Joe Calzaghe retires from boxing
by Scott Christ on Feb 5, 2009 4:37 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Unbeaten light heavyweight champion and ex-super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe retired today, ending his career at 46-0 and arguaby as Britain's all-time greatest boxer.
Calzaghe, who turns 37 on March 23, made his pro debut on October 1, 1993, beating Paul Hanlon in Cardiff. In 1996, he beat Mark Delaney for the BBBofC super middleweight championship, and then the next year outpointed Chris Eubank to win the vacant WBO super middleweight title, which he would hold onto until vacating it in 2008. He also picked up the IBF title from Jeff Lacy in 2006, and the WBC and WBA titles in 2007 when he beat Mikkel Kessler.
Much of Joe's career was plagued by accusations that he was protected by fighting exclusively in England and Wales, and that he often "ducked" top American fighters. The win over Lacy was so dominant that much of that talk stopped then. He finally came over to the United States in 2008, beating legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr., in what was arguably the greatest "mainstream" success of his career.
His record (46-0, 32 KO) is a big reason he has chosen to retire now, rather than fight on and look for new challenges:
"Deciding to call it a day has been one of the toughest decisions of my life. There's always the temptation to fight on, especially if you are the champ and no-one has ever beaten you. "But I've now come to a point where the satisfaction of retiring undefeated has to outweigh the thrill of another fight. "I've also achieved every goal I've ever set myself in the ring - there are no more mountains left to climb." To be totally honest, it neither surprises nor disappoints me that Calzaghe is deciding to hang 'em up right now. The only real challenge at light heavyweight for him is Chad Dawson, who Calzaghe isn't going to fight simply because Dawson -- while young and very gifted -- has no name, and generates no moeny. A rematch with Hopkins has little appeal because the first fight was a sloppy bore. Glen Johnson, like Dawson, has little value on the big stage. And Calzaghe is keenly aware that people won't accept anything less than him fighting the best of the best anymore. Like all boxing retirements, this one is to be taken with a big grain of salt. There's a chance someone comes along with an offer Calzaghe can't turn down. But for now, Joe is retired, and happy trails to him.
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Nice
Keep your sloppy ass out of boxing.
Anyone that has any decency... please let me know if the Urango-Ngoudjo's 10th round fight is over.
Fair play
I agree it’s the right time to retire. Perhaps he could have had a rematch with Kessler but it wouldn’t really have proved anything. He beat everyone put in front of him but should have gone over to the States earlier in his career and I blame Frank Warren for that entirely. When he did finally cross the pond there wasn’t anyone really worth fighting.
I don’t think we will see anyone as technically gifted or as quick at his weight for a while.
Interview here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7871918.stm
see ya joe
i dont like to hate but i am glad to see him go . . . kessler while being a great fighter is still for the most part unproven in my eyes. thats jc’s biggest win and while its a great one its not enuf for me to have love for jc in terms of atg and legacy status . is he the best smw in history? probably. is he gifted, quick and has great stamina? yes. did he do anything during his reign for me to consider him an atg? nope. he did as little as possible and fought no one of note besides a past prime eubank, a overhyped lacy and a still yet unproven kessler.
see ya joe! cant wait til his name is removed from the p4p list.
with that being said i wish him all the best. and sorry for the hate just the way i feel about this particular fighter.
I thought he clearly beat him. All Hopkins did was grab and hug for the second half of the fight. Can’t win when you won’t throw.
agreed
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
I think it's a really tough argument to make that he's the top British boxer of all time
And it’s pretty questionable whether he’s even the best of his generation. There’s a decent argument for Lewis being ahead of him, and Hatton still has time to catch up and surpass him. Unlike Calzaghe, those two took all comers, and it’s not as if most of Calzaghe’s wins look that good in retrospect. Chances are that the Bika and Kessler wins will look better in the future than they do right now, and the Reid win still looks decent enough if you think he was robbed against Ottke, but Lacy, Eubanks, Brewer, Woodhall, Starie, Thornberry, Mitchell and Ashira fights all look worse now than they did at the time he made the fights, either because they later proved themselves to be shot or not as good as people thought they were to begin with. Also, there are a number of prominent names he could have fought but never did fight; whether or not that’s his fault is up for debate (other than Glen Johnson, against whom he pulled out twice, it’s not like the others were trying to make fights with him either, but he never put himself in a position where the bigger names would have wanted to fight him).
