Calzaghe aims at Hopkins' record!

[!!! Beowulf !!!]

Would a convincing win over Jermain Taylor elevate Joe Calzaghe above Hopkins?

[GEOFFHAYES]

Joe might be going down as the greatest British fighter ever (HOFer Barry McGuigan insists he already is).

Eubank, Reid, Woodhall, Sheika, Brewer, Mitchell, Lacy, Taylor - that'd be simply incredible. If he can add Hopkins and Kessler as well, he's going down as one of the absolute all-time greats - just imagine, 21 defenses (beating Manfredo at Millenium Stadium and Taylor at Madison Square Garden), two-weight world champion (beating Hopkins at the Philadelphia Spectrum), and then going back down in weight and taking Kessler's belts! Wow! If he performs like he did against Lacy he'll beat Taylor, Hopkins and Kessler, I'm sure you'd agree, but the question is can he rekindle that sparkle at 35?

[Shanus]

Would a convincing win over Jermain Taylor elevate Joe Calzaghe above Hopkins?

That's a tough question, but assuming Calzaghe's career continues after/if he beats Jermain Taylor I'd say so.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Would a convincing win over Jermain Taylor elevate Joe Calzaghe above Hopkins?

The convincing win over Jeff Lacy elevated Joe Calzaghe above Hopkins. Everybody was saying Lacy was the best fighter to come out of the 2000 Olympic team, and how he was expected to be the next superstar of boxing - not Taylor.

That's according to Sugar Ray Leonard and others.

[TheEvilSaint]

Two of those guys were little fellas, another two beat him.

I know the Blow hasn't had a HOF career, but the Slop's is bull**** too.

i assume ur talking about oscar and tito?

granted, oscar's best weight class is either welter or jr middle. but tito was not a "little guy".

tito is 3-2 with 3 KOs in the MW division. at MW he ripped apart mayorga and joppy like no1 else had ever before. he mauled joppy like a starved bear attacking a 1 legged deer. his two losses at MW were because of stylistic mismatches. tito couldnt even touch hopkins because of hopkins movement. he couldnt touch winky cuz of winky's jab. but he didnt lose because he was overpowered or because he was little or because he was out of his weight class. tito was right for 160.

and say what you want about oscar and tito, but hopkins win over tarver is the biggest thing that separates his career with calzone's. hopkins moved up and won the LHW title, a feat that not even the great sugar ray robinson could accomplish. hopkins has shown that weight is not an issue. calzone's had 13 years to move up or down in weight for more lucrative fights and he never did. hopkins fought the biggest MW prospect in the world in jermain taylor (twice in 5 months), and some easily dispute the decisions. calzone did the same with lacy and won. he then was riding a wave of momentum and looking at huge fights with glen johnson, clinton woods, roy jones, and others. and after 7 months, who does he fight to take advantage of all his momentum? sakio bika, a nameless and undeserving challenger. not only that, but calzone looked horrendous in that fight.

if calzone wants to break the number of hopkins' defences, good for him. but everyone knows hopkins legacy is gold compared to calzone's dirty copper.

[TheEvilSaint]

Joe might be going down as the greatest British fighter ever (HOFer Barry McGuigan insists he already is).

Eubank, Reid, Woodhall, Sheika, Brewer, Mitchell, Lacy, Taylor - that'd be simply incredible. If he can add Hopkins and Kessler as well, he's going down as one of the absolute all-time greats - just imagine, 21 defenses (beating Manfredo at Millenium Stadium and Taylor at Madison Square Garden), two-weight world champion (beating Hopkins at the Philadelphia Spectrum), and then going back down in weight and taking Kessler's belts! Wow! If he performs like he did against Lacy he'll beat Taylor, Hopkins and Kessler, I'm sure you'd agree, but the question is can he rekindle that sparkle at 35?

Chef has something he needs to say to you: "That has got to be the most ridiculous load of pig crap I have ever seen!"

this statement rings true.

[Hydro]

Joe might be going down as the greatest British fighter ever (HOFer Barry McGuigan insists he already is).

Eubank, Reid, Woodhall, Sheika, Brewer, Mitchell, Lacy, Taylor - that'd be simply incredible. If he can add Hopkins and Kessler as well, he's going down as one of the absolute all-time greats - just imagine, 21 defenses (beating Manfredo at Millenium Stadium and Taylor at Madison Square Garden), two-weight world champion (beating Hopkins at the Philadelphia Spectrum), and then going back down in weight and taking Kessler's belts! Wow! If he performs like he did against Lacy he'll beat Taylor, Hopkins and Kessler, I'm sure you'd agree, but the question is can he rekindle that sparkle at 35?

Hoe won't go down as the greatest British fighter ever.

he won't surprass wilde, lewis, and fitzsimmons.

wasn't mcguigan irish?

[GEOFFHAYES]

Hoe won't go down as the greatest British fighter ever.

he won't surprass wilde, lewis, and fitzsimmons.

wasn't mcguigan irish?

If he beats Taylor, Hopkins, and Kessler he'll be one of the greatest fighters ever period.

[TheEvilSaint]

If he beats Taylor, Hopkins, and Kessler he'll be one of the greatest fighters ever period.

calzone facing one of them: likely.
two of them: unlikely.
all three: highly unlikely.
beating them: extremely unlikely.
beating them convincingly: not even remotely possible.

hopkins moved up and won the LHW title, a feat that not even the great sugar ray robinson could accomplish.

While I admired the win, I'm sure if Sugar Ray had tried the feat against a weight drained, never-that-good-anyway heartless Tarver he'd have been successful.