not sure if thats what he meant, its a superfight but theres no one around at this moment which would be too close to call till it actually happened so no superfights he would "take" at the moment. In which case i probably agree with that.
 
Also to be fair to JC he has always said he doesn't really "do" rematches ..... But like you say hopkins would be a very risky fight to take IMO
 
Great Boxer, Nice bloke.

Intelligent for doing it now, he has nothing left to prove. He's done it all.
 
wordy said:
He had a great fight against a prime Kessler, who now Joe has retired is far and away the best SMW out there.

He also wanted to fight Hopkins 4-5 years ago but just as the contracts were about to be signed Hopkins doubled his purse demands and priced himself out of the fight.
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An untested Kessler. Who has Kessler beat? I rate him very highly but serious question who has he beat to suggest that he is better than the likes of Bute & Froch?
He has beat no one of any note at all. Over the hill Beyer and Mundine are the two best opponents he has beat (lets not forget that Ottke of all people sparked Mundine clean out in a few rounds). Or maybe Andrade would be the best opponent he has beat but again he is largely untested at the top level.

Hopkins beat Pavlik because of styles, simple as that. Pavlik's straight ahead style is exactly the style that Hopkins looks good against.
 
Now that he's called it a day, I hope he sticks to it. Too many fighters have come back and tarnished thei record. There's only a couple of fighters with a better record out there and he's not got anything to prove. There's no-one really worthy of a fight with him anyway at the moment except Kessler.
 
Smit said:
l.

Hopkins beat Pavlik because of styles, simple as that. Pavlik's straight ahead style is exactly the style that Hopkins looks good against.
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yes and no, styles might have suited him but the point people make is, he himself looked FAR stronger, FAR fitter and far better all around than his first real fight out of retirement. The longer time training showed, in the Calzaghe fight he tired badly, obviously not because of taking hard hits :p , and it was close with Calzaghe getting "better" as Hopkins tired badly. Against Pavlik he looked fitter, didn't tire, appeared stronger and because of strength/endurance his style maintained start to finish, his defence and combo's were awesome. It was really a very very good performance all around.

It was 100% not the style difference between Cal and Pav that made Hopkins look so different between the fights, it was Hopkins that made himself fight differently.

I really don't think Calzaghe has "it", he's a good boxer but really does to many of those quick showy no power Khan type showing off combo's and no power combo's. he wins fights through quantity not quality and few of the worlds truly great world champions really do that.

I mean, lots of people in the next 30 years will have the titles he held, when you compare all the champions the ones that stick out will be the quality boxers, not the quantity guys and thats why he doesn't stick out in my mind as a great champion.

If he faught Hopkins how and won that might change, but in my mind he's never proved himself against the very best, against the very good he has, but the very best I don't think i've seen it.
 
46 fights, 46 wins and retires as a world champion having unified the super-middleweight division, no mean feat as there are so many different bodies, and has beaten all there is to beat.

Excellent fighter and a very wise and dignified decision. Too many fighters have gone on past their best and end up being pulverised. Look no further than Larry Holmes pulverising Muhammad Ali in 1980 ..... I can't watch that fight, although in his prime he would have danced around him, ( coaxes Big Kev into Ali v Holmes argument, episode 65345. )

Happy retirement Joe.
 
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