I can see ranking him in the 80 – 100 range all-time, and placing him as the 4th or 5th best fighter to retire undefeated (clearly behind Mayweather, Lopez and Marciano), but I don’t think history will look that kindly upon him 20 years from now.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
Oh
And I think anyone who tried to claim that Calzaghe was a better fighter than Fitzsimmons would get laughed out of the room.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
I agree that Fitzsimmons and Lewis rank above him in accomplishment, but I’m not sure the opposition is out there at this stage in boxing history for Joe to pass them regardless. I doubt Hatton will pass him, but I suppose it’s vaguely possible. I would rank him more in the 60-70 range all time. Also, Mayweather still has time to lose (hopefully).
Why not Hatton?
I mean, there’s already a pretty decent argument he should be rated higher. Their careers look pretty damn similar, but Hatton has faced 4 more beltholders in his career than Calzaghe did, his best win (Tszyu) is better than Calzaghe’s best win, and he’s beaten the #2 man in his weight class 4 times to Calzaghe’s 2. His only loss came to a guy who’s more than a class above anyone Calzaghe ever faced. The main things Calzaghe has on Hatton at this point are longevity and unification. If Hatton beats Pacquiao, then unifies by facing the Bradley/Holt winner, that would make him undisputed in my mind (the only reason Urango has a belt is because Malignaggi vacated to fight Hatton), and probably put him ahead of Calzaghe on my all-time list.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
“If Hatton beats Pacquiao, then unifies by facing the Bradley/Holt winner…”
That’s a rather big “if.”
Yes
But it’s not out of the question. And even if he loses to Pacquiao, if he goes on to dominate the weight class for a few more years he’ll still be up there, especially if Pacquiao continues to fight at the level he’s at for a while. Two losses to P4P #1s isn’t a horrible thing when you have wins over a P4P #3 and a P4P #5 (as opposed to Calzaghe, whose only P4P victory was over #4 Hopkins).
He’d be a pretty heavy favorite going in against either Holt or Bradley, and that’s by far the fight that would make the most sense after Pacquaio.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
I wouldn't rank him as Britain's best
But the argument has been made before. I think Lewis actually called him Britain’s best ever.
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
The fact that he fought Jones, rather than someone worthwhile I think was a good indicator he was ready to hang them up. He just wanted one more big payday and chose the least challenging, but most marketable opponent.
I would have liked to have seen either Johnson or Dawson get a chance at him, or a Kessler rematch, but if he’s had enough, he’s had enough. At his age, it’s likely a wise decision.
He's like Mayweather
When I look at ’Money’s’ record, I’m surprised by the lack of name fighters he fought in their prime. I categorize JC in the same way. It’s a credit to his management that he was as effective as he was.
As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of JC’s. I don’t like the way he does whatever it is that he does in a boxing ring, but he wins or won doing it. As far as saying there is no one out there to fight, that’s bogus. That statement makes him even more like Mayweather.
Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson have, as Brick stated, been around for a few years, and if this is an individual concerned about his place in boxing history, as these comments suggest, beating quality opponents would be more important than making $. Or at least would be once more important than $.
Exactly what ‘mountain’ did he set out to conquer when he began his career? The mountain of effective management that creates an undefeated entertainer without ever challenging the best around?
I appreciate Cal’s entertainment. He displays amazing athleticism and movement, but I’m not going to put him in a ranking category for anything, because I don’t recognize what he does as a viable form.
If Cal did that ballet in the amateurs in the US, he’d be disqualified for failing to close his hands.
When I look at ’Money’s’ record, I’m surprised by the lack of name fighters he fought in their prime.
Ricky Hatton
Jose Luis Castillo x2
Jesus Chavez
Diego Corrales
Angel Manfredy
Genaro Hernandez
Chop Chop Corley (who won a fight a couple days ago!)
I do give him real credit for Oscar because Floyd had no business fighting that heavy. He doesn’t even really have the frame for welterweight.
Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson have, as Brick stated, been around for a few years, and if this is an individual concerned about his place in boxing history, as these comments suggest, beating quality opponents would be more important than making $. Or at least would be once more important than $.
Boxers have much different standards about “greatness” than boxing fans do. Dawson and Johnson don’t bring any money, and frankly I’m not sure how crazy anyone is about putting money behind Joe at this point. He’s a proven non-draw in the United States.
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
btw
I’m not exactly disagreeing with you re: Floyd. I just wanted to throw down the names. It’s not the most impressive list ever when you pick at it a little.
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
After thinking for a while...
I will miss Cal. I hope he gets in the ring again. Here’s why?
Cal plays a great villain in my mind. I’d like to see him go for Marciano’s record, which is attainable but he could also lose on the way.
I’ve made it clear how I feel about his style, but there are a couple elements that I really admire. There are times when I watch an athlete and I am truly awestruck. Few may be able to relate to this, but when I was about 12 and I saw Andre Agassi hit a tennis ball 100+ mph 5 inches off the bounce, I had that feeling.
I feel that way when I see Cal in close ‘feeling’ his way around. His defensive head movement in close is on the level of Sweet Pea. Mind you I’m usually frustrated as hell watching it, hoping someone would ‘please rip his head off’, but that single ability is amazing to me. I can’t relate to that ability. I can relate to the feeling of being in close and the instincts that go with it, Cal seems to have conquered even those trained, ingrained instincts, successfully.
If he fights again I’ll hope, predict and scream for Cal to lose…but I do hope he goes for Marciano’s record.
Oh yea and I had Castillo beating Floyd the first time around, other than that, the list pretty much speaks for itself. Good, perhaps a couple great wins. Tack on a Shane, PW, or Cotto and he’d vie for a spot on an all-time best list in my mind.
I still wish we’d have gotten to see Mayweather-Casamayor at 135.
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
by Scott Christ on Feb 5, 2009 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
Good riddance
Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!
by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Feb 5, 2009 7:44 PM EST reply actions
I for one will miss seeing him fight,
I am relatively new to watching boxing, 4 or 5 years max, but Joe showed me that there is more then one way to win. He has his own style that not everyone enjoys but it worked for him and that’s all that matters. Not everyone can have the physical gifts of some one like Floyd Mayweather but if you find a way that works stick to it and come prepared to go 12 rounds, weather your slapping or punching, then good things can happen.
Good luck in retirement and hopefully he starts a trend of guys knowing when its time to hang them up. I really wish guys like RJJ, Evander, Berrera, and Tommy Morrison would retire. And RJJ is one of my favorite boxers of all time but he just is a shell of himself.
by TXroyal on Feb 5, 2009 8:58 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I have to give him credit
I hate his style, but he won the fights fair and square. No matter how cheap I think his technique is, it’s just one of those things I have to accept. I definitely wont miss him at all. But I hope he enjoys his retirement.
"fair and square"
Open fisted punching is illegal. I don’t think he got dinged for it once his entire career, and he did it constantly.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
He is a HOF fighter but not an ATG.
God bless him if we never hear from him again. We don’t need people like him bitching about the state of boxing when he was a significant part of the problem.
by Zocalo on Feb 5, 2009 9:48 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I strongly disagree that a champion like Joe who has brought a lot of people a lot of pleasure is somehow “a part of the problem” with boxing. Boxing would have been worse, not better, without Calzaghe. The idea that boxing needs less Hall of Fame caliber champions is absurd.
It my opinion taking crap mandatories instead of fighting the best is a part of the problem. Some of the rankings are just deplorable. The WBO, the organization that Calzaghe had a belt with moved up a fighter who was already dead in his weight division.
I won’t argue with you about the stupidity of the WBO over the years (and in particular with Joe). I would even agree that Joe could have done more for boxing if he had better management and/or a better attitude. But I would never say that he is overall a part of the problem. Boxing needs all the talent it can get, even if some styles aren’t pleasing to all.
Now the WBO and the other BS sanctioning bodies? That’s another story. They are the heart of the problem.
Now the WBO and the other BS sanctioning bodies? That’s another story. They are the heart of the problem.
Indeed…
by Zocalo on Feb 6, 2009 6:43 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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